Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration Oral History Project

Interview: Crosby Brittenum, March 20, 1984

A native of Arkansas, Crosby Brittenum (b. 1899) was working as a waiter in Saint Louis when a step-uncle paid for his ticket to Philadelphia in 1920 so that he could read for him. There he did hotel work and then worked as a barber for more than 50…

Interview: Edgar Campbell, July 11, 1983

Edgar Campbell (1902-1987) was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. In 1917, he and his parents joined the Great Migration north, settling first in Baltimore, and soon afterwards in Philadelphia. There, Campbell became active in city politics by…

Interview: Edgar Campbell, September 26, 1984

Edgar Campbell (1902-1987) was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. In 1917, he and his parents joined the Great Migration north, settling first in Baltimore, and soon afterwards in Philadelphia. There, Campbell became active in city politics by…

Interview: Hughsey Childs, October 23, 1984

Hughsey Childs (1899-1986), a migrant from Abbeville, South Carolina, to Philadelphia during the late 1910s, recalls in this 1984 oral history interview details from his work, faith, career, and family. Drawing from personal experiences laboring in…

Interview: Beulah Collins, August 1, 1983

Beulah Collins (1892-1986), the daughter of a tenant cropper, grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. After her husband died in the influenza epidemic of 1918, Collins moved first to Wilmington, Delaware, and then to Philadelphia with her newborn…

Interview: Beulah Collins, September 19, 1984

Beulah Collins (1892-1986), the daughter of a tenant cropper, grew up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. After her husband died in the influenza epidemic of 1918, Collins moved first to Wilmington, Delaware, and then to Philadelphia with her newborn…

Interview: Arthur Dingle, July 11, 1983

Arthur Clifford Dingle (1891-1989) was born in Manning, South Carolina to Edward Dingle and Susan Emma Dingle. He was one of nine children. Dingle attended public school in South Carolina until the age of 17 when his father died. After the death…

Interview: Charles A. Ealy, May 10, 1985

Born in Mariana, Florida, Charles Ealy (1895-1990) lived and worked in Jacksonville before moving to Philadelphia to take a position with Citizens and Southern Bank. In his 1985 interview, Ealy talks about the African American banking industry and…

Interview: William Fields, March 23, 1984

William E. Fields (b. 1889) the son of a farmer in Denton County, Texas, left home at the age of 17. He soon married, started a family, and moved to Dallas, Texas. Though he had a good job, Fields in 1917 hopped a train for Philadelphia. Though he…

Interview: William Fields, November 11, 1984

William E. Fields (b. 1889) the son of a farmer in Denton County, Texas, left home at the age of 17. He soon married, started a family, and moved to Dallas, Texas. Though he had a good job, Fields in 1917 hopped a train for Philadelphia. Though he…

Interview: Walter Gay, May 22, 1984

Walter Gay (c. 1902- c. 1994) recounts his experiences involving racial violence in the South and his family's move northwards to Philadelphia in the year 1917. Gay discusses his family's values and priorities while describing his thoughts and…

Interview: Walter Gay, April 25, 1984

Walter Gay (c.1902 - c.1994) recounts his experiences involving racial violence in the South and his family's move northwards to Philadelphia in the year 1917. Gay discusses his family's values and priorities while describing his thoughts and…

Interview: Ruth W. Hayre, June 7, 1984

Ruth Wright Hayre (1910-1998), was born in Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Philadelphia. She was the daughter and granddaughter of two of Philadelphia’s most prominent businessmen and civic leaders in the early 1900s. In her 1984 interview, Hayre…

Interview: Fletcher Hillian, Utensie Hillian, June 4, 1984

Fletcher (1895-1992) and Utensie (1902-2006) Hillian participated in the Great Migration by moving to Philadelphia in 1925 from Cheraw and Due West, South Carolina, respectively. They moved north for better living conditions, social conditions, and…

Interview: Fannie Hutchinson, June 25, 1984

Born and raised on a sharecroppers' farm near Petersburg, Virginia, Fannie Hutchinson (1905-1990) was one of sixteen children. In her 1984 interview, Hutchinson spoke of how she started to work at the age of thirteen to help support her family, her…

Interview: Ralph Jones, February 14, 1984

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ralph Jones (1906-1991) witnessed the arrival of Black migrants during the Great Migration and experienced the tensions between the established African American community and the city's southern newcomers. After…

Interview: Ella Lee, June 15, 1984

In this June 15, 1984 interview, Ella Lee (1891-1990) discusses her long and hard life as she travelled from her native Georgia north to Philadelphia during the First Great Migration. Recently widowed, Lee came with her children in 1929 from…

Interview: Milo Manly, September 11, 1984

In this 1984 interview, Milo Manly (1903-1991) discusses his experiences in Philadelphia during the 1920s and 1930s with the Lloyd Committee, Mothers Assistance Fund, and the Philadelphia branch of N.A.A.C.P. He also talks at length about his father,…

Interview: Isadore M. Martin, Jr., August 30, 1984

In these 1984 and 1987 interviews with I. Maximilian Martin Jr (1910-1992) he recounts how his family migrated from Enfield, North Carolina, in 1913. Isadore Martin Sr. chose the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, because he thought the North would…

Interview: Isadore M. Martin, Jr., February 24, 1987