The Great Migration

When i think about it the Great Migration, is responsible for my very existence.  I was born in California in 1993 yet i am a product of the Black exodus from the south.  My fathers family is originally from Louisiana but left to settle in San Francisco.  Upon reading The Warmth of Other Suns I cant help but think about my great grandparents who made that same journey and sought to etch out an existence in the West.  The reasons for such a mass migration varied depending on the individual but they can be boiled down to two motivating factors 1. A desire to escape the repressive rigidity of the Southern caste system and 2. A longing to create purpose and meaning.  Although the ways in which racism oppresses blacks in America has become much more covert, I feel that the beauty of the Migration lies in the fact that its still relevant to this day.  I find myself still motivated by the ideals expounded by the Migration, the need to create purpose in a world that has denied my ability to do so. I often feel as if i am looked down upon or seen as less than due to my skin color and that motivates me to be better, just as it motivated others to leave for the North.  We should all study Great Migration and other movements like it for their beauty lies in the eclecticism of all the people involved.