The Great Migration: Then and Now -- 45th People's World African American History Events

"The Great Migration: Then and Now -- Fleeing Terror, Searching for Jobs and Equality," is the theme of the 45th People's World African American History Month celebration on Sunday, February 24 in New Haven. The day includes a march, arts and writing competition, guest speaker, drumming and dance.

Some stories will be told of the many African American families in New Haven who trace their roots in the city to the great migration from the South in the 1930's and 40's when companies like Winchester recruited workers to come up from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia. They were fleeing Klan terror and looking for a better life.

Stories will also be told of the migrants from Central American countries coming to New Haven and the United States today, fleeing terror and economic devastation in their countries and hoping to find new opportunities for their families.

The "Jobs for Youth - Jobs for All" march will call on Yale to meet its signed commitment to hire from neighborhoods like Dwight, Dixwell, Newhall, Fair Haven and the Hill with high unemployment. The march leaves the New Haven Peoples Center, 37 Howe Street, at 2:30 pm and will wind through the Dwight neighborhood to Troup School, 259 Edgewood Avenue, for the 4:00 pm program.

Guest speaker Chauncey K. Robinson, journalist and social media editor of peoplesworld.org from Los Angeles, California believes that writing and media, in any capacity, should help to reflect the world around us, and be tools to help bring about progressive change. She says she seeks to make sure topics that affect working class people, peoples of color, and women are constantly in the spotlight.

The program will include drumming by Brian Jarawa Gray and African dance with Ice the Beef.

Prizes and acknowledgments of entries to the Arts and Writing Competition grades 8 to 12 will be presented. Students are asked to reflect in artwork, essay, poetry, rap or song about grandparents or great grandparents who came up from the South in the past, or about someone who came up from Latin America or elsewhere recently. "What did they find? How can we continue the struggle for good jobs and equal rights to fulfill the dreams of those who came and made New Haven home?  What are your dreams for a better life?" Entry deadline is February 14. For information e-mail ct-pww@pobox.com

During the Great Migration (1916 to 1970), six million African Americans left the South. They moved to cities like New Haven in the North and the West. They were fleeing discrimination, lynchings, denied rights and a lack of jobs. They were searching for a better life for themselves and their children.

As they settled they found that segregation and racism were not just in the South. The migration gave rise to the Civil Rights Movement and before that to the art, literature and music of the Harlem Renaissance that stirred the country and the world.

Artist Jacob Lawrence created a series of paintings about the Great Migration in 1940. He said, "And the migrants kept coming...their struggles and triumphs ring true today. People all over the world are still on the move, trying to build better lives for themselves and for their families."

In 2018 famed activist and scholar Angela Davis said, “I believe that the major civil rights issue of the 21st century is the issue of immigrant rights.”