The Great Migration

In the years preceding World War I, a slow but steady migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North began. This was the beginning of a phenomenon called the Great Migration. The rationale for leaving the South was different for every migrant, but largely, the hope for a better life was paramount. The booming industrial economy in World War I-era America contributed to a wealth of job opportunities and better pay for African Americans. In the north, their children would have the opportunity to seek an education. Migration also offered African Americans the chance to escape discrimination, segregation, and the Jim Crow laws that violated their civil rights.