Jacob Lawrence’s migration series, The Phillips Collection.
lawrencemigration.phillipscollection.org/the-migration-series
Original captions from selected panels.
The Causes
Panel 1: “During World War I there was a great migration north by southern African Americans.”
Panel 10: “They were very poor.”
Panel 13: “The crops were left to dry and rot. There was no one to tend them.”
Panel 15: “There were lynchings.”
Panel 19: “There had always been discrimination.”
The Journey
Panel 21: “Families arrived at the station very early. They did not wish to miss their trains north.”
Panel 23: “The migration spread.”
Panel 25: “They left their homes. Soon some communities were left almost empty.”
The North
Panel 33: “Letters from relatives in the North told of the better life there.”
Panel 43: “In the North they had the freedom to vote.”
Panel 45: “They found discrimination in the North. It was a different kind.”
Panel 49: “They found the housing and living conditions in the North were bad.”
Panel 60: “And the migrants kept coming.”
Bonus
Langston Hughes reading his poem, “One Way Ticket” (1 min).
youtube.com/watch?v=d_8OtHMXXBs