Mother to Son

After the end of the American Civil War, more than six million Black Americans moved out of the rural South and into urban cities like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Pittsburgh. Racial segregation, discrimination, and Jim Crow laws in the American South were primary factors that led to this massive movement, known as The Great Migration. These factors made Black American life incredibly difficult following the end of slavery, and many people felt compelled to start over new in places that didn’t hold the same entrenched views about race and offered better economic opportunities. In these cities, Black people began to thrive in flourishing communities of art, literature, and music. Black neighborhoods all over the United States saw a massive cultural boom, experiencing economic success, creating influential communities of their own. The Harlem neighborhood in New York City was a hub for Black migrants fleeing the South, and it was also home to many educated intellectuals with a growing middle class. However, these Northern cities still harbored prevalent racism, and many Black men returning home from World War I were only met with disrespect and devaluation by the country they gave their lives for. This led to a period of race riots and civil uprisings, most notably the Red Summer of 1919.