Jacob Lawrence and his paintings of the Great Migration

Artist Biography

One of the biggest population shifts in the history of the United States occurred during the period around World War I as hundreds of African Americans left their homes and farms in the South and migrated north to industrial cities in search of employment.

Jacob Lawrence grew up knowing people on the move. Indeed, his own family was part of the first big wave of migration between 1916 and 1919. His parents met while they were en route to New York. His mother was from Virginia, while his father was born in South Carolina.

Lawrence was born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. When he was 13, the family moved to Harlem in New York City. There Lawrence went to school and attended an after-school arts-and crafts program. It was during this period that he decided to become an artist. At first, he just made designs but later

progressed to painting street scenes.

Inspiration was not far away. Friends and teachers helped him understand how his own experiences fit into the history of all African Americans in the United States. He also spent countless hours at the Schomburg Library, reading books about the great migration.

In 1940, at the age of 22, he began his Migration series. One year later it was completed. The series consisted of 60 numbered panels that told the story of the people who made the choice to move away from their homes. In his own words, “. . . I wanted to show what made the people get on those northbound trains. I also wanted to show what it cost to ride them.” Each panel measured a mere 18" x 12" (45 cm x 30 cm), but altogether they made a powerful and moving statement.

Great Web Resources

Experience Lawrence's "Migration Series"

Click HERE to see the play created by Greenville Renaissance Scholars about the Migration.

The Great Migration by Jacob Lawrence (HarperCollins Publishers, 1993).