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What was the Great Migration? According to the National Archives, "it was one of the largest movements of people in United States history. Approximately six million Black people moved from the American South to Northern, Midwestern, and Western states roughly from the 1910s until the 1970s. The driving force behind the mass movement was to escape racial violence, pursue economic and educational opportunities, and obtain freedom from the oppression of Jim Crow."
I would often amaze my Black students when I taught at leading universities by telling them which state their grand- or great grandparents were from, unless their origins were from the Caribbean or if they were second or third generation African immigrants. I had a 90% accuracy rate.
For a person living in Chicago, their relatives were likely from Mississippi. People in Ohio or Michigan most likely can trace their origins to Georgia. Those in Connecticut would overwhelmingly be from North Carolina, and those in California from Arkansas or Louisiana. I could go on.
Let us look at the root causes of the Great Migration and the largest domestic terrorist acts in America, the harassment and the lynching of Black Americans by the Ku Klux Klan. The two go together. Is it possible that the "stars are lining up again"? Putting all eggs in one basket per voting has been proven to be unwise for the Black community, though beneficial for political leaders.
Once Black people who were former slaves had the right to vote all during the 19th Century, they voted nearly unanimously for Republicans. Twenty-two Black Republican men were elected to either the U.S. House or U.S. Senate – zero Black Democrats Members of Congress until the 1930s. The reason: Republicans got all the credit for freeing the slaves. President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses Grant were Republicans. Grant, the top general who won the Civil War officially ended slavery. Prior to becoming the first Republican to serve two terms as president Grant was responsible for ensuring the progress of Reconstruction via the use of military troops.
Blacks were voting overwhelmingly for Republicans. Many southern states were majority or near-majority Black as slaves outnumbered slave owners and their families.
Back in the 19th century, there were three elections when Black people provided Republicans with nearly unanimous voting support. Today, we have had three elections where Black women gave 98% support to Democratic candidates for president or vice president – former President Barack Obama twice and Biden-Harris once. Even Hillary Clinton was in the 90%+ range with Black women.
Today, Democrats are very direct in messaging Black people to ensure near unanimous support.
Remember these classic lines?
When running as Obama's vice president pick, Biden said to a Black audience: "Republicans are going to put you back in chains" (if you vote for them).
When running for president in 2020, Biden said, "If you (Black people) have to think about who you are going to vote for, you ain't really Black."
Harris's coded message and campaign slogan: "We are not going back." (This phrase goes back to Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad which Black slaves used to escape to freedom. It was used to get fearful slaves escaping from slavery from even thinking about turning around back into slavery.)
So, will there be another Great Migration because of Black peoples' near unanimous support for one party? Will racist groups be recharged? I have no idea. We can only pray for the best for America. Different tactics can be used that could yield the same effect, however.
It has been decades since the will of the majority (white population) has determined the president of the United States. White people have divided their vote between the two parties' candidates for president while Black people do not split their vote. Democratic presidential candidates have lost the white vote for many decades.