When studying the history of the Great Migration, it is essential to accompany the literature with appropriate painting, music, and other various art forms that correspond with the time period. This page was created to help present a visual image of the events surrounding the African American journey from the south to the north. For further examples of art, please look at the resources provided on the Links page.
PART I - LIFE IN THE
SOUTH
This photograph depicts the typical African American
sharecropper. These two individuals represent the despair felt by
many of these southern farmers.(12 Million Black Voices p. 23)
A common sight within the Jim Crowe south: the horrific result of a lynch mob.
(Out of The Darkness: The Story of Blacks Moving North 1890-1949 p. 22)
Another example of the power of the southern white mob.
(12 Million Black Voices p. 45)
This photo depicts one type of housing development for southern blacks. This photograph of a fire presents another of the many disasters that African Americans had to endure.
(12 Million Black Voices p.58)
PART II - NORTHERN BOUND
Two Southern Blacks migrating north in search of opportunities.
(Out of The Darkness: The Story of Blacks Moving North 1890-1940 p.24)
PART III - BIG CITY LIVING
A black family arriving in Chicago.
(From Slavery To Freedom: A History of African Americans p. 375)
One example of the ghettos that blacks were forced to move into once they arrived in the north.
(12 Million Black Voices p. 114)
In an effort to escape the lynch mobs of the south, blacks migrated north. Upon arrival they found more subtle and legalized brutalities equivalent to discrimination within the south.
(12 Million Black Voices p.124)
back to top