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South Front Street House, Philadelphia, PA (credit LOC).

Black Homeownership Before World War II

From the 1920s-1940s, North, West, and South Philadelphia saw its Black population increase by 50-80% as white flight occurred.
Photograph of horse and buggy carrying Black family migrating North

A Brief History of the Great Migration, when 6 Million Black People Left the South

The Great Migration in the 20th century changed the face of America. For the past few decades, it's been reversing.
A visualization of the Great Migration depicting individual journeys with lines between cities.

The Great Migration

1915 marked the beginning of the largest domestic migration in American history. Hundreds of thousands of Black Americans began relocating north.

One Family’s Story of the Great Migration North

Bridgett M. Davis tracks her mother's journey from Nashville to Detroit.

Stop Calling it ‘The Great Migration’

For people of color watching over their shoulder, the fear of police interference harkens back to a historical moment with a much-too-benign label.
Photo of Black woman and boy posing with a car packed with their belongings during the Great Migration.

The Hosts of Black Labor

The South must reform its attitude toward the Negro. The North must reform its attitude toward common labor. 
Blair LM Kelley

Talking Black Joy and Black Freedom with Blair LM Kelley

“The world didn’t give It, but the world can’t take It away.”
Fred Grey photographed in front of a book shelf of law books.
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The History of Segregation Scholarships

A narrative not of brain drain but of Black aspiration.

The Making of the Springfield Working Class

Each generation of this country’s workforce has always been urged to detest the next—to come up with its own fantasies of cat-eating immigrants.
W.E.B. Du Bois

When Did Black Voters Shift to Democrats? Earlier Than You Might Think

A look at how and why African Americans first started to abandon the GOP for the Democratic Party.
A painting of a crowd of people heading through gates labeled Chicago, New York, and St. Louis.

Fog From Harlem: Recovering a New Negro Renaissance in the American Midwest

How the focus on Harlem obfuscated Black culture in the Midwest.
A Black person points to Neshoba county on a map of Mississippi.

The Lynching That Sent My Family North

How we rediscovered the tragedy in Mississippi that ushered us into the Great Migration.
Black nurses and Sea View Hospital.

The ‘Black Angels’ Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis

Professional nurses who moved north during the Great Migration worked in New York City’s most contagious sanatorium — and changed the course of public health.
A man wearing a COVID mask giving a passionate speech

Philadelphia's Fight Against Gun Violence, Poverty, and Crime

For decades, Philadelphia has struggled with poverty and gun violence. Social uplift organizations of the past have demonstrated that racial equity is the key.
Black man standing beside barbecue stand, Pittsburgh 1933.

Pittsburgh Reformers and the Black Freedom Struggle

Historian Adam Lee Cilli effectively illustrates the centrality of Black Pittsburgh within the larger Black Freedom Struggle.
Four women looking away from the camera and smiling.

Fairytale

The Pointer Sisters, the Great Migration, and the soul of country.
Black and white photo of an African American family near Southern Pines, N.C. North Carolina Southern Pines

The Black Family, Landownership, and Tobacco Culture

In the US, where less than one percent of the land is owned by black people, Black landownership has historically been a means to challenge economic oppression.
Black Americans getting off a bus during a "reverse freedom ride."

Racist Busing Rides Again

Moving migrants from Texas to Democratic strongholds is not new. The Reverse Freedom Rides of the 1960s hold lessons for activists of today.
Picture of Donna Murch and her new book. (Photo by Don J. Usner)

The Long History of Resistance That Birthed Black Lives Matter

A conversation with historian Donna Murch about the past, present, and future of Black radical organizing.
Collage of a residential security map.

The Lasting Legacy Of Redlining

We looked at 138 formerly redlined cities and found most were still segregated — just like they were designed to be.
Title card of the article styled like a Tina Turner album cover.

Manhattan in East St. Louis

The Club Manhattan could hold about 250 people. They did not know it at the time, but they were the earliest witnesses to the rise of the Queen of Rock & Roll.
Chart of Black Population by state in 1860.

Black Population by State, 1790–2019

A Flourish data visualisation by Bill Black.
President Truman with Sadie Alexander and the Committee on Civil Rights.
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The Ideas of the First Black Economics PhD Offer Solutions to Our Problems Today

Full employment could solve job discrimination and inadequate wages.
The front page of the Chicago Defender on August 2, 1919.

The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project

Why are Chicago’s race riots of 1919 overlooked in the city’s collective memory? A new project tells the stories of the 38 killed, and the legacy of racism in the U.S.
Street protest in Hamburg, Germany

The Black Refugee Tradition

Undocumented Black migrants struggle to have their asylum rights recognized in the United States. Groups have been asking President Biden to stop deportations.
St. Louis arch

The Arch of Injustice

St. Louis seems to define America’s past—but does it offer insight for the future?

Everything You Know About Mass Incarceration Is Wrong

The US carceral state is a monstrosity with few parallels in history. But most accounts fail to understand how it was created, and how we can dismantle it.
Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the Freedom March on Washington in 1963.

How a Heritage of Black Preaching Shaped MLK's Voice in Calling for Justice

A long heritage of black preachers who played an important role for enslaved people shaped Martin Luther King Jr.‘s moral and ethical vision.

The Power of the Black Working Class

In order to understand America, we have to understand the struggles of the black working class.

Building America

The making of the black working class.

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