James Gregory's The Southern Diaspora

James Gregory takes us on a journey from the past in “The Southern Diaspora.” He gives us insight on how black and white migrants transformed America. We get to see a close look on the migrants’ movements to the North and West and how well they accustomed to their new environment. Cultural and political institutions were being transformed immensely. Not to mention, popular culture like music. For example, Blues, Jazz, Rock, Soul, Gospel, and R&B. Also, the development of “Hillbilly” and Country music all depended on the southern migrants. This book’s main point is the impact of southerners on the culture and politics of urban America. Over the course of the twentieth century, close to 8 million black southerners, nearly 20 million white southerners, and more than 1 million southern-born Latinos participated in the diaspora (p. 14). African Americans were moving into cities with the greatest political and cultural authority (p. 113). For example, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Washington D.C were the major cities. Gregory notes that the neighborhood “Bronzeville,” in Chicago was called the “Black Metropolis.” This term was then taken over by the term “ghetto.” Gregory however advises us to reconsider the concept of Black Metropolis. This is because; it calls attention to the …show more content…
Churches were gateway institutions that helped frame both individual lives and communities. This was the case for white migrants and black migrants. However, there were differences in the purpose of their churches. Black churches would promote civic activism on a continuous basis. They would assist political education and political action and would help African Americans impose powerfully into the affairs of the city. In contrast, white churches would be a less consistent source of community activism and at times would encourage social separation and political disengagement (p.