Chicago Jazz and the Great Migration - Term Paper Example

It goes without a word that history on the record can never disappear whatsoever especially the one that cling on the mind. In this respect, jazz and the great migration are histories that people still relish and cherish. They form tremendous memories to people, particularly, of Chicago. In the 20th century, blacks began to move from southern cities to the North in search of decent living. The movement was facilitated by availability of train that provided easy access to the famous Chicago, as well as other northern cities.

The mass movement came about after the World War I started in Europe and no foreign workers could immigrate to America. Therefore, many blacks migrated to Chicago and other cities located in the North. It is the most influential newspaper of the black called the Chicago Defender that encouraged this great migration. Thus, through the newspaper blacks thought that the North could be the land of freedom for them. In fact, some blacks would refer it as ‘the promised Land. They had suffered a lot in the course of slavery and had a high quest for liberty (Grossman, James R.79). It is through this mass movement that jazz musicians found their way to the North.

The jazz musicians came to northern of Chicago on Mississippi riverboats. It was after the closure of New Orleans in Storyville district, in the year 1917. The jazz migration formed a portion of the mass movement experienced in Chicago. From Mississippi river, jazz entered Chicago through the Illinois Central Railroad over the 12th street station. The Railroad is situated 200 miles from Mississippi river in the eastern direction where the riverboats had docked. The mass movement was called The Great Migration.

The migration was mainly composed of African Americans that moved from south to north of Chicago. The immigrants came to Chicago for the same whys and wherefores that other people in the world migrated to other