The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921

by Various

If now we put together here much of what we have learned from the study of this movement, we perceive first of all that it was a social phenomenon representing the maladjustment of almost 500,000 Negroes to their present environment and their escape from this situation by flight to another locality. This maladaptation was the result of defeat of the migrants by natural forces operating in the struggle for existence, and of their failure to overcome the powerful economic and social adversities due to racial prejudice in the Southern society. The floods and boll-weevil pests had, in many cases, either destroyed crops, or rendered the raising of them totally impossible, and in consequence had practically destroyed the very means of subsistence of the Negroes. Added to this were numerous economic and social disadvantages in the form of unjust farming conditions, wretchedly low wages, lynchings, segregation, injustice in the courts, poor housing, poor schools, and so on, all of which tended to make life in the home environment more and more unendurable. While these driving forces were at work, there suddenly loomed up in the North a most unusually large demand for labor, and in this the Negroes saw the possibility of gaining access to an environment where conditions of life seemed much more favorable than those in the present surroundings. Consequently, as a means of escaping the pain of maladaptation and of seeking the pleasure which results from proper adjustment to external conditions, the Negroes simply chose the line of least resistance; that is, flight or migration to the North.

In the next place, we see that the migration was merely one of many such movements which have been in progress for more than fifty years, and that it differs from these only in volume. Its uniqueness, as we said,[174] lies in the fact that it alone brought from the South to the North and West a number of Negroes which exceeds that which resulted from all the combined movements in this direction during a period of forty years. While this is the case, it should not be overlooked, however, that this was due largely to the then existing extraordinary economic and social conditions. At the time of the occurrence of this movement conditions causing the Negroes to desire to leave the South, and opportunities for their employment in Northern industries, were never so favorable and widespread as then. The forces of push and pull, both economic and social, were present and were operating on a scale larger than any hitherto known. It is, therefore, very evident that without these most unusual and favorable conditions this migration either never would have occurred when it did, or if it would have, it would not have acquired such an immense volume.

It has been seen, moreover, that this recent exodus was a sort of spontaneous movement of the masses of the Negro population and not one composed of its leading elements. This fact has been marveled at, because in this migration the rank and file of Negroes, accustomed to being led, showed some initiative by acting of their own accord, and thereby abandoned the old policy of seeking and awaiting the advice of their leaders.[175] While this is true, and is, indeed, a very commendable performance, yet a careful view of the situation will show that it is hardly a phenomenon to be considered a marvelous affair. As we saw in Chapter IV of this dissertation, this movement was largely precipitated and stimulated by the labor agents who were seeking a supply of labor to satisfy the demand of northern industries. The Negroes, then suffering from the pangs of maladaptation, were seeking an avenue of escape, and this was pointed out to them by these agents. The latter offered the Negroes free transportation, and promised them higher wages, better working conditions, better social advantages, and on the whole better things than the southern environment could afford them. In many instances, for a time all the Negroes needed to do was to decide to leave the South, and, thereafter, they had very little to worry about until they had reached their destination places. In this whole matter it seems that the Negroes were confronted with what Professor Sumner calls the first task of life, which is the task of living, not thinking. Conditions in the environment had brought to them necessities which had to be satisfied at once. Need then was their experience and was followed immediately by efforts to satisfy it. This was the impelling force.[176] Through the efforts of the northern labor agents the Negroes obtained instruction as to the means whereby this need might be satisfied. They, therefore, were the actual leaders of the movement, and thus rendered it unnecessary for the Negroes to turn to seek and await the counsels of their customary leaders.

While this movement was in operation, furthermore, the opinion of a few was to the effect that this migration would act as a means of so distributing the Negro population throughout the country as to bring on an equalization of the racial problem. This, it was alleged, would be a good thing, first, because it would remove the fear of race domination in the Southern States and thus deprive them of many of their peculiar characteristics which they have developed in the course of their efforts to keep the Negroes in the background; and, secondly, because it would be of benefit to Negroes, in that it would mean for them better education, more wealth, and greater political power.[177] It is evident that had this movement wrought such results it would have been a social occurrence of extraordinary importance, because it would have, perhaps, accomplished much in the way of lessening the tense friction between the two races; but it produced no such results. The Census of 1920 shows that the North and West had a very large increase in its Negro population during the preceding decade, the number being 472,448, but the Negro population in the Southern States decreased in only a few and remained almost normal in others while actually increasing in some of these commonwealths. In fact, when we consider the effects of past movements upon the distribution of the Negro population in this country, we are forced to the conclusion that such a dissemination of this population can hardly be accomplished through migration. According to the Federal census of 1910, in 1870 the total Negro population of the United States was 4,880,009. Of this number 4,420,811 lived in the South, and 459,198 lived in the North and West.[178] In 1910, forty years later, this same population was 9,827,763, and of this number 8,749,427 resided in the South, whereas only 1,078,336 dwelled in the North and West.[179] Looking at this distribution of population from the standpoint of percentage estimates, we find that in 1870 90.6 per cent of the Negro population lived in the South, whereas only 9.4 per cent lived in the North and West. In 1910, 89 per cent of the total Negro population of the United States was living in the South, while only 11 per cent was living in the other two sections.[180] In 1870, moreover, the number of Negroes born in the South and living in the North and West was 149,100; in 1910 this number had increased to only 440,534.[181] This number, however, was exclusive of that of the migrants who might have died or returned to the South or elsewhere before the taking of the Federal census.

Owing to a number of small and unimportant movements, and this great movement of 1916-18, the Federal census of 1920 shows, on the one hand, a decrease in the percentage of the total Negro population living in some of the Southern States and, on the other, a considerable increase both in the number of Negroes born in the South and living in the North and West, and in the percentage of the total Negro population of the United States residing in these two sections. The point here, however, is that notwithstanding the numerous movements of Negroes from the South since their emancipation, in 1910 nearly nine-tenths of the total Negro population of this country was still living in that section, whereas only a little more than ten per cent was residing in the North and West. This shows that the Negroes in proportion to their numbers are leaving the South very slowly, and that the tendency is for the greater bulk of the Negro population of the United States to remain in that section. This, therefore, seems to preclude the notion of a general dissemination of the Negro population in the United States, unless those conditions which gave rise to the recent large Negro exodus should repeat themselves in such rapid successions as to cause numerous similar movements; but the occurrence of such phenomena, while not altogether impossible, is, to say the least, very highly improbable.

During this movement also migration was suggested as a weapon which the Negroes might use against the South. In this regard the opinion was expressed that since the Negroes cannot defend themselves by the ballot or armed revolt they have in their possession an effective weapon in the form of migration, because it can be used quietly, without open threats, and with telling results. All they need do, when conditions in the South become intolerable, is to move away, provided, however, there are economic opportunities for them in the North. By so doing they will render the South decidedly hard up for labor, and thus force it to make concessions to them or face economic stagnation.[182] While there might be a possibility of putting this suggestion into effect, yet a little inquiry into the nature of migration will show that its use as an economic weapon is greatly limited. For the occurrence of a migration, as has been seen, there must always be both a repellent cause and an attractive cause. These causes, however, do not always occur simultaneously, for while the repellent or drawing cause may be existent, the attractive or beckoning cause may be non-existent and vice versa. Hence, in either case there will be no migration, because it is the tendency of man to prefer to remain in the environment to which he has become accustomed, even under most adverse conditions, or to leave it only when he feels certain that another environment offers him advantages superior to those afforded him by his home surroundings.

According to this principle, then, there might occur repeated instances in which conditions in the South may become very distressing, but unattended by signs of better things in the North. This would, no doubt, result in compelling the Negroes, for the most part, to remain where they are. In a word, a migration, in the true sense of the word, is not a phenomenon brought about by the mere whims or fancies of the individuals or groups participating, but is rather brought into being by a sort of rational response to certain economic and social laws. A movement engendered otherwise is almost certain to bring disaster to the migrants, as was the case in the Negro exodus to Kansas in 1879.[183] The occasion for a Negro migration of sufficient volume to affect the industries of the South, moreover, as did this recent one, might require such a long time for its occurrence as to render the force of the migration as a weapon almost nihil. On account of the peculiar position in which the Negroes find themselves placed, therefore, it might be well if they had in their possession some economic instrument by which they might peaceably force concessions from the South, and thereby remove many of the obstacles in the way of their progress; for it is hardly possible that they will accomplish this through the agency of migration.

Another thing in regard to this movement is that it has undoubtedly taught the South a few lessons. First of all, it must have brought home the fact that the Negroes, to a very large extent, are dissatisfied with conditions in the South; that they resent the economic and social injustices done to them; that they are not wholly anchored to this section; and that large numbers are ready to leave whenever there are signs of favorable opportunities for them in the North and West. As never before, perhaps, moreover, the South has been made to realize the economic value of the Negroes. It has been brought to see the valuable asset it possesses in having at hand this almost illimitable supply of labor so well adapted to its climate and industries, and that there are possibilities of its losing it to such an extent as to endanger very seriously its economic interests. The migration, moreover, has, on the whole, demonstrated to a large part of the better elements of the South that the Negro has not been getting a square deal; that in dealing with him rough methods will not work; and that if the South would have the Negro remain there, "the conditions under which he lives must be kindlier, the collective attitude of the white people toward him friendlier, and that equal opportunities with the whites for his prosperity, enjoyment of life, and the education of his children, must be assured him, not grudgingly, but gladly and abundantly."[184] In a word, the realization is that in order to allay his discontent with conditions in the South, the Negro must in every way be given a man's chance.

The migration likewise is not without its lessons to the Negroes themselves. In the first place, it must be evident to many that moving from the South to the North is no mere trifling affair, but rather a matter of serious concern. It causes the migrants to change suddenly from a mild climate, comparatively easy and slow-moving types of occupations, and relatively simple living conditions to a climate that is for the most part severe, to hard, relentless, and pace-set work of various kinds, and to very complex living conditions. This sudden shift from the old to the new locality brings many hardships and misfortunes to the migrants, because it means for them the putting forth of strenuous efforts for a long period of time in order to make themselves fit for the new occupations, crowded and unsanitary conditions of living, grave problems of health, and much delinquency and crime among them. It brings, also, additional burdens upon the communities of the North and West, because they are compelled to expend much energy, time and money in creating and maintaining social agencies for the purpose of helping the newcomers to adjust themselves to the new surroundings. It means, again, the increasing of the friction between the two races which frequently results in horrible race riots like those of Chicago and East St. Louis.