{"id":1531,"date":"2019-12-12T19:58:54","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T19:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scholarscollaborative.org\/Hartford\/?p=1531"},"modified":"2021-04-25T03:16:50","modified_gmt":"2021-04-25T03:16:50","slug":"the-great-migration-in-hartford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scholarscollaborative.org\/Hartford\/social-issues\/the-great-migration-in-hartford\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Migration in Hartford"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Taking place throughout the early years of the 20th century, the Great Migration refers to the resettlement of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural south to more urban communities in the North. One reason for this migration was the desire for blacks to find refuge in areas that were more desirable for people of their complexion. Even though segregation and Jim Crow laws were implemented throughout the entire nation at the time, living conditions were arguably much worse in the South for people of color, especially with the rise of lynchings that came with the end of the Era of Reconstruction. In addition, many of the people who migrated to the North believed that they would be met with more economic opportunities since the South still depended on agriculture and the North had a high demand for industrial workers (History.com).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>

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The Colored Waiting Room at the Union Terminal <\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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One of the cities that many blacks chose to migrate to during this time was, in fact, Hartford, Connecticut. African American sociologist Charles S. Johnson frequently analyzed the impact that the Great Migration had on different cities across the country. In his 1921 study entitled \u201cThe Negro Population of Hartford, Connecticut,\u201d he revealed what life was like for blacks who lived in that area, and he also identified the many factors that drove them to that city in particular. Johnson reported that there was a 140 percent increase in the population of Hartford between 1910 and 1920 (12). Upon their arrival, many blacks had to compete with immigrants in addition to the other black residents that arrived in Hartford prior to the Great Migration. Although black individuals who moved North during the Great Migration sought to improve their living situations, they still faced plenty of obstacles that mirrored the issues they encountered in the South. Quite a few found themselves in segregated areas and did not get the equality they initially expected (Ellison, connecticuthistory.org<\/a><\/span>). This unfortunate experience showed the migrants that racism was inescapable no matter how far North or South an individual traveled. It was too ingrained in American policy and society as a whole for blacks to be able to avoid it completely.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Racial demographics of Hartford between 1920 and 1950 (maps from the UConn's Map and Geographic Information Center \u2013 MAGIC) <\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The diagram above shows the drastic shift in the racial demographic of Hartford between 1920 and 1950. Given the transposition of the black and white populations, it is safe to assume that these changes were the result of a phenomenon known as <\/span>white flight<\/span><\/i>. This term refers to the act of white populations moving out of urban areas that experienced an increase in ethnically diverse residents. White residents often relocated to suburban communities that minority groups could not afford to live in.<\/span> In some cases,\u00a0white flight<\/em> occurred because residents believed that the arrival of black families would diminish the value of their property and the overall quality of their neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One neighborhood that black migrants occupied during the Great Migration was Ward 3. In fact, data shows that more than one-third of the entire black population in Hartford lived in that ward, as they made up 9.1 percent of the neighborhood in 1920. Meanwhile, blacks only made up 3.1 percent of Hartford\u2019s total population. Many of these residents lived on streets such as Sanford, Warren, Suffield, and Bellevue - all of which were located on the southeastern end of the ward. They also lived on Capen Street and Martin Street on the western side of the ward. Their neighbors were primarily black migrants in this area as well\u00a0(Maisel, 7).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"Hartford\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/div>\n\n

Map of the City of Hartford from 1893. The 3rd Ward can be found near the center of the map. (Mapsofthepast.com) <\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Another important aspect of the Great Migration in Hartford was the difference between Hartford residents and the migrants from the South. The two groups often had a strained relationship with one another, and Schlichting explained that many of the Hartford natives were far more wealthy and educated in comparison to the southern migrants. As a result, the natives did not want to be associated with the migrants, as they feared the loss of their own status by being in close proximity to them. This contributed to the rise in tension between the two groups. The migrants also endured discrimination from their white counterparts as reported by Johnson and Schlichting. This rejection by the locals is what caused the migrants to become incredibly isolated (Schlichting, 288-9). The Great Migration did not solve many of the problems that blacks faced in the South. On the contrary, most of their problems followed them to the North, and they were met with new problems that they did not have in the rural South.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To many, The Great Migration is understood as a historical event that provided black southerners with new opportunities to improve their living conditions. Although this might have been true for some, others faced great difficulties while traveling and upon settling in the North. Those who migrated to Hartford found themselves in low-income neighborhoods with a high degree of competition for factory jobs, as Hartford natives, both black and white, were often seen as more capable than the migrants were. Even though African Americans faced many challenges after moving North, the Great Migration has ultimately contributed to the diversification of Hartford and is the reason <\/span>why black residents make up a significant portion of Hartford\u2019s population today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Carmody, Tim. \u201cRethinking \u2018The Great Migration\u2019.\u201d kottke.org, 05 July 2018, <\/span>https:\/\/kottke.org\/18\/07\/rethinking-the-great-migration<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ellison, Victoria Smith. \u201cHartford\u2019s Great Migration through Charles S. Johnson\u2019s Eyes.\u201d Connecticuthistory.org, Connecticut History, 20 Feb. 2016, <\/span>https:\/\/connecticuthistory.org\/hartfords-great-migration-through-charles-s-johnsons-eyes\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cGreat Migration.\u201d HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 16 May 2019, <\/span>https:\/\/www.history.com\/topics\/black-history\/great-migration.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Johnson, Charles. \u201cThe Negro Population of Hartford, Connecticut.\u201d Department of Research and Investigations of the National Urban League, New York, 1921. Connecticut State Library. Available from the Trinity College Digital Repository, Hartford, Connecticut (<\/span>http:\/\/digitalrepository.trincoll.edu<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

Maisel, Richard, et al. (2006) Residential Segregation and the Beginning of the Great Migration of African Americans to Hartford, Connecticut A GIS-Based Analysis, Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, 39:3, 132-144, DOI: <\/span>10.3200\/HMTS.39.3.132-144<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Schlichting, Kurt, et al. \u201cGreat Migration of African Americans to Hartford, Connecticut, 1910\u20131930: A GIS Analysis at the Neighborhood and Street Level.\u201d <\/span>Social Science History<\/span><\/i>, vol. 39, no. 2, 2015, pp. 287\u2013310, doi:10.1017\/ssh.2015.54.<\/span><\/p>\n

University of Connecticut Libraries Map and Geographic Information Center – MAGIC. (2012). \u201cRacial Change in the Hartford Region, 1900-2010\u201d. Retrieved from\u00a0<\/span>http:\/\/magic.lib.uconn.edu\/otl\/timeslider_racethematic.html<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Taking place throughout the early years of the 20th century, the Great Migration refers to the resettlement of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural south to more urban communities in the North. One reason for this migration was the desire for blacks to find refuge in areas that were more desirable for…<\/p>\n

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