The Migration North

Children's Literature - Elizabeth D. Schafer

Selected aspects of African Americans' twentieth-century exodus from southern states to northern, but not western, cities are examined in this "African American History" series volume. Reiterating information from previous volumes, this book emphasizes restrictions, racism, and injustices African Americans endured before movement to more appealing places became legally possible. This book stresses reasons African Americans migrated, specifically economic incentives, noting the Chicago Defender and other African-American newspapers publicized opportunities the North offered blacks especially during World War I, because industries needed workers when fewer immigrant laborers arrived. After that war, many African-American soldiers decided to move North instead of returning to southern homes. By 1919, 50,000 southern African Americans had migrated to Chicago, mostly settling on the South Side and receiving guidance from the Chicago Urban League because they often continued to experience discrimination and segregation. Deadly race riots impacted Chicago and urban areas where blacks resided. Notable migrants such as Texas-native aviatrix Bessie Coleman and Mississippi-born author Richard Wright are not discussed. An archaic map pictured with the Mason-Dixon Line question may confuse modern readers because it includes West Florida which no longer exists and shows Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia extending to the Mississippi River. Images, sidebars, activity ideas, a bibliography, a glossary, and a timeline, which contains errors and is not focused on this volume's main theme, supplement the text. No source citations are provided. Reviewer: Elizabeth D. Schafer