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john crowley - the great migration and its fallout lyrics

in the period between the world wars a m-ssive shift of population, from rural communities all over america to the eastern and midwestern cities, occurred. this led to cultural contact and conflict among all ethnic groups, resulting in two vastly different homogenized cultures in the city core: “whites” and “blacks”. in my timeline, i intend to showcase dates that signal both the population shift and the effects of it on black culture in america, as it came to be understood in this time. moving to the city offered rural people many opportunities but also brought new dangers and responsibilities. the clash and mixing of races in the city forced americans not just in the south to accept the existence of african americans, and to acknowledge the oppression they faced. by the end of this period, african americans were regarded as american enough to fight in wars, represent the us at the olympics, and perform in some of the highest venues of the land, even though many rights were still not afforded to them

1909: the naacp, the first national foundation devoted to improving the lot of african americans, was founded by a group of white liberals that included mary white ovington and oswald garrison villard, both the descendants of abolitionists, and william english walling and dr. henry moscowitz, who issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. some 60 people, seven of whom were african american (including w. e. b. du bois, ida b. wells-barnett and mary church terrell), signed the call, which was released on the centennial of lincoln’s birth
“herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here in the dawning of the twentieth century. this meaning is not without interest to you, gentle reader, for the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line.”
-w.e.b. dubois, “the souls of black folk: the forethought”

1919: the summer of hate, during which 83 lynchings were recorded. in reaction to postwar deflation and widespread fears about communists, white americans tried harder than ever to maintain the status quo. this of course just provided more impetus for blacks to leave the south
“christ is a nigga
beaten and black:
oh, bare your back!

mary is his mother:
mammy of the south
silence your mouth

god is his father:
white master above
grant him your love

most holy b-st-rd
of the bleeding mouth
nigga christ
on the cross
of the south.”
langston hughes, “christ in alabama”

1920: the cotton club opened as the “club deluxe” under jack johnson. this same year, prohibition started in the us. three years later, controlling interest in the club was sold to gangster owney madden, who renamed the club and made it a whites only establishment
“rich, flashy, puffy-faced
hebrew and anglo-saxon
the overlords sprawl here with their glittering darlings
the smoke curls thick, in the dimmed light
surreptitiously, deaf-mute waiters
flatter the grandees
going easily over the rich carpets
wary lest they kick over the bottles
under the tables

the jazzband unleashes its frenzy

now, now
to it, roger; that’s a nice doggie
show your tricks to the gentlemen.”
sterling a. brown, “cabaret”

1921: the race riots and aerial attack on “black wall street” in tulsa left dozens dead and destroyed millions of dollars of black capital in the city. this was perhaps a wake up call to urbanizing blacks of the era that even in the city, their property and position couldn’t be counted as safe
“think you i am not fiend and savage too?
think you i could not arm me with a gun
and shoot down ten of you for every one
of my black brothers murdered, burnt by you?
be not deceived, for every deed you do
i could match- out-match: am i not afric’s son
black of that black land where black deeds are done?”
claude mckay, “to the white fiends”

1922: a national anti-lynching bill p-sses in the house but dies in the senate. in this same year, claude mckay published his collection of poetry harlem shadows, which contained and was centered around the sonnet “if we must die.”
if we must die, let it not be like hogs
hunted and penned in an inglorious spot
while round us bark the mad and hungry dogs
making their mock at our accursed lot
if we must die, o let us nobly, die
so that our precious blood may not be shed
in vain; then even the monsters we defy
shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
o kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
though far outnumbered let us show us brave
and for their thousand blows deal one deathblow!
what though before us lies the open grave?
like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack
pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
claude mckay, “if we must die”

1929: the stock market crash and the beginning of the great depression. in this year the great migration slowed as the cities laid off workers. the major movement to northern cities, and also the west coast, wouldn’t begin again until after the second world war
“ten bucks you say i owe you?
ten bucks you say is due?
well, that’s ten bucks more’n i’ll pay you
till you fix this house up new

what? you gonna get eviction orders?
you gonna cut off my heat?
you gonna take my furniture and
throw it in the street?

um-huh! you talking high and mighty
talk on- till you get through
you ain’t gonna be able to say a word
if i land my fist on you

police! police!
come and get this man!
he’s trying to ruin the government
and overturn the land!”
langston hughes, “ballad of the landlord”

1936:jesse owens won 4 gold medals at the “nazi olympics” in berlin. as an african-american competing directly against the aryan “master race of germany”, jessie owens was a major underdog who captured global attention for his upstart victories. he began a proud history of african americans representing the us in the olympics, and cleaning the clock of other european competitors
“i, too, sing america
i am the darker brother
they send me to eat in the kitchen
when company comes
but i laugh
and eat well
and grow strong

tomorrow
i’ll be at the table
when company comes
nobody’ll dare
say to me
‘eat in the kitchen,’
then

besides
they’ll see how beautiful i am
and be ashamed-

i, too, am america.”
langston hughes, “i, too’

1939: marian anderson sang for a crowd of 75000 at the lincoln memorial, after being forced from a concert hall by the daughters of the american revolution
“oh, hit’s sweetah dan de music
of an edicated band;
an’ hit’s deareh dan de battle’s
song o’ triumph in de lan’
it seems holier dan evenin’
when de solemn chu’ch bell rings
ez i sit an’ ca’mly listen
while malindy sings.”
paul laurence dunbar, “when malindy sings”

- john crowley lyrics

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