A Summary Of Afro-American Migrants In Promised Land
Afro-American Migrants in “Promised Land”: From Field to Factory Dr. Poonam Punia
Assistant Professor in English JCD Memorial P.G College, Sirsa (Haryana)
Email: poonamdsingh7@gmail.com
Abstract
The United States has always been a country of people on the move: up and down the eastern seaboard, westward toward the Pacific, from countryside to city and from East and Midwest into the Sunbelt. Americans have a long history of dragging up their roots when they see prospect and hope elsewhere. One such large-scale population movement was the migration of Afro-Americans from the field of South to the urban industrial centers or factories of North. Between World War I and the eve of World …show more content…
These lay-offs reflected an ongoing pattern. Industrial employers tended to treat Afro-American as a pool of reserve labor, putting them to work when extra manpower was needed during economic bangs or during strikes. This strikebreaking role earned blacks as a group the hostility of many white union members; while blacks in turn observed how often white union practices discriminated against them. They felt no pressure to be loyal to organizations that barred them from jobs they were qualified for. And employers frequently played up racial divisions as a way of curbing union growth. Another serious facet of the employment situation was lack of progression. Over and over, Afro-Americans found themselves working alongside newly arrived white immigrants. Soon the white newcomers would move up to better jobs, while the blacks who had worked far longer- and worked well-remained right where they had started.
For black women, the situation was even worse than for black men. Few black women were able to get even the insecure foothold in industry that black men achieved during World War I. And the little ground they gained then, they lost when the war was over. In the 1920s, huge numbers of white women together with recent European immigrants – were moving into decent jobs as office workers or clerks. Yet only a small segment of black women were able to obtain such jobs and almost completely in businesses owned by blacks. Into the 1940s, the largest fraction of black women continued to work as
Assistant Professor in English JCD Memorial P.G College, Sirsa (Haryana)
Email: poonamdsingh7@gmail.com
Abstract
The United States has always been a country of people on the move: up and down the eastern seaboard, westward toward the Pacific, from countryside to city and from East and Midwest into the Sunbelt. Americans have a long history of dragging up their roots when they see prospect and hope elsewhere. One such large-scale population movement was the migration of Afro-Americans from the field of South to the urban industrial centers or factories of North. Between World War I and the eve of World …show more content…
These lay-offs reflected an ongoing pattern. Industrial employers tended to treat Afro-American as a pool of reserve labor, putting them to work when extra manpower was needed during economic bangs or during strikes. This strikebreaking role earned blacks as a group the hostility of many white union members; while blacks in turn observed how often white union practices discriminated against them. They felt no pressure to be loyal to organizations that barred them from jobs they were qualified for. And employers frequently played up racial divisions as a way of curbing union growth. Another serious facet of the employment situation was lack of progression. Over and over, Afro-Americans found themselves working alongside newly arrived white immigrants. Soon the white newcomers would move up to better jobs, while the blacks who had worked far longer- and worked well-remained right where they had started.
For black women, the situation was even worse than for black men. Few black women were able to get even the insecure foothold in industry that black men achieved during World War I. And the little ground they gained then, they lost when the war was over. In the 1920s, huge numbers of white women together with recent European immigrants – were moving into decent jobs as office workers or clerks. Yet only a small segment of black women were able to obtain such jobs and almost completely in businesses owned by blacks. Into the 1940s, the largest fraction of black women continued to work as