African American and White Soldiers aboard A Ship, Gordon Parks

African American and White Soldiers aboard A Ship Gordon Parks, 1941

Autumn, Zlatyu Boyadzhiev

Autumn Zlatyu Boyadzhiev, 1941

Children, William H. Johnson

Children William H. Johnson, 1941

Girl with a rose, Lê Phổ

Girl with a rose Lê Phổ, 1941

Meeting Place, Norman Lewis

Meeting Place Norman Lewis, 1941

Migration Series No.1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.1: During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.2: The war had caused a labor shortage in northern industry. Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.2: The war had caused a labor shortage in northern industry. Citizens of foreign countries were returning to their native lands Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.3:  From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.3: From every southern town migrants left by the hundreds to travel north Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.4:  All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.4: All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.5: Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industry. Northern industry was to be repaid by the migrants out of their future wages, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.5: Migrants were advanced passage on the railroads, paid for by northern industry. Northern industry was to be repaid by the migrants out of their future wages Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.6: The trains were crowded with migrants, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.6: The trains were crowded with migrants Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.7: The migrant, whose life had been rural and nurtured by the earth, was now moving to urban life dependent on industrial machinery, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.7: The migrant, whose life had been rural and nurtured by the earth, was now moving to urban life dependent on industrial machinery Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.8:  Some left because of promises of work in the North. Others left because their farms had been devastated by floods, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.8: Some left because of promises of work in the North. Others left because their farms had been devastated by floods Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.9:  They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.9: They left because the boll weevil had ravaged the cotton crop Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.10: They were very poor, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.10: They were very poor Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.11: Food had doubled in price because of the war, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.11: Food had doubled in price because of the war Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.12: The railroad stations were at times so crowded with people leaving that special guards had to be called to keep order, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.12: The railroad stations were at times so crowded with people leaving that special guards had to be called to keep order Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.13: The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.13: The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.14: For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.14: For African Americans there was no justice in the southern courts Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.15: There were lynchings, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.15: There were lynchings Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.16: After a lynching the migration quickened, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.16: After a lynching the migration quickened Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.17:  Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of the planter, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.17: Tenant farmers received harsh treatment at the hands of the planter Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.18: The migration gained in momentum, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.18: The migration gained in momentum Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.19: There had always been discrimination, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.19: There had always been discrimination Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.20: In many of the communities the Black press was read with great interest. It encouraged the movement, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.20: In many of the communities the Black press was read with great interest. It encouraged the movement Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.21: Families arrived at the station very early. They did not wish to miss their trains north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.21: Families arrived at the station very early. They did not wish to miss their trains north Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.22: Migrants left. They did not feel safe. It was not wise to be found on the streets late at night. They were arrested on the slightest provocation, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.22: Migrants left. They did not feel safe. It was not wise to be found on the streets late at night. They were arrested on the slightest provocation Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.23: The migration spread, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.23: The migration spread Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.24: Their children were forced to work in the fields. They could not go to school, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.24: Their children were forced to work in the fields. They could not go to school Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.25: They left their homes. Soon some communities were left almost empty, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.25: They left their homes. Soon some communities were left almost empty Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.26:  And people all over the South continued to discuss this great movement, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.26: And people all over the South continued to discuss this great movement Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.27: Many men stayed behind until they could take their families north with them, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.27: Many men stayed behind until they could take their families north with them Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.28: The labor agent sent south by northern industry was a familiar presence in the Black communities, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.28: The labor agent sent south by northern industry was a familiar presence in the Black communities Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.29: The labor agent recruited unsuspecting laborers as strike breakers for northern industries, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.29: The labor agent recruited unsuspecting laborers as strike breakers for northern industries Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.30: In every southern home people met to decide whether or not to go north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.30: In every southern home people met to decide whether or not to go north Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.31: The migrants found improved housing when they arrived north, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.31: The migrants found improved housing when they arrived north Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.32: The railroad stations in the South were crowded with northbound travelers, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.32: The railroad stations in the South were crowded with northbound travelers Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.33: Letters from relatives in the North told of the better life there, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.33: Letters from relatives in the North told of the better life there Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.34: The Black press urged the people to leave the South, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.34: The Black press urged the people to leave the South Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.35: They left the South in great numbers. They arrived in the North in great numbers, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.35: They left the South in great numbers. They arrived in the North in great numbers Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.36: Migrants arrived in Chicago, the gateway to the West, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.36: Migrants arrived in Chicago, the gateway to the West Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.37: Many migrants found work in the steel industry, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.37: Many migrants found work in the steel industry Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.38: They also worked on the railroads, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.38: They also worked on the railroads Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.39: Railroad platforms were piled high with luggage, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.39: Railroad platforms were piled high with luggage Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.40: The migrants arrived in great numbers, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.40: The migrants arrived in great numbers Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.41: The South was desperate to keep its cheap labor. Northern labor agents were jailed or forced to operate in secrecy, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.41: The South was desperate to keep its cheap labor. Northern labor agents were jailed or forced to operate in secrecy Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.42: To make it difficult for the migrants to leave, they were arrested en masse. They often missed their trains, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.42: To make it difficult for the migrants to leave, they were arrested en masse. They often missed their trains Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.43:  In a few sections of the South leaders of both Black and White communities met to discuss ways of making the South a good place to live, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.43: In a few sections of the South leaders of both Black and White communities met to discuss ways of making the South a good place to live Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.44: But living conditions were better in the North, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.44: But living conditions were better in the North Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Migration Series No.45: The migrants arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North, Jacob Lawrence

Migration Series No.45: The migrants arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North Jacob Lawrence, 1940 – 1941

Next Decade

1950s

1950 – 1959

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