Quotations

Through his interviews, E. Marvin Goodwin discovered that many blacks had migrated North, inspired by the promise of better jobs and higher wages; while others had migrated for sentimental or emotional reasons.

On a piece of paper, separate the following responses to Goodwin's question, "Why did you or your parents migrate to Chicago from Mississippi?" into economic reasons and sentimental reasons.

• Female, age 89, Houston, Mississippi, arrived 1950.
  "I wanted to change my lifestyle."
• Male, age 65, Eaten, Mississippi, arrived 1940's.
  "My family was here."
• Female, age 76, Fayette Mississippi, arrived 1920.
  "I came to avoid oppression--Better living."
• Male, age 67, Drew, Mississippi, arrived 1920s.
  "Better job opportunities."
• Female, age 63, Yazoo, Mississippi, arrived 1950s.
  "Because my husband was here."
• Female, age 70, Greenwood, Mississippi, arrived in the 1930s.
  "Left the South because I needed a change."
• Ms. Jane, age 75, Jackson, Mississippi.
  "I moved for better economic conditions and schooling."
• Mr. Darryl G, age 75, Jackson, Mississippi.
  "Better job opportunity, racial tension."
• Male, age 73, Mississippi, arrived 1950s.
  "Because I was not living a decent life."
• Male, age 60, Mississippi, arrived 1940's.
  "In search of a better life."
• Mr. James, age 63, Kosciusko, Mississippi.
  "Better wages and better future for family."
• Peter L, age 80, Mississippi.
  "To make more money and have a better life."
• Female, age 69, Lexington, Mississippi, arrived 1950s.
  "To live with my husband."

Quotations from: E. Marvin Goodwin, Black Migration In America From 1915 to 1960: An Uneasy Exodus, Wales: The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd., 1990.

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96