Ida Mae’s story of the great migration is one I’ve read about countless times in history class, but being able to follow one woman’s journey north really made realize what hardships migrating African Americans faced coming north. It really shocked me how, although born in America, her journey was very similar to all other immigrants coming to the country, expect harder. I would think not having a language barrier would make the transition easier for migrating African Americas, but in reality racism from both the white locals and immigrants stifled African America’s opportunities.

I found it interesting this theme of her story of immigration compared to every other immigrants’ story (even today), although she didn’t move across countries. Much like Ida Mae, when I moved to America I saw it as a strange “alien” land with weird food and strange cultures. And as her family members came to visit her from the south, so too, do many immigrants have family consistently coming over to experience America. The most similar experience I have are the same as her kids when they talk to their visiting relatives. They comment on how naïve and open they are, not really understanding what it means to live in a city. Also, how you start feeling disconnected from your relatives, since you’re growing up not only away from them but also in a completely different environment. This really opened up my eyes to how different and segregated geography was back then, because it’s really poignant that Ida Mae had the same culture shock as immigrants crossing the Atlantic when she only had to cross the Mason-Dixon line.