Discrimination During The Great Migration

The progression of people into and within the United States has had an essential impact on the nation, both intentionally and unintentionally. Progressions such as The Great Migration and the Second Great Migration are examples of movements that impacted the United States greatly. During these movements, African Americans migrated to flee racism and prejudice in the South, as well as to inquire jobs in industrial cities. They were unable to escape racism, but they were able to infuse their culture into American society. During the twentieth century, economic and political problems led to movements such as The Great Migration and The Second Great Migration which impacted the United States significantly.

During the Great Migration, African Americans began to build a new place for themselves in public life, actively confronting economic, political and social challenges and creating a new black urban culture that would exert enormous influence in the decades to come.

The Great Migration was a massive movement of African Americans from the South to the North from 1863 to 1960. The largest spike in this migration occurred from about 1910 to 1920.

“There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion,” said Malala Yousafzai (BrainyQuotes). Separation was one of the huge parts of the 1800's through the 1900s that had many individuals talking and even had an action set against it. Though the act tried to help get rid of it, it did not go as planned. People are mainly against individuals who are much different than what the norm is. Discrimination mainly focused on racism and the act of believing what someone else does is wrong. Along with immigration and sexism to go with everything else.

From the early 1900s – 1920s the Great Black Migration occurred. In addition, the Great Migration occurred in the early 1900s and ended shortly after the Great War. The Great Black Migration was a time where blacks left the south to seek a better lifestyle in the Midwestern, Northern, and Eastern states. Blacks fled the South to seek better jobs, escape racism and discrimination, and to look for better schooling for their children. The Great Black Migration mostly occurred in the states of Illinois, Missouri, New York, and California. During the Great Migration, more than 100,000 blacks migrated to Harlem, New York. In Chicago and New York City, blacks were empowered by black-owned businesses, newspapers, and communities. Newspaper

The Great Migration seemed to begin again after a short period of time during the Great Depression. The price of crops fell dramatically during the Great Depression, causing African Americans to leave the South, mostly to the western United States this time, though some still traveled to northern cities. They moved to western cities, particularly in California, for more economic opportunity since the need for farmers had declined thanks to government plans to help stop the Great Depression. Jim Crow Laws were still enforced in the South and African Americans continued to leave to find better race relations. “Although lynching had greatly diminished by 1935 - there were eighteen lynchings that year - violence was still prevalent in the South. People were threatened, beaten, fired from their jobs, and publicly humiliated.” African Americans had to flee from the South and from the violence that was attributed to the region. Another reason for this second Great Migration was because of World War II. Many industries would switch to making wartime goods which called for extra labor. Men would go off to fight, and women and African Americans would be able to fill the job left behind. Family members and newspapers also added to the new movement. Letters would be sent back to families still in the South and explain how much better it was and the economic opportunity. Some newspapers would urge African Americans to move from the South for better relations in regards to race, and for

The Great Migration was the mass movement of millions of African Americans to the Northeast, Midwest, and West around 1910 to1930. African Americans moved away from the South to escape segregation and violence in search of better opportunities. With the U.S. entering into World War I and troops being sent overseas, more job opportunities opened up for African Americans. Blacks enjoyed the unsegregated cities and the benefits that came along with it like better jobs, schools, and homes. African Americans also got more involved in politics and became an important constituency in the North because they were not prevented from voting and some even ran for political offices.

Voting right were really big issues for African Americans. The south made three restrictions to stop them. The south added poll taxes, which made the blacks pay to vote. The grandfather clause was an southern agreement, which stated if your grandfather voted you can vote. Also they added a literacy test, because they knew African Americans couldn’t read or write.

African Americans got detained frequently, beaten,and chased out of towns, including restaurants. African Americans were unable to vote until the mid 1960s. Once they received the right to vote, they had rules and limitations to be eligible

In some states, like South Carolina, African Americans had to pay a certain tax if they weren’t servants or farmers. They weren’t even allowed to do any fishing or hunting in certain areas. African Americans weren’t able to own guns, and if they had any dogs, THEY WERE EVEN TAXED!! There was a federal agency, known as the Freedmen 's Bureau, which helped slaves with their transition from slavery to Emancipation. It was “thwarted” since it tried to “provide welfare for the newly emancipated.” All of this resulted in many of the freed slaves, staying dependent on the plantation for work.

Blacks were mistreated, they were subjected to injustice and biased laws. Blacks were the “victims of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality” according to Kings Speech (I Have a Dream). Police brutality includes but is not limited to: false arrest, intimidation, racial profiling, surveillance abuse, sexual abuse, and tampering with evidence. Furthermore, Blacks had to take a literacy test, and pass it, before voting; Whites however could vote if their grandfather voted, so even if a White was poor, couldn 't pay poll taxes, and couldn 't pass a literacy test, they could still vote because of the color of their skin. Having to have separate Black and White public services: Bathrooms, bus seats, water fountains, etc., the Blacks always had poorest facilities compared to the Whites.

The Great Migration brought about changes that would bring prosperity to most, but little did they know, it would come with a price. That price was endured through various social, economic, and political challenges that occurred during this harsh time in black history. Many opportunities were available for families that would travel far to take advantage of opportunities that would start a new beginning. The Great Migration was a movement of hope that there is a land that is free of oppression and strife. However, black families in the north faced issues that were troubling and contradicting to their belief of the north. Their thoughts of living racism free and gaining economic power was far fetch when they experienced the challenges of the north. The challenges blacks faced during the Great Migration paved the way for numerous opportunities and breakthroughs we have experienced and have not experienced today.

They had to pay tax in order to be able to vote, and most black people couldn’t afford that. And not just that In order to be able to vote, you also had to prove that you could read difficult contexts. And even if black people passed these tests, they would then be threatened and attacked so that they would not be able to

They were kept as slaves for many years until the 13t, 14th, and 15th Amendment were passed freeing slaves and allowing them to vote and be considered citizens there were still loopholes in the system. African Americans were segregated from whites, blacks had to sit in the back of buses and they couldn't use public lunch counters and many other places. Blacks didn't have the same rights as others just because of skin color. The movements of the Freedom Riders, Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was passed. This prevented discrimination against race,color, gender, religion, and origin. (America Dreaming, How the Youth Changed The 60’s, A Decade to Remember)

The neoclassical economic theory sees migration as a consequence of irregularities in the supply and demand of labor in different areas. The Neoclassical theory insinuates that migrants relocate from one place to another with the intention of maximizing their income. “People tend to move from counties where wages are low and labor is plentiful relative to capital to those where the opposite is the case” (Castles, 566). Emphasis is put on personal determinations to relocate based on logical observations of the costs and rewards associated. The journey of African Americans from the Southern States to the North during The Great Migration is linked to the neoclassical theory due to wages and the shortage of labor; in order for African Americans to obtain better wages, they needed to relocate to the Northern and Western cities. During both World Wars, when America sent her sons to battle and desperately needed laborers for the war-factories, African Americans filled the depleted factories and the supply and demand balance of laborers was materialized. The Oxford Handbook of African American Citizenship, 1865-Present narrated the economic aspects of African Americans by tracing the historical development of African American economic experiences, starting from the dawn of Reconstruction onward, and shed light on the consequences concerning the economic marginalization of blacks in the south during The Great Migration. The discriminatory system of Jim Crow’s south led to lower