The Great Migration and Its Causes

Across the Southern United States, the black population experienced a significant migration, inspired by a sense of hope and possibility.
This phenomenon is referred to as "migration fever," reflecting an overwhelming urge to seek better opportunities in the North.
A Georgia newspaper noted the obliviousness of many to the mass movement, stating, "Everybody seems to be asleep about what is going on right under their noses."
Farmers were acutely aware, noting the departure of every male Negro over 21 to cities like Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Chicago.

The feelings associated with this migration were encapsulated by individuals left behind who suffered from intense loneliness.
Quotes:
- A Mississippi woman stated, "If I stay here any longer, I'll go wild… There ain't enough people here I now know to give me a decent burial."
- A poignant poem reflects the feelings of those watching trains filled with "working men / To the land of hope."

A landlord in Georgia found that nearly all his tenants had left, leaving behind two old men, Uncle Ben and Uncle Joe, who were too poor to afford tickets.
Upon receiving money from their landlord with a promise to stay and work, they immediately left for the North, exemplifying the desperation to leave.

Southern blacks faced severe economic hardships, primarily through sharecropping, which trapped many in a cycle of debt and dependency on white landlords.
Many expressed dissatisfaction through poetic laments:
- "Working hard on southern soil, / Toil and toil and toil… / And yet I'm always broke."
The crushing reality of sharecropping where despite hard work, many ended deeper in debt highlighted the severe economic bondage experienced.
Natural disasters like floods and pests exacerbated the situation, with descriptions of "Boll-weevil in de cotton" and "Cut worm in de cotton."

World War I created labor shortages as European immigration was sharply reduced from 1,200,000 in 1914 to 110,000 in 1918.
Northern factories began sending labor recruiters to the South to attract black workers with promises of better wages.
- Black newspaper reports highlighted the sudden labor opportunities in the North: factories were now open to black workers, and prejudice lessened when economic necessity arose.
Journalists like Ray Stannard Baker documented the rapid mobilization of black workers to the North, often leaving their jobs without notifying employers.
- A black worker recounted how his daily wage in Georgia was $1.25 but increased to $2.75 in Newark, NJ with accommodations paid by the employer.

The Chicago Defender published numerous job ads, enticing blacks with promises of better working conditions and wages. Example ads included:
- "Men wanted at once. Good steady employment for colored. Thirty and 39½ cents per hour. Weekly payments."
A specific request from a seventeen-year-old girl for job information exemplified the youth's desire to escape the South's confines.
Testimonials from black migrants revealed the dramatic changes in lifestyle and wages compared to life in the South. A young worker recounted earning $95 a month after a promotion.

The migration represented a shift in generational attitudes; older blacks, who had lived through slavery, contrasted sharply with younger generations born after the Civil War.
W. E. B. Du Bois observed the decline of the old-type Negro who epitomized deference to whites.
The youth, perceived as restless and dissatisfied, no longer exhibited the subservient behaviors of the older generation, leading to a distinct cultural shift.
An investigator's account detailed how younger blacks felt less bound by the traditions and constraints upheld by their parents, seeking greater autonomy and respect.

The harsh realities of Jim Crow laws and pervasive racial violence drove many to leave the South.
- The Richmond Reformer and Booker T. Washington noted how intolerable conditions led to a mass exodus of colored people seeking better opportunities.
- Resentful memories of acts of violence like lynchings contributed to the urgency of leaving.

Young blacks voiced their frustrations in letters, expressing desperation and seeking dignity and opportunity in the North. Examples include requests for advice on employment:
- "Dear Sir… nothing here for the colored man but a hard time…"
- Calls for dignity emphasized a desire to escape the humiliation and violence of Southern life. They sought a place where they could be treated as equals and where a man could be a man.

The migration of young blacks is marked by aspirations for a taste of freedom and the chance for a better life. They expressed the longing to leave behind the oppressive social structure of the South, seeking to establish new identities and opportunities in the North, free from the shadows of slavery.
- This yearning for change signaled an awakening and reimagining of their futures, steering them toward the unknown regions of the North, filled with promise and the possibility of escape from the caste system that bound them.