Book dossier

Jacob Lawrence

by Jacob Lawrence

Through a series of paintings, Jacob Lawrence illustrates the mass exodus of African-Americans who moved to the North in search for a better life. Lawrence's parents were among those who migrated between 1916-1919, considered the first wave of the migration. The Great Migration was the largest movement of black people since slavery removed Africans to the Americas. The paintings are accompanied by captions that combine history, sociology, and poetry.