“Jo Joe & Billy” (set) 24” x 12” acrylic - could be any southern African American couple from the past much like my parents. I never thought of my folks as part of the great migration, but they were! Wiley and Annie wanted to start a new life together, free from the limits of segregation. Mom and Dad came from large families, grew up farming the land in Wetumpka, Alabama. They decided in 1940, before I was born to leave Alabama’s cotton fields, as did many of my aunts and uncles. My parents settled in Buffalo, NY while other family member’s destinations became Cleveland and Detroit. All were looking for a better way of life for their families, which they found working in the steel mills and car factories.
The story of our migration is ongoing. Feeling inspired? Share your #Panel61
In the final, 60th panel of The Migration Series, Jacob Lawrence leaves us with the words “And the migrants kept coming.” Today, more than 70 years later, Lawrence’s epic narrative continues to have powerful reverberations.
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