Migration and the Black Family:
Pressures and Opportunities
1450 to the Present
Office of Human Relations
Santa Clara County
Delorme McKee-Stovall
Ann Krause
Erika Perez
Goal for Today’s Presentation
To provide a history of the issues and
concerns African Americans have faced in
their attempt to create and maintain
sustainable families in a difficult environment
from the time of slavery to the present.
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The African-American Family
Migration Experience
Migration has been central in shaping the AfricanAmerican culture and family life. Our focus today is
on the effects of four major migrations on the AfricanAmerican family:
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The Original Migration of Slaves from Africa
Migration Out of the South in the Nineteenth Century
The “Great Wars Migration” in the Twentieth Century
Today’s Migration Back to the South
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The First Migration:
Blacks Come to America as Slaves
African Family
Selling of African Slaves at Jamestown
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Map of Migration
from Africa to America
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A Typical Slave Ship
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Some Data about Slavery



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Ten to twelve million slaves were brought to the
Americas between 1450 and 1860.
The majority went to Brazil and the West Indies. Only
500,000 came to North America.
Most of the slaves in South and Central America died
from the harsh treatment. As a result, slavery did not
become established there.
By 1860, 3.8 million slaves made up one-third of the
population of the Southern states; in the Northern states,
there were 500,000 free Blacks.
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The Selling of Slaves
A Slave Auction
Inspection
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Slave Prices for Men and Boys
Richmond, 1846 to 1860
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Slave Prices for Women and Girls
Richmond, 1846 to 1860
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Managing Slaves
According to Willie Lynch in 1712

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Use fear, distrust, and envy to divide and create conflicts
between slaves.
- Female vs. male
- Old Black male against young Black male
- Dark-skinned versus light-skinned
“They must love, respect, and trust only us [the white slave
owners].”
Break them like you break a horse. If you break the female,
she will break her offspring. Put the fear of God in the male.
The “Language Barrier”: keep them uneducated and
unaware.
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Pictures of Slave Families
A Family Separated
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Pictures of Slave Families
A Family Together
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Slave Efforts to
Maintain Families


In spite of slave masters’ sole interest in breeding
more slaves, slaves engaged in unlawful marriages.
“Jumping the Broom” was a ritual to honor their
unions.
Slaves also formed new kinship relationships.
- Slave to slave: blood did not define kinship.
- Master to slave: the master defined the kinship
based on sex, skin color, and racial anonymity.
- Slave to Native Americans: based on mutual
consent.
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Nineteenth Century: Beginnings of
the Northern and Western Migrations
Moving Out of the South: Disillusioned by Jim Crow laws and attracted
by land and jobs, African Americans migrated North and West.
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Pictures from the Nineteenth
Century Migrations
Black Exodus from the South via Riverboat
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Pictures from the Nineteenth
Century Migrations
Early Homestead in Kansas
The Shores Family in Nebraska
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Pictures from the Nineteenth
Century Migrations
Black Cowboys
Cyclists in Denver
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Pictures from the Nineteenth
Century Migrations
Blacks in a Northern City
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1853 Census of San Jose, CA
This census, taken three years after California became a state,
shows that Blacks were a part of the early history of San Jose.
Male
White
Negroes
Mulattoes
Indians
Foreign
4,096
53
388
1,059
Female Total
2,062
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3
162
276
6,158
92
3
550
1,335
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Nineteenth Century
Pressures and Opportunities
Pressures: “Racism”

Fear of white violence

Economic injustice

Jim Crow laws
Opportunities: “The Promised Land”

Urban jobs

Land ownership

Access to education and skills
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Jim Crow Laws: Black Codes
Purposes:


Reverse civil rights gains
Promote segregation
- Transportation
- Use of public facilities
- Housing
- Restaurants/theaters
- Schools

Prevent voting
- Poll tax
- Literacy tests
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Jim Crow Laws: Black Codes


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One drop of African blood defined your
permanent heritage and status.
Looking directly at or touching a white
female was a punishable offense.
Interracial relationships or marriages were
illegal.
The legal status of Blacks was equal to 3/5
of a person. Jim Crow laws limited Blacks’
rights to legal recourse.
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Lynchings
The white public sentiment that supported Jim
Crow laws also upheld the abhorrent practice of
lynching.


Of the 5,000 lynchings and 20,000 killings,
only 50 individuals were ever brought to trial.
It is estimated that over 10,000 individuals
witnessed these acts of brutality.
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Twentieth Century: The “Great Wars
Migrations” to Industrial Areas
The First and Second World Wars created a demand for labor in Northern
and Western cities. Thus began the transformation of the African-American
population from a predominantly rural to a predominantly urban people.
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Black Population Trends
The Change from Southern Rural to Northern Urban
Southern
Rural
Northern
Urban
1890
90.3%
90%
9.7%
10%
1960s
10%
5%
90%
95%
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Pictures from the
Twentieth Century Migrations
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Pictures from the
Twentieth Century Migrations
Ford Assembly Line
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Pictures from the
Twentieth Century Migrations
Harlem in the Twenties: The Harlem Renaissance
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Pictures from the
Twentieth Century Migrations
Woman Aircraft Worker during WW II
Housing in Detroit
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Pictures from the
Twentieth Century Migrations
Middle Class Family
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Segregation in the Forties
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Boycott of Woolworth and Kress
Stores in San Jose in the Fifties
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1900-1960
Pressures and Opportunities
Pressures

Jim Crow laws: segregation

Cultural insensitivity

Social welfare
Opportunities

Jobs

Community

Integration: education and housing
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The Sixties:
Time of Radical Change
MLK and Gandhi
“I have a dream” Speech
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The Sixties:
Time of Radical Change
Stokely Carmichael and the SDS
Black Panthers
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1960 to 2000
Pressures and Opportunities
Pressures

Cultural insensitivity

Economic and racial discrimination
Opportunities

Civil rights

Black Power movements
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Current Migration Trend:
Back to the South
Starting in the 1970s, there has been a reverse migration to the South as
prospects for Blacks have improved there. As Maya Angelou observed, many
African Americans have found that they can come home again.
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Pictures from the
Current Migration to the South
New Opportunities for a Better Life
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Pictures from the
Current Migration to the South
The New Little Rock
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Pictures from the
Current Migration to the South
A Battle Won?
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Decreasing Black Population in
Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County Black Census
1970 1980 1990 2000 2005
18,000 42,835 55,365 47,182 42,307
1.7% 3.3% 3.7% 2.8% 2.5%
Are they going to the South also?
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Current Black Families
Pressures and Opportunities
Pressures
 Cultural insensitivity
 Shifting demographics and economics
Opportunities
 Community
 Jobs
 Home ownership
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Looking toward the Future
It isn’t where you came from. It’s where you’re going that counts.
-- Ella Fitzgerald
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For Further Study
Much of the information and imagery for this
presentation was taken from the web site
“In Motion: The African-American Migration
Experience.”
http://www.inmotionaame.org
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