Figure 1.--A photo dealer though that these were plantation slaves, but slaves did not wear overalls. The overalls date the photograph to the the 1910s. The photograph would have been taken some where in the South. Their living conditions were not duisimiolar to the suituation in the late-19th century. These are the conditions from which the nmen and women involved in the Great Migration came.

At the beginning of the decade, there were some 10 milliion black Americans, about 90 percenr still lived in the South. And life for them was not a lot dufferent thn it was in the late-19th century. The Great Migration of southern blacks in the 20th century was part of a much wider process by which southern blacks first began migrating within the South in search of economic, social, and political justice. [Reich] We are not entirely sure why the movment North did not begin earlier. The Great Migration north began (1910s). A development in the North was the industrial expansion Henry Ford helped generate, creating industrial jobs availble in large numbers for the first time. America in the late, 19th century became the world's largest industrial nation, supassing Britain and Germany. Ford and the Model-T sent America on the way to surpassing all of Europe. While gross inequities continued in America, the living stndads of black American began to rise over that of much of Europe. Black Americans continue to fight fight for racial justice. Most of this fight occurred in the Northern states where freedom oof speech was possible. This effort primarily consisted of writing editorials, publishing news, literary and scholarly journals, and organizing peaceful protests. The prinary effort was to expose the injustice of segregation . Not a lot of people in the North knew about it. In somee areas, many northerners had never see a black person. The National Urban League (NUL) was founded in New York City (NUL). The civil rughts organization were most ctive in the North because iof the threat of violence in the South. But it us important to note that the NAACP was able to open chapters throughout the South. The NAACP began publishing Crisis. W.E.B. Du Bois was the first editor and quickly became America's leading Civil Rights figure. Numbers of black students were entering universities mainstream universities. Kappa Alpha Psi, an African American fraternity, was fiounded by 10 students at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana (1911). Omega Psi Phi was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Some 60 blacks were lynched (1912), almost of the lynching were black men and in the South. A campaign against lynching became a primary goal of the Civil Rights movemnt. W.C. Handy published 'Memphis Blues' in Memphis. he would become known as 'Father of the Blues'. He and others would powerfully impact American popular music. Former President Teddy Roosevelt split the Republican Party leading to the election of Woodrow Wilson (1912). The newly elected President Woodrow Wilson establishes segregation for the first time in the Federal Government. Liberalism at the time did not extend to race relaions. Suffragette leaders avoided conections with the Civil Rights leaders, concerned that it would it would damage the movenment in the South. Progressive leades also avoided Civil Rights, in part because of the strength of the Eugenics Movenent. D.W. Griffith released 'Birth of a Nation', a virulently racist film. It was a film version of the Lost Cause Movenmennt. The first victory in the effort to reverse Plessy was achieved in the Suprene Court's decision reversing The Oklahoma Grandfather Clause (1915). The NAACP launcged 'Lift every voice and sing' as the African American national anthem. Booker T. Washington died, he had been a major black leader and scientist and help guide Tuskegee Institute which he founded into a highly regarded black university. Marcus Garvey founded the New York branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and became an important black leader. James Weldon Johnson played a major role in opening NAACP chaopters throughout the South. The United States declared war on Germany (1917). Some 370,000 black Americans fought for America. More than half were transported to France and served on the Western Front in segregated units. This included ovr 1,000 officers. Gen. Pershing was unsure what to do with them. As a result, large numbers were transferred to French command. There were 107 black soldiers who were warded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government. The War-time experience of these men gave them a new self respect and the time in France was an eye-opening experience. Many French people viewed race differntly than Americans. (Although it also is true that France has highly racist policies throughout its Empire.) Many black servicemen returned to America wanting real change. Race riots broke out in East St. Louis lasting 2 days (1917). Race Riot breakout. The two days of rioting left 40 people dead, several hundred injured, and thousands burned out or displaced. Relatively small race riots occurred in Cghester and Philadelpgia, Peensylvania. A factor here was the movement of siouthern blacks north. This meant increasing interactions in the North. More severe race riots occured in several cities (1919). One Civil Rights called them the Red Summer of 1919. [Johnson] Claude McKay penned the poem, "If we must die". Claude A. Barnett founded the Associated Negro Press on Chicago's South Side (1919). He built it into the largest black news service, important because the main news services were two often not unterested in blacks and developments in the black community.

Sources

Johnsom James Weldon.

Reich, Steven A. (ed.) Encyclopedia of the Great Black Migration (Greenwood Milestones in African American History, 2006).

Created: 12:02 AM 5/18/2023
Last updated: 12:02 AM 5/18/2023