effect of the great migration on the african
american community in the bayview-hunters point
district, san francisco
The United States population doesn’t only consist of Americans: many citizens come from foreign countries. One of the main ethnic groups present in America is African Americans. African Americans were first brought to America by force as slaves during the Slave Trade. Then a majority of their population migrated during the 20th century, more specifically from 1910 to 1970, with a short pause during the Great Depression: this movement was called the Great Migration. During the Great Migration, approximately 6 million African Americans moved from the south of the United States to the north and west in search of better living conditions and better job opportunities. However, these immigrants were faced with many difficulties as they tried to integrate themselves into new communities, such as finding jobs and housing, overcoming segregation, and providing good living conditions for their families.
Over the centuries, most immigrants came to San Francisco either because their country was at war, the food and water were very scarce or even to join family or friends. Even though their country was in an unstable state, the newcomers still had the choice between staying in their native country or moving to a new one. For the African Americans, it was an entirely different concept: they were brought to America by force as part of the slave trade. After the abolition of slavery in 1865 by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, African Americans lived in the South and suffered segregation, notably through the Jim Crow Laws, which were enacted from 1876 to 1965. Because of their skin color, the only jobs that were accessible to them paid even less than for most of the other newcomers, such as manual labor in the fields, and they were generally poverty-stricken. However, as industrialisation developed in the end of the 19th century and 20th century, less labor was required in the fields because the job was done faster and more efficiently using new developed technology, so the African Americans began to work as factory workers instead. As World War I erupted, young white men were drafted into the army to fight, leaving their jobs unoccupied. Many immigrants, like the African Americans, seized this opportunity to get safer and better paying jobs. This ensued in approximately 1.6 million African Americans from the South to move to the North and West to work in factories from 1910 to 1930, a movement which was called the Great Migration.
One of the common destinations of the Great Migration was the San Francisco Bay Area. Jobs were not easily found for most immigrants coming to San Francisco, and when work was found by the newcomers, the pay and the quality of the job were very low. Many of the African American immigrants who came to the Bay Area during World War II found jobs in the shipyards, such as the shipyard in Bayview-Hunters Point, in San Francisco. These immigrants helped manufacture ships for the U.S Navy, which were then used as weapons in the war. From 1939 to 1945, approximately 18 000 African Americans worked in the Bayview shipyard. This job opportunity helped contribute to the expansion of the population in the Bayview district: from 1940 to 1950, the population increased from 14,011 to 51,406 people. However, as the war ended and the U.S Navy no longer needed ships, the shipyard industry declined, concluding in 1974 with the closure of the Bayview shipyard, and loss of jobs for many.
Due to the sharp increase in population of the Bayview-Hunters Point district in the 1940s-1950s, housing accommodations were also required to lodge the influx of immigrants. Many African Americans first went to live in the Fillmore district, which became home to a large community, often nicknamed as the “Harlem of the West”, which included many nightclubs where famous jazz artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, would come to play to. However, after the renewal of the district in 1948, housing associations became segregated and the neighborhood become predominantly white, and African Americans moved to the Bayview district. As the discrimination by bancors and realtors, which was backed by Fair Housing Act (FHA) policies, made it very difficult for African Americans to find housing in other areas than Bayview, they were confined to that district. To prevent this segregation, the FHA passed anti-discriminatory laws in 1968, but the prejudice continued into the 1970s and 1980s anyways. In another attempt to help improve the housing in the Bayview district, Mayor Alioto, in the late 1960s, elected the district to participate in the “Model Cities” project, which aimed to renew the community, notably by creating housing projects, building community facilities and attracting new businesses to the area. However, this project failed. To this day, the isolation of the Bayview district continues, as it is separated from the rest of San Francisco by the 101 and 280 highways, and has poor access to public transportation. However, many projects remain in place to attempt to improve the conditions of this district.
A major part of the population of San Francisco was not welcome to the idea of strangers coming to their city, making it hard for African Americans to integrate into the society. After the shipyard closed in 1974, many became jobless, as their main source of employment had gone out of business, so the district became a ghetto. The shipyard also had a huge environmental impact on the area, as it left behind a very large pollution site, such as very toxic waste and one of California’s largest radioactive sites. This causes, to this day, for the Bayview district to have one of the highest infant mortality rates in California, as well as an extremely high rate of asthma and cancer. Since the 1980s, a high rate of crime and gangs is also present in the community, because it is so isolated, and there are not very many other opportunities for the youth. The district also represents 20-30% of San Francisco’s homicides. However, discrimination to this day is much less important than it once was, and living conditions have greatly improved for the African American community living in San Francisco.
Many aspects of the Great Migration reverberate through today’s culture, in modern day San Francisco. It has created or expanded new districts, such as the Bayview-Hunters Point, which still proliferate to this day. Even though the job opportunities that were offered to the immigrants are no longer available or an important part of San Francisco’s economy, they still are present in the landscape. Thankfully, discrimination is no longer as important today as it was fifty years ago, but it is a part of San Francisco’s history that we must not forget. Most importantly, though, the culture that African Americans brought with them is still present to this day and celebrated in San Francisco. The Great Migration has helped the African American community grow in San Francisco, and has become an crucial part of it’s history.
Over the centuries, most immigrants came to San Francisco either because their country was at war, the food and water were very scarce or even to join family or friends. Even though their country was in an unstable state, the newcomers still had the choice between staying in their native country or moving to a new one. For the African Americans, it was an entirely different concept: they were brought to America by force as part of the slave trade. After the abolition of slavery in 1865 by the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, African Americans lived in the South and suffered segregation, notably through the Jim Crow Laws, which were enacted from 1876 to 1965. Because of their skin color, the only jobs that were accessible to them paid even less than for most of the other newcomers, such as manual labor in the fields, and they were generally poverty-stricken. However, as industrialisation developed in the end of the 19th century and 20th century, less labor was required in the fields because the job was done faster and more efficiently using new developed technology, so the African Americans began to work as factory workers instead. As World War I erupted, young white men were drafted into the army to fight, leaving their jobs unoccupied. Many immigrants, like the African Americans, seized this opportunity to get safer and better paying jobs. This ensued in approximately 1.6 million African Americans from the South to move to the North and West to work in factories from 1910 to 1930, a movement which was called the Great Migration.
One of the common destinations of the Great Migration was the San Francisco Bay Area. Jobs were not easily found for most immigrants coming to San Francisco, and when work was found by the newcomers, the pay and the quality of the job were very low. Many of the African American immigrants who came to the Bay Area during World War II found jobs in the shipyards, such as the shipyard in Bayview-Hunters Point, in San Francisco. These immigrants helped manufacture ships for the U.S Navy, which were then used as weapons in the war. From 1939 to 1945, approximately 18 000 African Americans worked in the Bayview shipyard. This job opportunity helped contribute to the expansion of the population in the Bayview district: from 1940 to 1950, the population increased from 14,011 to 51,406 people. However, as the war ended and the U.S Navy no longer needed ships, the shipyard industry declined, concluding in 1974 with the closure of the Bayview shipyard, and loss of jobs for many.
Due to the sharp increase in population of the Bayview-Hunters Point district in the 1940s-1950s, housing accommodations were also required to lodge the influx of immigrants. Many African Americans first went to live in the Fillmore district, which became home to a large community, often nicknamed as the “Harlem of the West”, which included many nightclubs where famous jazz artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, would come to play to. However, after the renewal of the district in 1948, housing associations became segregated and the neighborhood become predominantly white, and African Americans moved to the Bayview district. As the discrimination by bancors and realtors, which was backed by Fair Housing Act (FHA) policies, made it very difficult for African Americans to find housing in other areas than Bayview, they were confined to that district. To prevent this segregation, the FHA passed anti-discriminatory laws in 1968, but the prejudice continued into the 1970s and 1980s anyways. In another attempt to help improve the housing in the Bayview district, Mayor Alioto, in the late 1960s, elected the district to participate in the “Model Cities” project, which aimed to renew the community, notably by creating housing projects, building community facilities and attracting new businesses to the area. However, this project failed. To this day, the isolation of the Bayview district continues, as it is separated from the rest of San Francisco by the 101 and 280 highways, and has poor access to public transportation. However, many projects remain in place to attempt to improve the conditions of this district.
A major part of the population of San Francisco was not welcome to the idea of strangers coming to their city, making it hard for African Americans to integrate into the society. After the shipyard closed in 1974, many became jobless, as their main source of employment had gone out of business, so the district became a ghetto. The shipyard also had a huge environmental impact on the area, as it left behind a very large pollution site, such as very toxic waste and one of California’s largest radioactive sites. This causes, to this day, for the Bayview district to have one of the highest infant mortality rates in California, as well as an extremely high rate of asthma and cancer. Since the 1980s, a high rate of crime and gangs is also present in the community, because it is so isolated, and there are not very many other opportunities for the youth. The district also represents 20-30% of San Francisco’s homicides. However, discrimination to this day is much less important than it once was, and living conditions have greatly improved for the African American community living in San Francisco.
Many aspects of the Great Migration reverberate through today’s culture, in modern day San Francisco. It has created or expanded new districts, such as the Bayview-Hunters Point, which still proliferate to this day. Even though the job opportunities that were offered to the immigrants are no longer available or an important part of San Francisco’s economy, they still are present in the landscape. Thankfully, discrimination is no longer as important today as it was fifty years ago, but it is a part of San Francisco’s history that we must not forget. Most importantly, though, the culture that African Americans brought with them is still present to this day and celebrated in San Francisco. The Great Migration has helped the African American community grow in San Francisco, and has become an crucial part of it’s history.