Housing in Chicago’s Black Belt

Linked to Great Migration

Share Feedback

Black southerners left rural, agricultural areas like Georgia’s Black Belt for cities such as Detroit, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Migrants found their new settings to be an improvement but also full of obstacles. White flight and discriminatory housing policies funneled African Americans into poorer neighborhoods and public housing complexes.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives.

Updated Recently

40 Watt Club

40 Watt Club

10 years ago
Norman Blake

Norman Blake

3 years ago
Usher

Usher

6 years ago

A More Perfect Union

The New Georgia Encyclopedia is supported by funding from A More Perfect Union, a special initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.