Dr. Pegram: The African American Migration

Dr. Pegram: The African American Migration and its effects on the Rural Dan River Region
Sunday, November 3 •  3 - 4pm  •  24 Reid Street, Chatham

Averett University Economics Professor Dr. Ernest Pegram reviewed the Crossroads exhibition and specifically addresses issues of urbanization: the migration from rural areas to cities; and the shifting economy from an agricultural-based economy to the industrial/technology-based economy where people moved from farms to cities to fill jobs in factories and industrial/technological complexes. He addresses African American integration into the U.S economy after slavery and discusses the Great Migration. The Great Migration was the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest, and West from about 1916 to 1970. More than 6 million African Americans migrated from the rural south to the industrial North, Midwest, and West where they filled industrial jobs. The Great Migration was one of the largest movements of people in United States history.  
         The Crossroads exhibition is a wonderful connection that shows this African American migration. African Americans were part of the rural population where, “In 1900, about 40% of Americans lived in rural areas, by 2010, less than 18% of the U.S. population lived in rural areas.