The Great Migration

Hello there. My name is Jacob Lawrence, and I am a painter. Instead of using words to write a book, I use bright colors and bold shapes to tell stories on canvas. The story I want to share with you is one of the most important in my life, and in the history of my country. It is the story of my own family and of millions of other African American families who made a journey that changed America forever. We call this journey the Great Migration. It began around the year 1916, when I was not yet born, but its story shaped my entire world. My parents lived in the southern United States, where life was very difficult for Black people. There were unfair rules that kept us from having the same chances as white people. It was hard to find good jobs, our schools were not given enough money, and it often felt unsafe. Because of this, my parents, and so many others, began to dream of a better life somewhere else. They heard stories about cities in the North where there were factory jobs and a chance for their children to get a better education. This hope for a new beginning was the reason they decided to leave their homes behind.

I remember hearing the stories from my parents and our neighbors about the difficult decision to leave. It was not easy. They had to leave behind family, friends, and the only homes they had ever known. Packing meant choosing just a few special belongings that could fit into a single suitcase. Imagine having to decide what was most important to you in the whole world. The train stations were filled with tears and long goodbyes. Then came the journey itself. The trains heading north were packed full of people. I can almost feel the rumble of the train and hear the clatter of the wheels on the tracks, a constant rhythm of hope and fear. For days and nights, families sat on hard wooden benches, sharing what little food they had and telling stories to pass the time. The faces I would later paint were filled with every kind of feeling. some looked tired, some looked scared, but almost all of them held a little spark of hope in their eyes. They were traveling toward a promise. My own family made this journey, and we eventually settled in a neighborhood called Harlem in New York City. When we arrived, it felt like we had landed in a completely different world. The buildings were so tall they seemed to touch the sky, and the streets were crowded with people, cars, and endless energy.

Arriving in the North was the beginning of a new chapter. It wasn’t perfect, and there were new kinds of challenges. We still faced unfairness, and life in a crowded city was hard. But there were also new freedoms we had never known in the South. There were jobs in steel mills, factories, and on the railroads. Most importantly for me, there were better schools and libraries where I could learn and dream. The community I found in Harlem was buzzing with excitement and creativity. It was a special time that people now call the Harlem Renaissance. On every corner, it felt like something amazing was happening. You could hear jazz music, see incredible art, and listen to writers and poets share their ideas. I was surrounded by people who had made the same journey as my family. Their stories of the South and their new lives in the North filled my imagination. This vibrant world, full of color, sound, and powerful stories, is what inspired me to become an artist. It gave me my voice and my subject.

As I grew up and learned to paint, I knew exactly what story I needed to tell. It was my story, my parents' story, and the story of my community. I wanted to create something that would show everyone the courage and importance of the Great Migration. So, between 1940 and 1941, I created a series of 60 paintings that I called 'The Migration Series.' Each small painting is like a single page in a giant picture book. Together, they show the whole story. the difficult life in the South, the long journey on the trains, and the new world people found in the North. My paintings showed the hard times and the hopeful times. I used my art to make sure this important piece of history was seen and remembered. It taught me that everyone’s journey is a part of history, and art is a powerful way to share our stories with the world.