Lecture Notes: The Black Belt and African American Migration in the United States

Introduction to the Black Belt

Definition: Region named for its fertile soil
Demographics: Historically, over 90% of America's largest minority group, African Americans, lived here

Post-Emancipation: After 1865, the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery
Amendments:
- 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments enfranchised people of color
- Majority of Black Americans gained control over their destinies
Life in the South:
- Many stayed in their communities
- Worked as sharecroppers, often only paid by living on the property
- Jim Crow Laws: Rigid caste system dictating life, severe restrictions

First Wave (1915-1929):
- Triggered by WWI labor demands and immigration restrictions
- Factories recruited low-skilled workers from the South
- Challenges:
  - Discrimination
  - Red Summer of 1919: Tension over housing and resources
- Cultural Outcome:
  - Harlem Renaissance: Redefined cultural image of Blacks
- Ended by the Great Depression
Second Wave (1940s-1970s):
- Triggered by WWII
- Southern agricultural decline
- Increased migration to Western manufacturing hubs
- Persistent discrimination
- Segregated neighborhoods and racial tensions
- Estimated 5-8 million resettled outside the South

1960s Onward:
- Introduction of a new racial identity vision
- Advocacy for equality
- Changes in immigration policies leading to multicultural immigration
- Rise of the Black middle class

Suburbanization:
- Movement to suburbs over past 20-25 years
- Led by younger generations with better education opportunities
Return to the South:
- Southern states leading in Black population growth since the 1970s
- Modest population share growth (4%)

Current Migration Motive: Search for agency and opportunity rather than fleeing violence
Comparison: Different in scope and impact compared to past migrations