The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921

Chapter IX

THE STATISTICS OF THE MIGRATION

The apparent effect of the migration in the light of the advanced reports of the census of 1920 has been the movement of the Negro population from the southern cities to northern industrial centers, while there was going on at the same time a movement of the rural Negro population from the rural districts in the South into the thus depleted southern cities to take the places of those migrating to the North. Statistics show, therefore, a small increase or stability in the cities of the South, whereas the Negro population of the State increased less, remained about the same, or decidedly decreased.

Delaware, for example, although a southern State, economically connected with the North, suffered a decrease in its population, having lost during the decade 846 Negroes, or 2.7 per cent, as against an increase from 1910 to 1920 of 484, or 1.6 per cent. Delaware had 492,614 whites and 30,341 Negroes in 1920. Wilmington, however, had 99,381 whites and 10,751 Negroes, showing an increase in the white population of 26.9 per cent and in Negro population of 18.4 per cent.

In Alabama, out of the total population of 2,248,174 there are 900,652 Negroes, whereas in 1910 the Negroes numbered 908,282, showing a decrease in numbers of 8,282, or a decrease of eight-tenths of one per cent. In 47 of the 60 counties there was also a decrease in its number of Negroes. Statistics further show that this decrease in the Negro population was largely among the males and accounts for the change in the sex ratio of the total population of Alabama. The white population during this decade increased by 17.8 per cent. Yet the cities of Alabama did not thus fare. In Birmingham the increase in the white population during the decade between 1910 and 1920 was 28,193, or 35.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 17,912, or 34.2 per cent. In Mobile the white population increased during the same period 8,132, or 28.3 per cent, whereas the Negro population increased 1,130, or 5 per cent, as compared with an increase of 5,718, or 33.5 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. In Montgomery the increase in the white population was 4,828, or 25.7 per cent, while the Negro population increased 504, or 2.6 per cent.

In 1920 the population of the State of Mississippi included 853,962 whites and 935,184 Negroes. In 1910 there were 786,111 whites and 1,009,487 Negroes. The white population increased 8.6 per cent as compared with 22.6 per cent for the previous decade, while the Negro population showed a decrease of 7.4 per cent as against an increase of 11.2 per cent during the preceding decade. The proportion of Negroes in the total population declined from 56.2 per cent in 1910 to 52 per cent in 1920. In most counties of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 68 of the 82 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

The population of the State of Louisiana, according to the last census, is 61 per cent white and 38.9 per cent Negro. In 1910 the percentage of Negroes was 43.1 per cent. The Negro population, which was 713,874 in 1910, decreased to 700,257 in 1920, a decrease of 1.9 per cent. The white population during the same period increased from 941,086 to 1,096,911, or 16.5 per cent. In most of the parishes of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 41 of the 64 parishes there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes. In the city of New Orleans, however, the development was the other way. In 1920 the city had 285,913 whites and 100,918 Negroes. The white population constituted 73.8 per cent of the total in 1920 and 73.6 per cent in 1910 while the Negro population constituted 26.1 per cent of the total in 1920 and 26.3 per cent in 1910. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 36,510, or 14.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 11,656, or 13.1 per cent.

Statistics place South Carolina in middle ground. In 1920 there were in that State 818,538 whites and 864,719 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 679,161 whites and 835,843 Negroes. The rate of increase in the white population was 20.5 per cent as compared with 21.8 per cent for the period from 1900 to 1910. The percentage of increase between 1910 and 1920 in the Negro population was only 3.5 per cent, a rate slightly more than half as great as the corresponding one for the decade from 1900 to 1910, when it was 6.8 per cent. The proportion of Negroes in the total population declined from 55.2 per cent in 1910 to 51.4 per cent in 1920. In the city of Charleston there were 35,617 whites and 32,292 Negroes. The white population constituted 52.4 per cent of the total in 1920 and 47.2 per cent of the total in 1910 and 52.8 per cent in 1900. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 17,853, or 28.3 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 1,236, or 4 per cent.

Some other Southern States did not have the usual increase in the Negro population, but nevertheless did not report a loss in 1910. In 1920 there were found in Maryland 1,204,737 white persons and 244,479 Negroes. The white population increased by 13.4 per cent while the Negro population increased by 5.3 per cent. In almost every county in the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 19 of the 24 counties there was also a decrease in the number of the Negroes. In Baltimore, on the other hand, the tendency was the other way. The white population was 625,074 and the Negro population 108,390, whereas in 1910 there were 473,387 whites and 84,749 Negroes. Both the white and Negro populations, therefore, had increased since 1910, that of the whites being 32 per cent as compared with 10 per cent of the previous decade, and that of the Negro being 27.9 per cent as compared with 6.9 per cent of the previous decade.

The population of Virginia was 1,617,909 whites and 690,017 Negroes. In 1910 there were 1,389,809 whites and 671,096 Negroes. The white population increased 16.4 per cent while the Negro population increased only 2.8 per cent. Lynchburg had 21,714 whites and 8,355 Negroes. In 1910 there were 20,023 whites and 9,456 Negroes. The white population showed an increase since 1910 of 1,691, or 8.4 per cent, while the Negro population showed a decrease of 1,111, or 11.7 per cent. In 1920 Norfolk had 72,243 whites and 43,377 Negroes. In 1910 the figures were 42,353 whites and 25,039 Negroes. The increase of the white population since 1910 was 29,890, or 70.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 18,338, or 73.2 per cent. In 1920 Portsmouth had a white population of 31,104 and 23,242 Negroes. In 1910 this city had 21,560 whites and 11,617 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 9,544, or 44.3 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 11,625, or 101 per cent. Richmond had 117,565 whites and 54,057 Negroes in 1920. In 1910 the city had 80,879 whites and 46,733 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 36,686, or 45.4 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 7,314, or 15.7 per cent. Roanoke had 41,530 whites and 9,300 Negroes while in 1910 the figures were 26,945 whites and 7,924 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 14,585, or 54.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 1,376, or 17.6 per cent.

North Carolina had some increase in its Negro population. The total population of 2,559,123 included 1,783,779 whites and 763,407 Negroes. In 1910 there were 1,500,511 whites and 697,843 Negroes. The increase in the white population was at the rate of 18.9 per cent, while that of the Negro population was 9.4 per cent. In most counties of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 37 of the 100 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

In Georgia the total population of the State comprised 2,895,832, having 1,689,114 white persons and 1,206,365 Negroes. The white population increased by 18 per cent and the Negro by 2.5 per cent. Augusta had a white population of 29,894 whites and 22,576 Negroes, showing an increase during the decade of 32 per cent for the white population as compared with an increase of 8.3 per cent during the previous decade, while the Negro population showed an increase of 23.1 per cent as against a decrease of less than 1 per cent from 1900 to 1910. The white population of Macon increased 32.8 per cent, while the Negro population increased 27.2 per cent. In Rome there was an increase of 19 per cent for the white population as compared with 87.1 per cent of the period before but a decrease in the Negro population of 11.5 per cent against an increase of 32.8 per cent from 1900 to 1910. In Savannah while the white population increased 38.5 per cent, the Negro population increased 17.9 per cent. The statistics of the counties of Georgia show that the percentage of Negroes decreased and that in 82 of 155 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

The total population of Florida in 1920 was 968,470. 638,153 of these were white and 329,487 were Negroes, whereas corresponding figures for 1910 showed 443,634 whites and 308,669 Negroes. This indicates that the white population increased by 43.8 per cent and the Negro population by 6.7 per cent. Jacksonville then had 50,031 whites and 41,479 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 21,702, or 76.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 12,186, or 41.6 per cent. The city of Tampa had a population of 40,057 whites and 11,520 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 11,267, or 39.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 2,569, or 28.7 per cent. In almost every county of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased, and in 28 of the 54 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes.

The border States suffered much from the migration. Kentucky, according to the census of 1920, had 2,416,630 persons. Of these 2,180,560 were whites and 235,938 were Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 2,027,000 whites and 261,656 Negroes. The white population increased 7.5 per cent and the Negro population decreased 9.8 per cent. There was a decrease in the number of Negroes in 104 of the 120 counties. The city of Covington, however, showed that while the white population was increasing 7.4 per cent, that of the Negro increased 4.9 per cent in contradistinction to what took place in the State as a whole. In Louisville the increase of the white population since 1910 was lower than that for the preceding decade, and the Negro population increased only one-tenth of one per cent during that period, having been 40,522 in 1910 and 40,118 in 1920.

Tennessee belongs to the declining class so far as the Negro population is concerned. In 1920 the State had 1,885,993 whites and 451,758 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 1,711,432 whites and 473,088 Negroes. The white population increased by 10.2 per cent while the Negro population decreased by 4.5 per cent. In most of the counties of the State the percentage of Negroes decreased and in 75 of the 95 counties there was also a decrease in the number of Negroes. In Chattanooga there were 39,024 whites and 18,856 Negroes. The figures for 1910 were 26,660 whites and 17,942 Negroes. The increase in the white population during the decade was 12,364, or 46.4 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 924, or 5.1 per cent. In Knoxville there was a white population of 66,508 and a Negro population of 11,303. The figures for 1910 were 28,760 whites and 7,638 Negroes. The increase in the white population was at a much higher rate than during the preceding decade, the increase from 1910 to 1920 being 37,802, or 131.7 per cent, as compared with 3,428, or 13.6 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. The increase of the Negro population was also greater from 1910 to 1920 than from 1900 to 1910, the increase being 3,665, or 48 per cent, from 1910 to 1920 as compared with 279, or 3.8 per cent, from 1900 to 1910.

The population of Memphis included 101,117 whites and 61,173 Negroes. The figures for 1910 were 78,590 whites and 52,441 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was much lower than that for the preceding decade, the increase from 1910 to 1920 being 22,527, or 28.7 per cent, as compared with 26,210, or 50 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. The increase in the Negro population was greater from 1910 to 1920 than from 1900 to 1910, the increase being 8,732, or 16.7 per cent, from 1910 to 1920 as against 2,531, or 51 per cent, from 1900 to 1910. In 1920 Nashville had 82,699 whites and 35,634 Negroes. In 1910 the corresponding numbers were 73,831 whites and 36,523 Negroes. While the increase in the white population since 1910 was lower than that of the preceding decade, there was a decrease in the Negro population from 1910 to 1920, the decrease being 889, or 2.4 per cent, from 1910 to 1920, as against an increase of 6,479, or 21.6 per cent, from 1900 to 1910.

Missouri, however, forming a part of the industrial West, did not follow the fortunes of Kentucky and Tennessee. In 1920 there were in Missouri 3,225,044 whites and 178,241 Negroes, whereas the figures for 1910 were 3,134,932 whites and 157,452 Negroes. During the decade the white population increased by 2.9 per cent. The population of Kansas City was 293,532 whites and 30,706 Negroes. The white population constituted 90.5 per cent of the total population and the Negro 9.5 per cent. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 30.6 per cent, while the corresponding increase of the Negro population was 7,140, or 30.3 per cent. In St. Louis there were 702,764 whites and 69,603 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 60,276, or 9.4 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 25,643, or 58.3 per cent.

The more favorable condition in Missouri obtained throughout the Southwest. In 1920 there were in Oklahoma 1,821,194 white persons and 149,408 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 1,144,531 white persons and 137,612 Negroes. During the decade the white population increased by 26.1 per cent, while the Negro population increased only 8.6 per cent. The white population of Oklahoma City was 82,847 and that of the Negroes 8,269. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 25,354, or 44.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 1,723, or 26.3 per cent. There were in Okmulgee 13,967 whites and 3,372 Negroes. The white population increased since 1910 11,241, or 412.4 per cent, while the increase in the Negro population during the same period was 1,996, or 145.1 per cent. In Tulsa there were 63,430 whites and 8,442 Negroes. The white population constituted 88 per cent of the total in 1920 and 88.1 per cent in 1910, while the Negro population constituted 11.7 per cent of the total in 1920 and 10.8 per cent in 1910. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 47,212, or 296 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 6,483, or 330.9 per cent.

In Arkansas the situation seemed to be somewhat the same. The total population of that state in 1920 was 1,752,204. Of this number 1,279,757 were whites and 472,220 were Negroes. The white population increased by 13.2 per cent and the Negro population by 6.6 per cent. During this period the city of Little Rock in that State increased its white population to 47,658 and 17,474 Negroes. The increase in the white population during the decade was 16,273, or 51.8 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was only 2,935, or 20.2 per cent. The statistics as to counties show a decrease in a percentage in the Negro population and 43 of 75 counties reported a decrease in numbers.

The white population of Texas in 1920 was 3,918,165 and that of the Negro 741,694. The corresponding figures for the previous decade were 3,204,848 whites and 690,049 Negroes. During the decade the white population increased by 22.3 per cent while the Negro population increased by only 7.5 per cent. Dallas had a white population of 134,888 and 24,023 Negroes, whereas in 1910 there were 74,043 whites and 18,024 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 60,845, or 82.2 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 5,999, or 33.3 per cent. El Paso had 75,843 whites and 1,373 Negroes. In 1910 the corresponding figures were 37,586 whites and 1,452 Negroes. While the white population showed an increase in 1920 of 38,257, or 101.8 per cent, the Negro population showed a decrease of 121, or 8.3 per cent. Fort Worth had a white population of 90,466 and 15,876 Negroes. The figures for 1910 were 59,960 whites and 13,280 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 30,506, or 50.9 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 2,616, or 19.7 per cent. In Houston there were 104,367 whites and 33,843 Negroes. In 1910 there were 54,832 whites and 23,929 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 49,535, or 90.3 per cent, while the corresponding increase of the Negro population was 9,914, or 41.4 per cent. In San Antonio there were 146,795 whites and 14,355 Negroes. In 1910 there were 85,801 whites and 10,716 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 60,924, or 71.1 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 3,639, or 34 per cent.

West Virginia, economically a part of the North or West rather than of the South, showed tendencies directly opposite to those of that section to which it is historically connected. In 1920 the State had 1,377,235 whites and 86,345 Negroes. The corresponding figures for 1910 were 1,156,817 whites and 64,173 Negroes. The white population increased by 19.1 per cent while the Negro population increased by 34.6 per cent. The city of Huntington had 47,279 whites and 2,890 Negroes, whereas in 1910 the figures were 29,009 whites and 2,140 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 18,270, or 63 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 750, or 35 per cent. Wheeling had 54,579 whites and 1,619 Negroes. In 1910 the figures were 40,433 whites and 1,201 Negroes. The increase in the white population since 1910 was 14,146, or 35 per cent, while the corresponding increase in the Negro population was 418, or 34.8 per cent.

The effect of the migration in the North and West will be interesting also. The census showed a decidedly large increase in the population in the important industrial States just beyond the line of the North and South. In the North and West there were 1,550,754 Negroes, whereas there were only 1,078,336 in 1910, the increase being 472,448, or at the rate of 43.8 per cent. In the extremely northern and north-western portions of the country the Negro population was not affected otherwise than normally. New England had 66,306 Negroes in 1910 and 79,051 in 1920. The increase was 12,745. The increase and the decrease in the Negro population of these States does not mean very much in percentage because of the very small number of Negroes in that section. For example, the increase in the Negro population of Connecticut, the State most affected thereby, was 5,872, which in the form of a percentage would mean 38.7 per cent. The state had only 21,046 Negroes in 1920 as compared with 15,174 in 1910. The Negro population of New Hampshire, moreover, increased from 564 in 1910 to 621 in 1920, meaning an increase of 10.1 per cent. Vermont had only 572 Negroes in 1920 as against 1,621 in 1910, showing thereby a decrease of 64.7 per cent. Rhode Island had 10,056 Negroes in 1920 and 9,529 in 1910. Massachusetts had 45,466 Negroes in 1920 as compared with 38,055 in 1910. While the white population was increasing 14.4 per cent, the Negro population increased 19.5 per cent. Boston had 16,350 Negroes in 1920 and 13,564 in 1910, showing an increase of 20.5 per cent, while the white population was increasing 11.4 per cent. Maine had 1,310 Negroes in 1910 and 1,363 in 1920, showing an increase of 3.9 per cent in the Negro population, while the white population was increasing only 3.5 per cent.

New York increased its Negro population 47.9 per cent. This State had 134,191 Negroes in 1910 and 198,423 in 1920. The migration did not materially affect any cities in the State except New York City, Buffalo and Rochester. The Negro population of New York City increased from 91,709 in 1910 to 153,088 in 1920, an increase of 66.9 per cent. In Buffalo, an industrial center, the Negro population increased 154.8 per cent, that is, from 1,773 in 1910 to 4,517 in 1920. The Negro population of Rochester increased from 879 in 1910 to 1,599 in 1920, an increase of 720, or 81.9 per cent.

In New Jersey there was an increase of 30.5 per cent in the Negro population during this period, that is, from 89,760 Negroes in 1910 to 117,132 in 1920. The cities much affected thereby were Camden, East Orange, Jersey City, Atlantic City, and Newark. The Negro population in Atlantic City increased 11.3 per cent, that is, from 9,834 in 1910 to 10,948 in 1920. That of Camden increased 40.1 per cent, that is, from 6,076 Negroes in 1910 to 8,513 in 1920; that of East Orange 24.6 per cent, that is, from 1,907 Negroes in 1910 to 2,377 in 1920; that of Jersey City 33.3 per cent, that is, from 5,960 Negroes in 1910 to 7,947 in 1920; that of Newark increased 79.5 per cent, that is, from 9,475 in 1910 to 17,010 Negroes in 1920.

The Negro population of Pennsylvania increased 46.7 per cent. This State had 193,919 Negroes in 1910 and 284,568 in 1920, the increase being 46.7 per cent. The cities which were materially affected by the migration were Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Chester. The Negro population of Philadelphia increased from 84,459 in 1910 to 134,098 in 1920, showing an increase of 49,632, or 48.8 per cent. The Negro population of Pittsburgh increased 47.1 per cent, that is, from 25,623 in 1910 to 37,688 in 1920. The Negro population of Harrisburg increased from 4,535 in 1910 to 5,256 in 1920. The Negro population of Chester increased 48.5 per cent, that is, from 4,795 in 1910 to 7,119 in 1920. The Negro population of such cities as Altoona, York, Washington, Harrisburg, Johnstown and Lancaster was considerably increased, in some cases more than doubled; but not sufficiently to make any material change in the complexion of the city.

Ohio had an increase in the Negro population of 67.1 per cent. This State had 111,452 Negroes in 1910 and 186,187 in 1920. The cities much affected thereby were Cincinnati with an increase of 35.6 per cent, that is, from 19,639 in 1910 to 29,636 in 1920; Columbus with an increase of 73.4 per cent, that is, from 12,739 in 1910 to 22,091 in 1920; Dayton with an increase of 43 per cent, that is, from 4,842 in 1910 to 9,029 in 1920. Toledo had an increase of 203.1 per cent, that is, from 1,877 in 1910 to 5,690 in 1920; Youngstown had an increase of 244 per cent, that is, from 1,936 in 1910 to 6,660 in 1920; and Cleveland had the largest percentage of all, showing an increase of 308.1 per cent, that is, from 8,448 in 1910 to 34,374 in 1920.

The Negro population of Indiana increased 34 per cent, that is, from 60,320 in 1910 to 80,810 in 1920. The cities most affected by this migration were Gary with an increase from 383 in 1910 to 5,299 in 1920; Indianapolis with an increase of 59 per cent, that is, from 21,816 in 1910 to 34,690 in 1920, and Terre Haute with an increase of 40.6 per cent, that is, from 2,593 in 1910 to 3,646 in 1920. Fort Wayne was not materially affected. Evansville had 6,400 in 1920, only 134 more than it had in 1910. South Bend had practically no Negroes at first but received 691 during this decade in addition to the 604 which it had in 1910.

The Negro population of Illinois increased 67.1 per cent, that is, from 109,049 in 1910 to 182,274 in 1920. The two urban centers chiefly affected in that State were East St. Louis and Chicago. The Negro population of Chicago increased 148.5 per cent, that is, from 44,103 in 1910 to 109,594 Negroes in 1920. The Negro population of East St. Louis increased from 5,882 in 1910 to 7,433 in 1920, the percentage being 26.5 per cent. The change in the complexion of the population of Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield is not interesting.

Michigan showed an increase in the Negro population of 251 per cent, that is, from 17,115 in 1910 to 60,082 in 1920. Detroit was most affected thereby, its population having increased 623.4 per cent, that is, from 5,751 Negroes in 1910 to 41,532 in 1920.