Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns ought to be required reading for all Americans, black or otherwise. It tells a story that most of us know tangentially but whose true scale and historical importance are appreciated by few. I should say that I haven’t quite finished it yet (it’s a thick one), but today being Martin Luther King Day, it seemed an appropriate time to post a review.
In the early to mid- twentieth century, millions of African-Americans departed the deep South, where many still worked as sharecroppers on the same plantations on which their ancestors slaved, to seek a better life in the metropolises of the North. The resulting demographic shifts were seismic: the black population in states like Mississippi and South Carolina decreased by more than a third, while that of Northern cities like Chicago and Detroit increased ten-fold in the space of a few decades. They sought better wages, equitable treatment, and the freedom to live and work where they pleased. What they found was a new set of hardships that, cold as their reception was, usually represented an improvement over the lynchings and Jim Crow culture of the South.
None of this is ground-breaking stuff, but it was always something that I vaguely knew without ever thinking much about. “The Great Migration” was never on the curriculum of any US history class I ever took… Read the full review.
Thank you for the suggestion. I saw the author on Charlie Rose and have meant to check this book out so hopefully this post will motivate me to do so. For more reading on the topic I’d recommend Richard Wright’s Black Boy, which is the famous author’s autobiography about growing up in the South before migrating north. So while not really a history about the Great Migration, it is a personal story written by an author who shows how his personal experience shaped his later way of thinking and living.
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the suggestion, though I’m afraid I’m way ahead of you on that one. Wright is one of my favorite authors, and I loved Black Boy. In fact I even referenced it in a post about this time last year.
If you do read Warmth of Other Suns, please let me know what you think!
“Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns ought to be required reading for all Americans, black or otherwise.” I agree and I go with “otherwise”. It should be taught in every school. I am a middle aged white woman in Colorado and have never had to endure issues or prejudice. I loved this book. It tells such a great story, I even cried at the end of it. It is a part of history in our United States that needs to be taught and needs to be heard. I plan on buying every one of our kids this book as soon as it comes out in paperback, I am also going to get one for my niece and nephews. My brother is now reading my copy. I have long been very interested in black history and wonder how in society we can treat our fellow man with such disregard. It is a teaching tool, we are all human’s and Isabel Wilkerson tells the stories of these families so well. The labor and love she put in this book comes through very lound and clear. I loved this book, I can’t even express to you the impact this book has had. These are stories you “kind” of hear about when you go through life but not really. And yes, this day after Martin Luther King’s Holiday, this book is appropriate to talk about and to promote! You will love it to the end. Everyone should read it.
“These are stories you “kind” of hear about when you go through life but not really.”
Well said, Becky, and thanks for stopping by.
If you like this mind-numbing crap you’ll probably like The Children by Halberstam (a book I could not get through). It’s a 700+ page embellished account of the early civil rights movement in Nashville. In 10 pt. font. It’s sitting on a shelf in immaculate condition. It could be yours for a $1 + shipping.
I enjoyed Kozol’s Savage Inequalities (very inspiring, concise, well-researched), but I don’t like these nostalgic oprah-book-clubish tomes. I mean if I wanted to seem gayer and more pretentious I would just read House on Mango Street.
Sorry you didn’t like the book, though I don’t get the impression you read it.
I’m not deleting this one, but this is your last warning about bigoted language. I don’t want it here. Find a way to make your point without it, or you get banned.
I DARE you to swing the hammer.