Blog Entry #4

great.jpg http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA03/faturoti/harlem/collage/images/great.jpg
(9 March 2008).


The Great Migration, simply put, was the mass movement of black workers from their homes in the South to new homes and employment opportunities in the North and the Midwest. The Great Migration itself, however, is much deeper than such a simple description indicates. In fact, the Great Migration was a complicated and in many ways a very arduous journey for many southern blacks.

The Great Migration began in earnest during the mid-1910s and continued for several decades. The greatest fraction of movement occurred during the late 1910s and early 1920s. Chicago, New York, Detroit and Cleveland saw very significant increases in the black population during the migration as blacks headed for the promise of steady work and decent pay in these industrial centers. Unfortunately the issues of discrimination did not remain in the south and finding jobs remained difficult for those who searched for a better life in the north. It was not until the Immigration Act of 1924 that a majority of the black population saw job opportunities open up in these industrial areas.

Moving to cities like Chicago and New York, as mentioned earlier, did not distance migrating blacks from the spectre of discrimination. Chicago neighborhoods tried to pass segregation ordinances but the Supreme Court struck the laws down as unconstitutional. Not to be outdone, white neighborhoods instituted neighborhood pacts forbidding the white homeowners in a neighborhood from selling to black families. These pacts were never challenged with much success, and the migrating blacks found themselves in less-than-desirable neighborhoods or poorer sections of the city. When unable to find an appropriate neighborhood to move to, many blacks simply congregated together and formed a neighborhood of their own. Harlem, a borough in New York, is a very good example of a once-white neighborhood changing over to a black population during the migration.




rush.jpg. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA03/faturoti/harlem/collage/advent.html
(9 March 2008).

The end result of the Great Migration was primarily a reluctant process of integration that just did not begin in the South. It did not mean the end of racial discrimination and even racial violence, but it did signal a shift in this country toward a level of racial tolerance not previously seen. Still, it would be several decades before racial equality and civil rights moved to the forefront of the American consciousness. Perhaps the citizens of the major cities that were recipients of the black population during the Great Migration were more prepared for the civil rights movement than others.

Blog Entry #3-Free Speech during WWI

deportation.jpg http://pittstate.angellearning.com/section/default.asp?id=MRG%2D080117%2D112930%2Dkwoestman (22 February 2008).

Few things in US history and politics have been more discussed and protected than the rights of free speech and by extension “freedom of thought.” The idea that anyone in the US can share his or her political and personal views on nearly any subject without threat of censure (unless such views are considered offensive or in the category of “hate” propaganda) is a fundamental right in our country. Unfortunately, the rules regarding the freedom of speech are easily changed during wartime, and the period during and immediately after World War I is an excellent illustration of how these rules were changed. Any thoughts expressed that did not support the war unfortunately were quickly and forcefully repressed. One of the most shameful acts of this time period came with the Palmer Raids and the deportation of 249 resident aliens, including noted feminist Emma Goldman. The 249 were put on a ship and sent to Russia, to be with what Palmer and his cronies felt were like-minded communists. Such thoughts continued throughout World War II and Korea, and many people, including Hollywood stars, found their reputations ruined or put into question during the McCarthy hearings in 1950. Fortunately, such attitudes loosened by Vietnam, and nothing illustrates this better than the actions of Jane Fonda during the Vietnam Conflict. Despite her highly controversial interviews and comments, she was never prosecuted or arrested as a seditionist, indicating that freedom of speech had become of paramount importance. Even today in the war on terror it is easy to see that despite provisions in the Patriot Act, those who express opposition and disgust with the current administration’s conduct of the war and the righteousness of the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan do so without fear of arrest and prosecution.