Twentieth-Century Black Migration | APAAS

Twentieth-Century Black Migration

A black-and-white photograph of Marcus Garvey, a Black man wearing a dark suit, light-colored vest, white shirt, and dark tie, sitting in a wooden chair next to a desk filled with papers, holding a handkerchief in his right hand and a gavel in his left.

  • Topics 3.16–3.18

AP African American Studies Guide

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Topic 3.16

The Great Migration

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.16.A

Describe the causes of the Great Migration.

LO 3.16.B

Explain the impact of the Great Migration on Black communities and American culture.

Essentials

Terms

  • Great Migration
  • March on Washington

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Cover of the Messenger magazine for March 1920, featuring two torches held by disembodied hands on either side of a wreath, within which features the contents of that month's issue.

“Negroes, Leave the South!”

1920

Read an anonymous editorial calling on African Americans to move north, east, and west for safety and opportunities.

  • Primary Source

Image Gallery: Jacob Lawrence, The Migration Series (1940–1941)

These five panels are some of the sixty in Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series. Each panel is a twelve-inch by eighteen-inch painting (tempera on hardboard). View the full series, divided among the Museum of Modern Art and the Phillips Collection, along with interviews with the artist on the series, on the Phillips Collection website.

A stylized painting of a crowd of Black men and women wearing coats of different colors — green, black, and orange predominate — heading through gateways reading "Chicago," "New York," and "St. Louis."
A stylized painting of six Black men wearing overalls and shirts of many colors — green, orange, black, and white — with three in either yellow or green hats, standing in line in a bare field as a White labor agent (wearing a black coat and black hat with gray brim) writes names on a yellow piece of paper with a red pen or pencil.
A stylized painting: at left, two White men in black suits, each at their own table in a restaurant. They are separated by a gold fence from a Black man, a Black couple (one man, one woman), and a Black woman sitting at their own tables.
A stylized painting: at left, two White men in black suits, each at their own table in a restaurant. They are separated by a gold fence from a Black man, a Black couple (one man, one woman), and a Black woman sitting at their own tables.
A stylized painting of a crowd of Black men and women wearing coats of different colors — green, black, orange, and light blue predominate — with their similarly colored luggage.

Additional Resources

You can further develop your knowledge of this topic with primary and secondary sources.

Map of the United States with arrows noting migration corridors from the South to Northeast, Midwest, and West.

The Second Great Migration

by Michael Siegel and Rutgers Cartography

Visualize the second wave of the Great Migration on this map.

  • Thematic Map
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Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


Explore the waves of the Great Migration in this video.

Resources from Our Partners

We have teamed up with New American History on interactive resources exploring America’s past and harnessing the power of digital media, curiosity, and inquiry.

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Southern Journey: The Migrations of the American South, 1790-2020

Explore and analyze historical and spatial data from the Great Migration in this collection of StoryMaps.

Explore Activity

Topic 3.17

Afro-Caribbean Migration

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.17.A

Explain the reasons for the increase in Black Caribbean migration to the United States during the first half of the twentieth century.

LO 3.17.B

Describe the effects of Afro-Caribbean migration to the United States in the early twentieth century and the migration’s effect on African American communities.

Essentials

Terms

  • Afro-Caribbeans

Places/Geography

  • Panama Canal

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

Topic 3.18

The Universal Negro Improvement Association

Learning Objectives

Essentials

Learning Objectives

LO 3.18.A

Describe the mission and methods of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

LO 3.18.B

Describe the impact of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) on political thought throughout the African diaspora.

Essentials

People

  • Marcus Garvey

Organizations

  • Universal Negro Improvement Association
  • Black Star Line

Required Sources

You will need to understand and be able to use these materials for the AP exam.

A black-and-white photograph of Marcus Garvey, a Black man wearing a dark suit, light-colored vest, white shirt, and dark tie, sitting in a wooden chair next to a desk filled with papers, holding a handkerchief in his right hand and a gavel in his left.

Marcus Garvey at His Desk

1924

View this photograph of Marcus Garvey, the founder and leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

  • Primary Source
An open-topped car with four passengers in a parade. The driver is a Black man with a dark jacket, white shirt, dark tie, and dark driver's cap. In the back seat, from left to right, is a Black man in a military uniform; a Black man wearing academic regalia; Marcus Garvey, a Black man, wearing a military uniform and holding a sword. Next to the car is a Black man wearing a dark jacket, white shirt, and striped tie. In the background are apartment buildings, where Black people are looking on at the parade.

Marcus Garvey in Harlem

1924

View another photograph of Garvey and an entourage, as captured by James Van Der Zee.

  • Primary Source

Featured Videos

These videos from Black History in Two Minutes (or So) feature condensed, engaging, and fact-packed stories.


Learn more about the life and work of Marcus Garvey in this video.