" The North was the Promised Land. It was the land of hope. But it was not quite the fulfillment of the Promised Land as we had anticipated. Yes, they had better jobs, your children could go to better schools, and they could vote. But there were so many other obstacles, like racism: the transfer of the Jim Crow of the South, to the racism of the North."

Between the turn of the century and 1930, more than 1 million black southerners set out on one of America's most important mass movements. These people migrated from the South's countryside to the cities in the North. They hoped to find better jobs, a new sense of citizenship, and a new respect for themselves, their families, and a chance at a new life.

In 1863 the black population experienced the abolition of slavery by the Emancipation Proclamation, but slavery lasted many years until their arrival in urban America. To understand why they left the rural South we first must go back and review the harsh and unbearable conditions that forced them to migrate. Even before the Civil War, the Dred Scott Decision showed the situation of Afri

To many migrating African Americans the move up north was considered to be second chance at life, a new beginning. A place long away from prejudice, hurt, inequality, and ignorance. But for the many who moved there it seemed as though the South had followed, and in spite of the numerous attempts of discouraging the African American population at succeeding , they prevailed.

In the 1880's more than half of all African Americans living in the south worked in agriculture and 30% were domestic servants. Professionals were very rare, and formed only 1% of the population (Sowell,T.,p 203). Most worked as tenant farmers, and were kept in poverty, because of their illiteracy many African Americans weren't given fair pay for their work however this handicap didn't allow them to know they were being cheated. Even so, the changing character of the American black during these times was reflected in the changing economic relations between the whites and the blacks. The white landowners started to compete for laborers, while the black sharecroppers began having more experience in managing farms, thus leading to more independence for blacks. In 1890 one quarter of all black farmers were owners rather than renters, there was also no wage difference between blacks and whites( Sowell, T.,p 201). Instead the discrimination existed more in the form of the refusal to hire African Americans for good paying jobs, as a result they were bound to their farming and service jobs and not given a chance in other areas. The hard working people of the South could, no longer tolerate this discrimination. Hearing that the North didn't share most of the same racist values as the south did appealed to most southern blacks. They wanted a chance to experience life without restrictions or unfair laws. Thi

Some common words found in the essay are:
African Americans, Alabama Tennessee, Court United, Hearing North, Crow South, South Created, North Sloan, Black Scholars, Emancipation Proclamation, Promised Land, african americans, mechanical cotton picker, tenant farmers, chance life, african american, black population, black people, cotton picker, paying jobs, step leading, mechanical cotton,
Approximate Word count = 1228
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)