Some Questions about the Great Migration

[Sharif662]

Originally Posted by Khan Vozdig

Question No. 1 : There must surely have been a small number of African Americans living in the places that received a large influx of other African Americans from the South during the Great Migration , which begs the question of how did the two groups relate to each other ...

In other words did the African Americans who were already living in Northeastern , Midwestern , and West Coast cities when the Great Migration happened welcome their counterparts from down South with open arms ? Or was there friction between the two groups ? Also can it be said that the two groups that existed back then have melded into one ? Or are there still African Americans living in such areas who ( f.ex ) identify strongly with being pre Great Migration residents of such cities ?


Question No. 2 : African Americans who migrated from the south obviously came from different states as well as different regions of the South , which begs the question of whether they tended to settle in " blocks " with people from the same area as them like European immigrants did ...

In other words did African Americans from ( f.ex ) Georgia tend to settle on the same street as other African Americans from Georgia ? Or was living next to people from their specific intra state region or home town more common ?

Question No. 3 : I've read and even heard from Americans I've come across , that black-white race relations in the upper part of the Southern US ( especially those falling into Southern Appalachia ) have always been much less strained than in the Deep South and I've even read that some African American migrants from Appalachia settled in the same neighborhoods as their white counterparts ...

Is there any sort of truth to that claim ? Also can it be said that African Americans from Appalachia still maintain a distinct sense of identity or have they melded into the larger African American community of urban areas outside of the South as well ?

Question No. 4 : Last but not least , were there any rural/non urban areas in the Northeast , Midwest , and West Coast that experienced a large influx of African Americans during the Great Migration ? If so then which areas were they ?

Answer(s) 1: Generally speaking they were welcome & occasionally friction occurred on individual basis. Yes they have merged & Nobody identify as pre migrant. A few might display their roots to being non southern but it's not an entire different subculture.

Answer 2: Yes to a certain degree during the 1900s-30s ( per say). This would be the first major movement and social organizations/networks formed around the states or cities the newcomers originated. Ex: In Chicago there was the Arkansas club, Alabama club, Mississippi club & Tennessee club. Los Angeles had a neighborhoods nicknamed "New Orleans " due to the migrants ties to Louisiana.
These patterns would primary be to a few general areas within those cities and disappears after the future generations of children & relocation to other neighborhoods & suburbs.

Answer 3: That would be ambiguous relations based on the situation in the Appalachian region. Most likely it would be mutual interactions. I doubt they would lived in the same neighborhoods backed then & No they just merged with the rest of the urban community.

Answer 4: Yes. A relatively few moved into those rural/small town communities. Most of those small towns or smaller cities in those 3 regions can be found through Google search & black community that resides there. I can't think of a specific ones at the moment.

Additionally info: The Great Migration was also a shift in southern Blacks moving into southern cities in larger numbers as well. The whole community was becoming majority urbanized in that timeframe. Even after the peak & decline of the movement, majority of Blacks still reside in the south.

Source: I'm Black

[Khan Vozdig]

Originally Posted by Sharif662

Answer(s) 1: Generally speaking they were welcome & occasionally friction occurred on individual basis. Yes they have merged & Nobody identify as pre migrant. A few might display their roots to being non southern but it's not an entire different subculture.

Answer 2: Yes to a certain degree during the 1900s-30s ( per say). This would be the first major movement and social organizations/networks formed around the states or cities the newcomers originated. Ex: In Chicago there was the Arkansas club, Alabama club, Mississippi club & Tennessee club. Los Angeles had a neighborhoods nicknamed "New Orleans " due to the migrants ties to Louisiana.
These patterns would primary be to a few general areas within those cities and disappears after the future generations of children & relocation to other neighborhoods & suburbs.

Answer 3: That would be ambiguous relations based on the situation in the Appalachian region. Most likely it would be mutual interactions. I doubt they would lived in the same neighborhoods backed then & No they just merged with the rest of the urban community.

Answer 4: Yes. A relatively few moved into those rural/small town communities. Most of those small towns or smaller cities in those 3 regions can be found through Google search & black community that resides there. I can't think of a specific ones at the moment.

Additionally info: The Great Migration was also a shift in southern Blacks moving into southern cities in larger numbers as well. The whole community was becoming majority urbanized in that timeframe. Even after the peak & decline of the movement, majority of Blacks still reside in the south.

Source: I'm Black

Thanks for the answer !

[greenvillebuckeye]

Originally Posted by Khan Vozdig

There have always been a few questions regarding the Great Migration of African Americans to ( typically ) urban areas outside of the American South that have intrigued me , which is why I thought I'd start up a thread regarding said questions on a mainly American dominated forum ...

As can be seen from my location , I reside in a country where obtaining information about such understated facets of American history is quite hard , which is why I'm keen to read the responses of genuine Americans concerning this matter .


Question No. 1 : There must surely have been a small number of African Americans living in the places that received a large influx of other African Americans from the South during the Great Migration , which begs the question of how did the two groups relate to each other ...

In other words did the African Americans who were already living in Northeastern , Midwestern , and West Coast cities when the Great Migration happened welcome their counterparts from down South with open arms ? Or was there friction between the two groups ? Also can it be said that the two groups that existed back then have melded into one ? Or are there still African Americans living in such areas who ( f.ex ) identify strongly with being pre Great Migration residents of such cities ?


Question No. 2 : African Americans who migrated from the south obviously came from different states as well as different regions of the South , which begs the question of whether they tended to settle in " blocks " with people from the same area as them like European immigrants did ...

In other words did African Americans from ( f.ex ) Georgia tend to settle on the same street as other African Americans from Georgia ? Or was living next to people from their specific intra state region or home town more common ?

Question No. 3 : I've read and even heard from Americans I've come across , that black-white race relations in the upper part of the Southern US ( especially those falling into Southern Appalachia ) have always been much less strained than in the Deep South and I've even read that some African American migrants from Appalachia settled in the same neighborhoods as their white counterparts ...

Is there any sort of truth to that claim ? Also can it be said that African Americans from Appalachia still maintain a distinct sense of identity or have they melded into the larger African American community of urban areas outside of the South as well ?

Question No. 4 : Last but not least , were there any rural/non urban areas in the Northeast , Midwest , and West Coast that experienced a large influx of African Americans during the Great Migration ? If so then which areas were they ?

Question 1 - my hometown / city in Ohio did not really see much of the first migration during and around WWI, so when the WW2 group moved in their would not have been much "backlash" against a new group.

Question 2 - oral history from my father tells me the vast majority of AA's to my hometown didn't necessarily migrate there on their own but instead were "recruited" to work in the tank plant and other war time factories. He tells the story of a guy his father knew who would once a month make a trip down to Alabama and bring back with him a family at a time. Once there they were housed specifically on the southside of town.

Question 3 - my hometown saw an influx of Appalachia whites during and after WW2 as well and even into the 1970s. "Ironically??" they voluntarily settled in the same part of town as the black community. MOST of these whites came from Kentucky. Whether or not they were more receptive of blacks? or had no issues with them? or better yet just didn't care I have no idea. I grew up on the westside of my hometown, but attended school on the southside and witnessed these kids and grandkids of Appalachia whites get along beautifully with the black kids.

Question 4 - in Ohio, any and all rural migration was done by latin american groups in the 70s and 80s. NW Ohio, where I grew up still to this day has a rural latin american population that is specifically there for the agricultural aspect of the area. Blacks in Ohio exist purely in the urban areas to this day and or have moved out to inner ring suburbs if and when they could financially.

On a side note. Last year my father and I were talking and I brought up the concept of Redlining in my hometown. Redlining occurred in places like Cleveland, OH for sure for some time but the racial living patterns in my hometown was essentially economic. If you could afford to live in whatever part of town then ok. The only part of town that may have given off a racist vibe would be the north end which to this day is HEAVILY irish-catholic and does not take well to anyone who is dark skinned.