This activity will help students understand some major causes of the Great Migration, a mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to Northern cities following Reconstruction.

In "The Beginnings of Jim Crow," viewers will see how the removal of federal troops from the South caused the period of Reconstruction to come to an end. Shortly after, the passage of harsh Jim Crow laws made segregation by race a legal practice while racialized violence from hate groups such as the KKK plagued the South. The second clip, "An Exodus of African Americans," shows that the newly implemented Jim Crow laws and rampant violence caused 6 million African Americans to leave the South and move to cities in the North (push factors). Well known jazz musician Louis Armostrong boards a train leaving New Orleans heading North to Chicago, a place where he and many others believed there would be more opportunities.

"The Pull to Harlem" shows that there were in fact more opportunities in the North for African American people to achieve some social and economic upward mobility through better educational and employment opportunities (pull factors). Neighborhoods like Harlem were home to Black writers, musicians, and other artists whose work was valued and recognized globally. However, the clip "Inequalities Persist" shows that even though life in the North was better for many Black Americans, there was not racial equality in the North. Examining the causes of the Great Migration through a lens of push and pull factors allows students to draw comparisons between the experiences of African American people living in the North versus those living in the South. The persistence of these inequalities would eventually spark the Civil Rights Movement, a movement which in many ways continues today.

Objectives: Students will be able to…..

• Understand causes and effects of the Great Migration;
• Identify different push and pull factors that caused African American people to flee the South for Northern cities during the 20th century.

About the Author: Niles Mattier is originally from Boston, MA. He attended Syracuse University in New York for undergraduate majoring in History and Education Studies. After graduating from Syracuse University, Niles returned to Boston where he currently teaches 5th grade U. S. History and is  pursuing a Master of Education at Boston University.