 Aside from the economic reason, the social atmosphere in the south also prompted my grandmother to migrate. African Americans were judged by the color of their skin, especially when it came to opportunities such as education. A good example is the Brown v Board of Education case, which says blacks and whites could not be both equal and separate. This case made segregation illegal. Mississippi kept its laws which allowed segregation. According to jimcrowhistory.org “All state executive officers required to prevent implementation of school segregation decision by "lawful means." Governor may close any school if he determines closure to be in best interest of majority of children.” This quote means governors could close any school that began integration and communities in some areas of the South refused to change even when national laws were passed making segregation illegal. The South not changing and threat of future generations not prospering caused many African Americans such as Dorothy Thomas and Ida Mae Brandon Gladney to make the decision to leave Mississippi. In Mississippi during the 1940’s, economic prosperity for blacks could not be accomplished without an education. My grandmother only had a 9th grade education and she regrets everyday she never went further in school. “Education was very important to me because I was denied my education and that would not happen to my family”. (Dorothy Thomas). This quote shows how everything my grandmother did was intended to create a better life for our family because she was denied an education. Socially when it came to education, African Americans did not start receiving some equality until the 1950’s. According to Richard B. Baker, “Over the course of the 20th century, there were also dramatic increases in the educational attainment of southern blacks. The school attendance rate increased even more dramatically for those aged 15-20, from 14.9 percent to 45.4 percent, more than tripling in half a century. Over the same period, illiteracy all but disappeared, dropping from 48 percent to around 10 percent.” Educational opportunities for blacks in the South began to improve after many African Americans had migrated to the North. This shows why my grandmother and Ida Mae Brandon Gladney had to leave the South so that they could benefit economically and socially but also how they helped those who stayed to receive prosperity. |
“Education was very important to me because I was denied my education and that would not happen to my family”. (Dorothy Thomas). |
 |
| Jim Crow Laws |