The silent migration that occurred after World War I is indeed the most underreported story in the history books and consequently, in classrooms across the country. In addition, the outbreak of racial violence that occurred after blacks migrated to the North was surprising because it displayed more tension than the South. Yet, amidst everything, Ida Mae and family seem to retain their sanity without losing hope.
It is difficult to believe that the migration of six million African Americans can amount to a mere footnote in the New York school system. During all my years of schooling, I have only heard of the Great Migration about twice. Both accounts were brief. Even in our previous interdisciplinary studies class, which had a focus on the movement of people in NYC, there was never even a substantial mention of the Great Migration. This strikes me as odd. Is there still a subtle hint of racism in our history classes? Is it not important enough? It almost seems as though this vast and leaderless pilgrimage was silently swept under the carpet.
As I was reading Ida Mae’s story, I had an expectation that her family would find a better and less racially diverged society waiting for them up North. However, it seemed that the racial tensions of the North was no different from the segregation of the South. It could be said that the Great Migration was a form of rebellion against the Jim Crow South. However, the riots that broke out in the south side of Chicago were, in some ways, more intense than the lynching that occurred in the South. Hence, it seemed as though blacks of the mid 20th century fled one curse for another.
Still, amidst the intense violence and racial tension, it seems as though Ida Mae’s attitude is extremely nonchalant. For one thing, I never got the sense that her family lost hope. In fact, they seem to accept the status quo. They seemed ambivalent to the way whites treated blacks. At times, I felt that other people (such Miss McClenna, and even myself) were more outraged at racism than Ida Mae herself. Yet, it seems that even through oppression, exclusion, unsavory living conditions, lack of jobs, unfair and unjust treatment, Ida Mae’s family never seemed to retaliate with anger.
Altogether, the Great Migration still stands as the most underreported story in the 20th century. Yet, for all their efforts to escape the segregation of the South, it didn’t seem as though blacks found immediate comfort in the cities of the North. Nonetheless, as seen with Ida Mae and family, there remained a strong resilience among the African American community.
