Black Migration in America: A Social Demographic History.

The authors trace the history of black migratory patterns and processes in the United States from the time of the Atlantic slave trade to the 1970s. Major causes of migratory movements characteristics of migrants the propensity to migrate the size and direction of migration streams and the consequences for migrants and the areas of origin and destination are examined for various periods of U.S. history. The transition in the character of black migration from forced to free movement is described. The mass movement of black Americans to northern and western metropolitan areas during the 1950s is studied and the reversal of this pattern in the early 1970s is discussed