Great Migration

Great Migration exposes the unimaginable cruelties endured by black southerners a century after the Emancipation Proclamation and the unjust, and often violent, discrimination they continued to experience after seeking refuge in the North.

The exits occurred for various reasons: the desire to escape the near-starvation of tenant farmer existences; the need to leave because their own prospects were so restricted, and they wanted more for their children; the middle of the night departures because a son had not been deferential enough to an outraged white townsman; the vaporization of an entire family overnight, because their pretty eldest daughter had attracted the lingering glance of a white man she would not be allowed to refuse, with dire consequences to her entire family.

Here are just 3 of the many lessons I got from this book:
✓ The Great Migration happened for many different reasons, and people left from and went to diverse places throughout it.
✓ Ida Mae and her family were just one example of a black family leaving the South to become safer and earn more money.
✓ Settling in Chicago, Ida Mae entered the workforce but like many others didn't see all of the benefits that she had hoped that moving would bring.

Let's dive right into this little known history lesson!