The Great Migration of the 1920's

The Great Migration of the 1920's

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and the thirteenth amendment shortly after abolished slavery, but did not abolish the discrimination and segregation against African Americans. This discrimination was particularly bad in southern states and thus, by the 1920's The Great Migration had begun. As Muhammad states in his book, "…Hoffman's initial linking of migration, urbanization, and criminality remained a salient framework within which numerous experts continued to debate and discuss race relations" (91). Thus, the Great Migration was supposed to be an opportunity for African Americans to have a better life, but in the book we can see that it turns sour as "statistics" state that African Americans in the north commit the most crimes and become targets in the North almost as much as they were in the south. Interestingly, a new culture emerged with this migration to the northern states even though the discrimination continued. Art, dance, music, and overall African American culture developed into something new with this move. In particular, jazz music really started to take on new meaning and form because just as everyone else, many jazz musicians were heading up north. Chicago in particular took on a strong and talented presence in the African American jazz industry including such musicians as Jelly Roll Morton, Lee Collins, and King Oliver. In the Chicago clubs, new forms of jazz become popular. The tempo was quicker and more intense with up-tempo playing. The new style become known as Chicago jazz style and was very popular. I think that in the darker times of despair for African Americans fighting for equality and rights during this time period, jazz was a positive and exciting part of the culture. While the Great migration didn’t necessarily accomplish everything that African Americans were hoping for, it was an outlet and something the community could take pride in.