Abstract
The Great Migration was the mass movement of over six million African Americans who left the South and resettled in cities across the North, West, and Midwest. This thesis focuses on the Great Migration in the context of Akron, Ohio. These migrants were pushed out of the South and pulled to cities for a variety of reason. The push factors included Jim Crow laws, chronic racial segregation and violence, and bleak economic opportunities. Pull factors were more location-specific but included economic opportunities and less racial violence. In the case of Akron, African American migrants were attracted to the city to work in the rubber industry. This I.S. seeks to answer the question of how did the African American migrants during the Great Migration economically and socially impact Akron, Ohio? Profound changes and developments economically and socially occurred due to the influx of the Black population brought to Akron by the Great Migration. Among the economic developments are the creation of an independent and separate Black commercial economy and the constant supply of labor for the booming rubber industry. Socially the changes included a strong Black community with ties to social clubs and churches.
Advisor
Adams, Beatrice
Department
History
Recommended Citation
Nengel, Olivia, "The Social and Economic Impact of the Great Migration on Akron, Ohio" (2024). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11235.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11235
Disciplines
African American Studies | Other American Studies
Keywords
Migration, Akron, African American History
Publication Date
2024
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2024 Olivia Nengel