Starting around 1915 during World War I and going until 1970, more than six million black Americans moved from the South either north or west. An often overlooked factor in the history of the US, this migration influenced everything about our world today.
Following three people who represent some of the common stories of migration, Wilkerson tells of the reasons why people left the South and why they chose where to settle.
In 1937 Ida Mae Gladney left Mississippi for Chicago.
In 1945 George Starling left the orange fields of Florida for Harlem.
In 1957 Robert Joseph Pershing Foster left Louisiana for California.
These and many others, including the author's own mother, left the South to make a better life for themselves, to (hopefully) be treated like human being and citizens in their own country. The slow but huge exodus forced the South to address laws like Jim Crow that were causing people to flee. In the North, blacks were not welcomed with open arms - being forced into specific neighborhoods and jobs - creating tensions between them and European immigrants they were competing with for space and livelihood.
This fascination part of our history should be taught in school. This book fills in the gaps in our education system.
Wilkerson, Isabel. (2010). The Warmth of Other Suns. New York: Random House.
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