Although I have learned about the migration within the country, where African Americans from the South moved up to the North to begin a new life, the excerpts found in “Warmth of Other Suns” really brought the journey to life. I was most affected by the fourth book with Ida Mae Brandon Gladney’s experience trying to rebuild her life, as well as the descriptive riots. When learning about this in history class, it is extremely objective and you do feel sympathy, but reading first hand accounts tug on the reader’s emotions, which is exactly what it did to me.
While reading Gladney’s time in Milwaukee, most of her experience was familiar. Moving up North would require her husband to find a job, and it was given that during that time it would be difficult for her husband to find a stable job. Especially since the war had just ended and soldiers were coming back home, which would mean they would take their jobs back. However, it seems that when Gladney’s migrated to the North most jobs were not available. Even if that were the case, it may be possible for her husband to find a job for cheap labor. However, according to Gladney’s it did not seem so since they moved to Chicago.
Before Mr. Gladney’s had moved to Chicago to find a more stable job to support his family, Ida Gladney’s was pregnant and had traveled down South to give birth. I found this extremely interesting. This is the first I’ve ever heard of people traveling down South to give birth. If Ida was already in the North, would it not have been better to give birth there as it would save money and be more convenient? Also, was it not possible to find a midwife in the North? Regardless, Ida’s decision appears to have led Mr. Gladney’s choice to move to Chicago. If Ida had stayed in the North to give birth, I do not think Mr. Gladney’s would have moved to Chicago and they would not have gotten their own small home. Mr. Gladney’s hard work as an iceman that helped buy a home for his family illustrated how even after slavery ended life was still hard for African Americans.
During the Gladney family’s time in Chicago, riots were erupting everywhere. The stories mentioned, such as a young African American boy being killed and stirring up riots, were extremely heart-wrenching. These accounts made the riots that killed and injured so many people feel more real instead of just being statistically told from a history textbook of what happened. Also, these stories illustrate the extremity of the racial tension and conflict.
From Ida’s experience, I got to understand from her first hand experience of the hardships that she faced. Many of them are similar to the hardships that many immigrants of other ethnicity faced. From her time to the present, many things have changed and it feels unrealistic that all these racial discrimination and hardships existed back then. However, I believe it is inevitable that all past occurrences happened; because they happened, we are where we are today.
