The Great Migration was one of the largest internal movements in U.S. history: about six million African Americans left the Jim Crow South in waves from the 1910s through the 1970s (EK 3.16.A.1). They moved to the North, Midwest, and West seeking better-paying industrial jobs (labor shortages during WWI and WWII), relief from environmental disasters (floods, boll weevils, ruined crops), and safety from lynching and racial violence (EK 3.16.A.2–A.4). New rail networks and encouragement from the Black press made relocation more possible and organized (EK 3.16.A.5). The migration reshaped cities (New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles), turned Black communities urban, and fueled cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance (EK 3.16.B.1–B.2). For AP review, study the required sources (Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, the Great Migration map, and The Messenger piece) and try practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies). For the topic study guide see (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E).

About 6 million African Americans left the South from the 1910s to the 1970s because push-and-pull factors made leaving both necessary and possible. Push factors: Jim Crow laws, widespread racial violence and lynching, and economic ruin from floods, boll weevils, and exploitative sharecropping left many Black families impoverished and unsafe. Pull factors: labor shortages in northern and midwestern factories during World War I and World War II created jobs and higher wages. The migration was enabled by expanded rail travel and encouragement from the Black press, which gave practical information and hope. The move reshaped Black life—turning many rural Southerners into urban residents and fueling cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance (CED EKs 3.16.A.1–A.5, 3.16.B.1–B.2). For AP prep, you might see this on multiple-choice or short-answer questions; review the Topic 3.16 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Both world wars opened lots of industrial jobs in northern cities by creating labor shortages and higher wartime demand. During WWI and WWII many white workers were drafted or moved to war industries elsewhere, and European immigration fell—so factories, shipyards, steel mills, and munitions plants needed workers quickly. EK 3.16.A.2 notes those northern labor gaps increased opportunities that attracted Black Southerners seeking better pay and stability. Trains made travel possible and the Black press spread news and tips about jobs and housing (EK 3.16.A.5). These wartime job booms powered the major waves of the Great Migration (1910s–1970s) that transformed Black communities and culture (see EK 3.16.A.1 and EK 3.16.B.1). For AP review, study the Jacob Lawrence Migration Series and the March-decade migration map in the CED-required sources and practice related questions on Fiveable (topic guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E; practice: https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Boll weevils were tiny beetles that fed on cotton bolls and ruined cotton crops across the South from the late 1800s into the 1920s–30s. Because Black Southerners were mainly sharecroppers or tenant farmers tied to cotton, a boll weevil infestation meant no harvest, no pay, and often crushing debt. Combined with periodic floods (like the 1927 Mississippi flood), soil exhaustion, and other spoiled crops, these environmental shocks pushed many Black families into poverty and food insecurity. Those conditions—along with Jim Crow violence and new job openings in Northern industry—made leaving the South a practical choice. The CED lists these environmental factors as a main cause of the Great Migration (LO 3.16.A; EK 3.16.A.3). For a concise topic review, see the AP study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E). For practice questions on this unit, check Fiveable’s practice bank (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Short answer: railroads made the move physically possible and faster; the Black press made it practical and persuasive. Railroads: Expanded rail lines linked Southern towns to northern, Midwestern, and western cities, so families could travel by train instead of walking or using local, slow transport. Trains were faster, could carry belongings, and lowered the time and cost of moving—so relocating millions over decades became realistic (CED EK 3.16.A.5). Black newspapers: Papers like The Messenger, The Chicago Defender, and others published encouragement, job notices, housing tips, and practical instructions (how to buy a ticket, where to find work or help on arrival). They also framed northern cities as safer alternatives to Jim Crow violence, which pushed people to leave (CED EK 3.16.A.4–A.5). The Anonymous Letter in The Messenger is a primary example. For more detail for the AP exam (LO 3.16.A / EK 3.16.A.5), check the topic study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E). For extra practice, try Fiveable’s practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

The big difference: the Great Migration was an internal migration—six million Black Americans moving from the rural Jim Crow South to Northern, Midwestern, and Western cities between the 1910s and 1970s—while most “immigration” movements involve people crossing national borders. Causes were also specific: Northern industrial labor shortages (WWI & WWII), environmental problems like boll weevils and floods, and escaping lynching and Jim Crow (EK 3.16.A.1–A.4). It relied on railroads and the Black press for info (EK 3.16.A.5). Effects mattered for U.S. cities and culture: rapid urbanization, increased racial tensions, and cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance (EK 3.16.B.1–B.3). For AP exam prep, focus on causes (LO 3.16.A) and impacts on Black communities and culture (LO 3.16.B); review Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and the Great Migration map in the topic study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

The Great Migration reshaped cities like Chicago, New York (especially Harlem), and Los Angeles by turning Black Southerners into primarily urban dwellers, bringing Southern culture, labor, and political energy into northern and western metropolises. Millions moved for factory jobs (WWI/WWII labor shortages), escape from lynching and Jim Crow, and better economic opportunity (CED EK 3.16.A.2–A.4). In Chicago and New York Black populations grew rapidly, creating dense Black neighborhoods, new churches, businesses, and arts scenes (e.g., the Harlem Renaissance) and fueling artists like Jacob Lawrence (Migration Series). In Los Angeles migrants built communities in segregated neighborhoods, changing the city’s demographics and culture. But migration also increased racial tensions over jobs and housing, led to segregation and discriminatory practices, and spurred organizations like the National Urban League to help migrants adapt (CED EK 3.16.B.1, B.3–B.4). For more review, check the Topic 3.16 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

The National Urban League, founded in New York City in 1910 as an interracial organization, helped Black migrants move from the rural Jim Crow South into northern and midwestern cities (CED EK 3.16.B.4). During the Great Migration it provided practical support—job placement, vocational training, and help finding decent housing—so newcomers could acclimate to urban life and compete for industrial work created by wartime labor shortages (CED EK 3.16.A.2; EK 3.16.B.2). The League also advocated for fair employment and worked with labor and civil-rights leaders (later supporting A. Philip Randolph’s 1941 March on Washington and partnering with the SCLC). On the exam, the League is a clear example you can use to explain institutional responses that eased migration’s social and economic transition and reshaped Black urban communities. For a concise Topic 3.16 review, see the Fiveable study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Southern employers tried to arrest Black people who were leaving because they wanted to stop the loss of cheap labor and keep the racial labor system of the Jim Crow South intact. As millions (about six million across 1910s–1970s) began to migrate, planters, merchants, and local officials used laws and informal violence to block departures: debt peonage and sharecropping contracts, vagrancy and “breach of contract” laws, and arrests for petty offenses were common tactics to force people to stay and work. Local police and courts often backed employers, so arrests were a way to punish flight and deter others. This repression is part of why migrants looked North for safer economic opportunity and refuge from lynching and legal coercion (see the Topic 3.16 study guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E). For AP responses, link this to causes (EK 3.16.A) and impacts (EK 3.16.B.3) when explaining how the Great Migration reshaped labor, cities, and Black communities. For more practice, try Fiveable’s unit review and practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3 and https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Start with a clear thesis that answers the prompt (causes and effects) and sets a line of reasoning. Quickly give context: late 19th–mid 20th century Jim Crow South, boll weevil/floods, WWI/WWII labor shortages. Use at least 3 documents (e.g., the anonymous Messenger letter, Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series Panel No.1, and the migration map) to support your claims. For each body paragraph: group docs by theme (economic causes, environmental + violence causes, urban and cultural effects), summarize specific evidence from the documents, and connect that evidence to your thesis with reasoning (causation and change over time). Include 1+ piece of outside evidence (National Urban League, A. Philip Randolph, or Harlem Renaissance). For source use, explain perspective/purpose for at least two documents (who wrote it and why it matters). End with a short synthesis linking the Great Migration to larger U.S. urban and cultural change. For more tips and practice DBQs, see the topic study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

The Great Migration had deep, long-term consequences for Black communities and U.S. culture. Between the 1910s–1970s about six million African Americans moved from the rural Jim Crow South to northern, midwestern, and western cities (EK 3.16.A.1). Long-term effects included urbanization of Black life (EK 3.16.B.2), the spread of Southern Black culture into cities—fueling cultural movements like the Harlem Renaissance—and new, shared Black identities across regions (EK 3.16.B.1). Economically, migrants expanded the Black urban labor force, which increased opportunities but also intensified racial tensions and discrimination in housing and jobs (EK 3.16.B.3). Institutions like the National Urban League helped migrants adapt and later supported civil-rights actions (EK 3.16.B.4). For the AP exam, you should connect these effects to causes (labor shortages, violence, environmental hardship) and use Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and the Great Migration map as evidence (see the Topic 3.16 study guide: https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E). For extra practice, try Fiveable’s practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series (1940–41) is a set of 60 small paintings that tell the story of the Great Migration—why millions of Black Southerners left for northern, Midwestern, and western cities between the 1910s and 1970s. In simple terms: Lawrence uses bold, flat colors and simple figures (social realism) to show causes (economic hardship, boll weevils, Jim Crow violence), the trip (trains, new rail networks), and the mixed outcomes (better jobs but new urban tensions). Panel No. 1, for example, introduces people deciding to leave the South—hopeful but anxious. The series is a required source in the CED for Topic 3.16 and helps you connect EKs about labor shortages, safety, the Black press, and cultural change. If you’re studying for the AP exam, use the Fiveable study guide on this topic (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies) to practice source-analysis and short-answer skills.

The Great Migration turned about six million Black Southerners (1910s–1970s) from mostly rural, agricultural people into primarily urban residents by moving them into northern, midwestern, and western industrial cities for jobs, safety, and opportunity. Labor shortages in WWI and WWII pulled migrants to factories; environmental disasters (boll weevils, floods) and Jim Crow violence pushed them out. Once in cities, Black communities reshaped urban neighborhoods—bringing Southern culture, forming new social networks, and shifting connections to nature from work to leisure. Institutions like the National Urban League helped with housing and jobs, while cultural movements (Harlem Renaissance) and Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series show how identities and politics changed. That shift also raised racial tensions over jobs and housing, creating new urban struggles and organizing efforts. For more CED-aligned review, see the Topic 3.16 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice problems (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

The Great Migration changed American culture in big, concrete ways. Between the 1910s and 1970s about six million Black Southerners moved to northern, midwestern, and western cities, turning Black communities from mostly rural to mostly urban (EK 3.16.A.1; EK 3.16.B.2). They brought Southern Black culture—music (blues, jazz), food, religious styles, and dialects—into cities like New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles, fueling movements like the Harlem Renaissance and changing national arts and entertainment (EK 3.16.B.1). Urban migration also reshaped politics and civil rights organizing (e.g., National Urban League’s work) and increased racial tensions over jobs and housing, which helped drive later activism (EK 3.16.B.3–4). For AP prep, you should tie these cultural shifts to causes (labor shortages, Jim Crow, boll weevils) and use sources like Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series. For a focused review, see the Topic 3.16 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and try practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).

Lynching and Jim Crow laws were major "push" factors that drove millions of Black Southerners to leave. Extrajudicial lynching and widespread racial violence created everyday physical danger and a climate of terror; families left to find safety for children and loved ones (CED EK 3.16.A.4). Jim Crow laws legalized segregation, disenfranchised Black people, and limited economic mobility—locking many into exploitative sharecropping and denying political recourse. Together, violence plus legal oppression made the North’s factory jobs and relative freedoms far more attractive (EK 3.16.A.2). On the AP exam you should connect these push factors to migration numbers, cultural effects in northern cities (EK 3.16.B.1–B.2), and primary sources like Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series. For a focused review, see the Topic 3.16 study guide (https://library.fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/16-the-great-migration/study-guide/svjt3P3WJXeyqr7E) and practice questions (https://library.fiveable.me/practice/ap-african-american-studies).