Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000), the son of a Southern cook and a domestic worker who joined the Great Migration out of poverty during its early years, never visited the South until he was an adult. But as a high school student in Harlem, the stories he was told by writers he met in a local café, about the Jim Crow Laws, poverty, floods, drought, lynchings and the lack of decent jobs in the place his parents had left behind, inspired him to find out more. He studied the mass exodus, which arguably changed American society and culture, by reading contemporary and historical accounts at the New York Public Library.

By the time he began painting, he had received an artist’s grant that enabled him to rent a studio large enough to hang all of the 60 paintings as he worked on them. Lawrence had an unusual way of working; he created each one of the series as a neutral composition, including the written caption, before finishing the color work. And he applied like colors to many paintings at a time, the result of which was that he held each image in his mind’s eye before seeing the final result. 

3. In every town Negroes were leaving by the hundreds to go North and enter into Northern industry.

Through his research at the library, Lawrence fell under the spell of picture magazines, performance posters, ephemera, and newsreels, which brought the reality of lives lived through hardship and relocation into his work. By reading historical books and documents, he understood that the Great Migration was a momentous event, continuing as it did for over 50 years. In a 1993 documentary film, he described it as “a great epic drama” taking place in real time—as if it were a portrait of contemporary life that included his own family’s experience.

32. The railroad stations in the South were crowded with people leaving for the North.

The finished series was exhibited at the Downtown Gallery in New York City in 1941, just a few months after it was completed. Lawrence was 23 years old. Both The Museum of Modern Art and The Phillips Memorial Gallery (now The Phillips Collection), in Washington, DC, wanted to purchase the series. A compromise was reached, in which MoMA bought the even numbered panels and The Phillips took the odd-numbered pieces. This is the first time in 20 years that the entire series is being shown at MoMA. 

45. They arrived in Pittsburgh, one of the great industrial centers of the North, in large numbers.

In addition to presenting Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, MoMA has collaborated with The Phillips Collection and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in organizing a celebration of the literature, poetry, and music that originated with the Great Migration. The resulting exhibition, One Way Ticket: Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series and Other Visions of the Great Movement North, continues at The Museum of Modern Art through September 7. 11 West 53^rd Street, NY, NY. Information.

55. The Negro being suddenly moved out of doors and cramped into urban life, contracted a great deal of tuberculosis. Because of this the death rate was very high.

All of the paintings, as well as a historical background and contemporary perspectives, and a music playlist, can be found in the dedicated website, here.

Public programs, including films, lectures, and demonstrations, are listed here. Two special programs for K-12 teachers are scheduled in the coming weeks.  

Tonight, Wednesday, April 15, 6:30 pm: A panel led by Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, discusses the continuing legacy of Jim Crow, and how that legacy shapes current issues of race, justice, and public policy in America. With Sherrilyn Ifill, President, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Cornell Brooks, President, NAACP. Tickets.

58. In the North the Negro had better educational facilities. All images courtesy The Museum of Modern Art Online Press Office.