Migration panel 34. The Negro press was also influential in urging the people to leave the South.

By the late 1910’s, the majority of the black press was forced underground due to officials working to halt the Migration. Publications of the black press essentially inspired Southerner’s and filled them with hope. Many African Americans risked their lives to buy these papers, as punishment when caught was severe. Yet somehow, black communities persisted and found a way to get their hands on this press, as shown in this panel. With his back to the viewer, a man reads an open newspapers; his head nearly submerged in the paper. He is focused and engrossed in the content he is reading. A woman near him looks towards him, potentially listening to the man read aloud or patiently waiting her turn to read the paper herself. Although simplistic, Lawrence is able to stress the role of the black press, focusing on the influence for blacks to move North.
SKU: 65190
Creator: Jacob Lawrence
Date: 1940-41
Original Medium: Tempera on gesso on composition board
Original Size: 18 x 12 in
Location: Museum of Modern Art, NY
© 2016 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York