Tuesday, September 13, 2016

The African American Great Migration

Teola Prior Emanuel, my maternal grandmother, was from Prior Station Georgia. She and my maternal grandfather, Matthew Levi Emanuel, were part of the 1st Great African American Migration out of the Southern states, during early 1920s to escape the lynchings and Jim Crow segregation, and to pursue freedom and greater job opportunities in the industrial North.


She played a large role in my early upbringing. I learned about faith, charity, human dignity and the value of family, community and education through her example. She passed away in 1976, 40 years ago.