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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.

Your #Panel61 by Siy'Asia Delauder

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Siy'Asia
Delauder

When I think of The Great Migration, I think about all the good and bad that came for the people of the South. In our big cities today, there is a higher risk of violence and poverty among the black community. On my panel61, you can see this representation of the good and bad. With the migration came more African Americans into big cities. This automatically was associated with the amount of crime in their communities which then fed the continuous prison cycle and mass incarceration. Once in the prison cycle, it is harder to get a job and when combined with the small amount of jobs available to the black community due to the migration, it makes it easier for jobs to rejected and harder for black people to get a job. The Great Migration not only influenced the amount of violence in our cities, but also the well loved Soul Food. Traditions in the South like cornbread and sweet potato pie fled and spread with its people into the North and West. Now it is a tradition throughout the country to have at holidays. The biggest influence The Great Migration has had yet would be in our music. On my panel61 there is a section that shows the different genres and people that have changed music through The Great Migration. Even though every influence has their own section on my panel, all of them flow from the fist in the middle that symbolizes The Great Migration itself.

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