Migration panel 42. They also made it very difficult for migrants leaving the South. They often went to railroad stations and arrested the Negroes wholesale, which in turn made them miss their train.

To prevent blacks African Americans from leaving the South, police officers often went to railroad stations solely to detain and arrest migrants on false, unfair charges. As a result, black Southerners would often purchase tickets to smaller, lesser traveled stations that were not heavily guarded. Often, migrants would flee their homes in the middle of the night to hop freight trains and hide within the cargo carried, at times walking several miles to do so. Lawrence depicts this common occurrence in this panel, where a gun-toting officer blocks the opening of a room where two black figures sit. The officer stands tall and authoritative, whereas the black figures it with their heads turned down towards their laps in shame or fear. It is unclear where specifically these men are: freight train where they may have been caught at stowaways, or a cell where they await the subsequent consequences.
SKU: 65212
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