The Great Migration & The Red Summer Presented by Jackson Morgan & Benjamin Eberhardt

The Great Migration an Overview 

The Context  The failed hopes of emancipation  Extreme marginalization of African Americans in Southern States  Sharecropping and tenant farmers  Debt peonage  Jim Crow laws  WW1

The Numbers  Spanned the years  20s 800,000  30s 398,000  40s ,348,000

Motivation for movement  Escape from harsh segregation (Jim Crow) laws  Opportunities for comparably higher wages  Chasing their version of the American Dream  The great migration as a another of the waves of migrants from this time period from Ireland, East Europe, China, etc.

Reception In North  In many ways African American were incentivized to travel north  Came into conflict with other “inner city” ethnic minorities  White flight  Permanently changed the ethnic makeup of many Northern Cities

Consequences  Many inner-city areas became underfunded  Blalock’s Threat Models of race relations  Increased segregation in North  Unemployment and underemployment  Poverty, violence, and family decline  At same time increased business for black professionals and caused general increase in political clout for African Americans in their own communities.

“The Red Summer of 1919 broke in fury. The colored people throughout the country were disheartened and dismayed. The great majority had trustingly felt that, because they had cheerfully done their bit in the war, conditions for them would be better. The reverse seemed to be true.” James Weldon Williams

Red Summer  Caused by the Great Migration.  Result was riots in 22 Cities and 72 lynchings.  Multitude of factors including the KKK, Nationalism, and WWI involved.

Case Study: Macon, Georgia  Post war Macon, Georgia was a urban industrial hub for textile and manufactured goods in the south.  White Middle Class workers felt threatened by the arrival of African Americans in the city.  Many African Americans were veterans returning from war looking for better opportunities other than sharecropping.  KKK chapter filed a report directly relating to the veterians that resulted in lynchings and race riots.  Klansmen were primarily made up of policeman and store clerks but were led by doctors and lawyers.

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References cont.   k=true&searchText=Red&searchText=Summer&searchUri=%2F action%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DRed%2BSummer%26 amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3D off%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone&seq=1#page_scan_tab_conten ts k=true&searchText=Red&searchText=Summer&searchUri=%2F action%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DRed%2BSummer%26 amp%3Bacc%3Don%26amp%3Bwc%3Don%26amp%3Bfc%3D off%26amp%3Bgroup%3Dnone&seq=1#page_scan_tab_conten ts  on-the-red-summer/ on-the-red-summer/  Summer-Of-1919.htm