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The Great Migration: Black Art in America is exploring the three panels of Jacob Lawrence’s sixty-panel Migration series, supplied by the MoMA collection. The Great Migration was the relocation of African Americans from the rural south, to the cities of the West and North. Economic opportunities were scarce and unsatisfactory, and segregation laws were cruel for them to sustain their lifestyle in the south. Industrial workers were in desperate need in Northern and Western cities, so African Americans took advantage of those empty spaces and filled them in for a slightly better, new life.

This migration was going on for at least 60 years, it took place from about 1910s to 1970s. It was one of the largest movements in the United States History.

Across Lawrence’s work, it tells the story of this huge movement in limited hues of red, yellows, browns, white, and vague figures dressed in those blocks of color. His work brings the message across of how many people were traveling at the time, and how huge this movement was. It gives us insight now, on how the great migration might have looked at the time. In the piece, The Migration gained in momentum, you can see the migrants taking these long strides toward the upper edge on the right side. This may signify that they are going in the direction of the North. In the piece, The railroad stations were at times so over-packed with people leaving that special guards had to be called in to keep order, you can see how they are flooded at the ticket gates all the way to the bottom of the canvas. There are White guards placed at the bottom for crowd control, and their expressions are tough and hostile. In the last piece, And the migrants kept coming, shows people cluttered around each other with their bags, waiting for the next train to their new city.

As we look at these three paintings, they tell an empowering story of how a generation of African Americans sought for better things, and held onto hope.

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Jacob Lawrence. The Migration gained in momentum. 1940-41. 18x21. Casein tempera on hardboard. 

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Jacob Lawrence. The railroad stations were at times so over-packed with people leaving that special guards had to be called in to keep order. 1940-41. 12 x 18. Casein tempera on hardboard. 

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Jacob Lawrence. And the migrants kept coming. 1940-41. 12 x 18. Casein tempera on hardboard.