The Great Migration

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Junior moise 7th period 12/14/14 this was a time for a cultural celebration. African Americans has had centuries of slavery and the struggle for abolition. The end of bondage had not brought the land many had envisioned. Instead, white supremacy was quickly, legally, and violently restored to the New South, where ninety percent of African Americans lived. Starting in about 1890, African Americans migrated to the North in great numbers. This Great Migration eventually put hundreds of thousands of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North. A lot discovered they had shared common experiences in their past histories and their uncertain present circumstances. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, the recently released ,ignited…show more content…
Hate groups and hate crimes cast alarm among African American families of the Deep South. The promise of owning land had not materialized. Most blacks toiled as sharecroppers trapped in debt. In the 1890s, a boll weevil blight damaged the cotton crop throughout the region, increasing the despair. All these factors served to push African Americans to seek better lives. The booming northern economy got together the pull. Industrial jobs were numerous, and factory owners looked near and far for sources of cheap labor. Northerners did not welcome African Americans with open arms. While the legal systems of the northern states were not as fair toward African American rights, the prejudice among the populace was as a criminal act . White laborers complained that African Americans were flooding the employment market and lowering wages. Most new migrants found themselves segregated by practice in run down urban slums. The largest of these was Harlem. Writers, actors, artists, and musicians glorified African American traditions, and at the same time created new…show more content…
Hughes cast off the influences of white poets and wrote with the rhythmic meter of blues and jazz. Claude McKay urged African Americans to stand up for their rights in his powerful verses. Jean Toomer wrote plays and short stories, and poems, to capture the spirit of his times. Book publishers soon took notice and patronized many of these talents. Zora Neale Hurston was noticed quickly with her moving novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. Music met in the form of musical comedy. The 1921 production of Shuffle Along is sometimes credited with initiating the movement. Actor Paul Robeson aroses the audiences with his memorable stage
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