The Great Migration and the power of a single decision | Isabel Wilkerson
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- Опубликовано: 5 апр 2018
- Sometimes, a single decision can change the course of history. Join journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson as she tells the story of the Great Migration, the outpouring of six million African Americans from the Jim Crow South to cities in the North and West between World War I and the 1970s. This was the first time in American history that the lowest caste people signaled they had options and were willing to take them -- and the first time they had a chance to choose for themselves what they would do with their innate talents, Wilkerson explains. "These people, by their actions, were able to do what the powers that be, North and South, could not or would not do," she says. "They freed themselves."
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Yo was good to all the students that got this video assigned, (I’m one of them, hi)
Mann horrible im stuck on a question
Yo wassup me too
My parents did it too
Wassssup
wsp
Who's here for an assignment?
Ya should read here book I’m reading now called Caste.
@Larry Terry why would you do that
Me! World Geography class
Isabel is one of the most important and prolife writer today. Her work is profoundly important to change the deeply inbeded cast system in America. A system that was purposely design to oppress and destroy souls😢..She is clear and concise in helping us understand how we've gotten so far in this great divide. Her books should be on every home shelf and every library. Thank you so much for presenting this horriffic system so clearly and eloquently. ❤
I am here because of the Great Migration. My father's grandparents, his mother, his aunts and uncles, all over the years, left behind a little town in Arkansas in hopes of a better life in Chicago! I am so proud to call myself a product of this wonderful time in history.
I came here for a school assignment but I am glad I got to watch it
Can u send me your work?:) plz
Me too. It was great. Think I'll share on social media.
The story of a library book is telling about how caste perpetuates itself. The upper castes corner resources that lower castes cannot access to remedy their situation. Resources like education, nutrition and sanitation. Thank you for your work.
My mother (the oldest of 9) was born Black and in the south in 19 and 39. In 1959, she 'migrated' to Southern California, and by 1961 she had saved enough to send for her mother, father, and 8 brothers and sisters.
good for her, she must be a wonderful woman
@@bluesparrows787 Thank you :)
What a strong, wonderful woman. Thanks for sharing that story. I hope your family is treating her like a queen.👸
@@cherylmoatz4739 Just saw her yesterday. We had an interesting conversation. She talked about how she thinks Mary Tyler Moore might have been Black. I think she might be right.
Your book, Caste needs to be a must read in schools.
Thank you.
Prof Wilkerson's 'Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents' is a must-read to understand present day.
I'm reading it now, & what an eye opener. I'm proud to report I'm the product of the great migration. I was born & raised in Jersey, but my parents are from SC. Ms. Wilkerson was correct in pointing out wherever u were from is where u migrated north. Growing up in Jersey, most of my neighbors, friends, & classmates had one or two parents from SC. Lots of times the ones who migrated knew each other or knew someone who knew them. One of the best parts Ms. Wilkerson left out (I'm sure it's in her book I plan on buying) is the cooking from the South. Soul food tastes so good, & makes me think about my family from the South, because the food is cooked with love. Even though the South has an absolutely horrible history for AAs, our people brought their culture, hopes, dreams, & talents. To me, our people brought beauty out of ashes & made a new life across the US, & we survived & thrived.
@@terrify2745 Wonderful 🙏 Thank you for sharing 💖
I am from China and I never know this. Thank you for the history class of USA.
Yeah , Ted Talks are really good especially for topics you don't know that much about . But I am so glad that your trying your best to educate yourself !!!! :)
This is a very important part of American history. Thanks for sharing!
Major urban blight too
@@jaxxbrat2634 explain?
Thank you, Isabel. You are helping me teach this in my US History class today.
I read Caste and then had to read Warmth of Other Suns. Wilkerson’s research and writing style makes this history so impactful. I’m so glad I was able to learn this neglected part of our history.
Nice books
Yes, one will never understand the history of the USA until you have read The Warmth of Other Suns.
Fantastic books, learned so much. Her writing style is so readable, couldn't put the books down. My book club enjoyed them immensely. Ms. Wilkerson is a national treasure.
I love this sister! She spoke at our university when "The Warmth of Other Suns" first came out -- such a down to earth, funny, and delightful spirit.
My gosh, seeing the passion in her eyes explains so much. We do not have to had been there to experience how segregation is such an unnecessary limitation. Just live with your neighbour. Not against them.
This is the perhaps the most profound speech about African Americans in our day and it is long overdue. I say this with a heavy heart because it should also be to every person of every nationality in every part of the world. There is no being who has ever lived or who will be born or come into existence who has not been both directly and/or indirectly impacted by a contribution made from a person of African descent. The presenter Mrs. Wilkerson, was not even talking about American Slavery, (which is so enormous that this country cannot comprehend even a discussion about reparations in 2019--but has been and still continues to pay for other systematic cruelties towards other ethnic groups), she was referring to the years after slavery...the cruel Jim Crow years of the South where 90% of newly 'freed' African Americans lived, worked for no money, and were robbed of their human rights to survive, earn a descent living, have choices, experience joy, be offered opportunities, and to just be left alone. Our great President Lincoln 'freed' slaves in states that he did not control. We didn't know that, but just the same, between 1916 and 1970, over 6,000,000 African Americans realized that no matter what they did or how hard they worked, the playing field of life would never be leveled for them in the South, so they made the decision to leave with no help from the government. This is a history that has been kept from the mainstream. I NEVER heard of this throughout school, including while obtaining my Bachelor's and Master's degrees. I only knew that my family is from the South. Black families don't like talking about why they left, and besides, why would someone with power want to empower the 'oppressed' with a clue that could be a game changer in their total mindset and life decisions? When did they have the 'since taking someone's life because they are caught reading is now illegal, so, instead, let's blot it out of the history books and keep them distracted' meeting? There may not be proof that there actually was such a meeting, but history has proven that the thought process produced the status quo all these years, 'and still we rise.' It has been said that the graveyard is the richest place on earth because that is where more hope, talent, dreams, inventions, discoveries, etc. die unfulfilled within the person who dies. It is written that only the Holy One robbed the grave. Amen. But I tell you, the Grimm Reaper became sick when thousands of people walked off the fields, farms, and factories and before they closed their eyes for the last time, they blessed the world with their God-given talents and gifts and a roadmap for us to do the same. Simple-minded people will try to make this a Black/White issue and turn us against each other. The presenter, Mrs. Wilkerson spoke with a monotone voice to take her emotions out of it and allow others who may not share this experience to have their own emotions about it. Everyone knows Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad would not have been successful without Whites who wanted slavery to end. Branch Rickey, a White Baseball Manager, sought out Jackie Robinson, not because Jackie was the best ball player, but because he was the one who could break the color barrier in baseball, which he did. No one may care about baseball, or slavery, or any other contribution made by the people or their children who left the fields of the South, but the next time you turn on your air, heat, alarm system, or lights, wash your clothes, wear shoes, eat food, receive any kind of medical treatment in a sterile facility, (thanks to Mrs. Henrietta Lacks (look her up), the doctors who harvested her cells (without her knowledge) and Ms. Rebecca Skloot, the White author who wrote and published her amazing story), use sugar, wear clothes, go to bed on clean sheets, celebrate your freedom in this great nation, listen to great music, watch your favorite sports teams, etc., it may go a long way to show some gratitude. We celebrate other cultures for their victories and stories of overcoming and will continue to do so, even when others don't celebrate or support ours. In the end, we won't be judged as a group but as individuals, so maybe we should spend the rest of our lives bringing our gifts to the world before we close our eyes for good . Thank you TED Ed for this platform.
I enjoyed reading your comment. Thank you.
Absolutely! !!Dear Sir your review is just, mostly; "Eloquently +Effective +Dinamically! 1000% Agrees in All your words /thoughts! Wonderfully, She's Very; Knowledgeable +Inspires +Extremely Educative (Much more needing in ours Waking up to Reality /Facts, and the, (stills much present in our society,) Unfortunately! ,Ignorance!👍
Tamara, your comment is a “good read” Definitely following you!👛👛
5:56 crazy how engaged everyone looks
As a product of that Migration of the Mississippi streamI really enjoyed this talk. My Great Grandmother, who is still alive and was an adult during segregation spoke about moving north and starting over in all black neighborhoods. If she hadnt there's no telling if id be who i am, if she would have had the ability to teach us the things she did that lead to our successes.
She is a national treasure!
Excellent history. Don't let it die. Highly appreciated. Thank you.
Phenomenal book and great video! My great-grandmother was a part of the Great Migration to Los Angeles from Alabama and my brother is of the newer migration of blacks to Chicago ♥️
Isabel Wilkerson book Caste should be a requirement for schools, colleges and all people in the US. Excellent book
I am reading Cast. It explains to me how Trump came to power and the presidency by again reaching out and inciting the white hatred of black American brothers and sisters. He added the hatred of other levels of the caste by instilling fear of anyone that is non white. I also thought this should be required reading in high school. But I doubt it would affect those in the white caste who want to retain their white superiority. Those are the ones who showed up at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and continue to desire Trump to return so they can continue to rouse hatred and superiority over anyone who doesnt look like them.
You are absolutely right.
You are 100% correct. 0% happening, the racists in this country are banning books like, "To Kill A Mocking Bird" and others. They are trying to
erase Our-story, not increase our knowledge.
We never learned about this in school. Southern and Eastern European migration to America, yes, but the migration of six million blacks fleeing the Jim Crow South for opportunity in northern cities was somehow not deemed worth learning about. I was in a graduate program in history before I learned about it. Shameful.
Brian Jensen Im learning it right now for English
Janie Simone That’s great. Learn your history well!
The Great Migration and the Power of a Single Decision
What were 2 reasons for African-Americans to migrate North?
What personal story was most meaningful to you? Why
(Can u help me please its from the video)
I am 62 years old.....and I was taught this in high school
American curriculums are finally changing, more and more kids are learning about the rich history of Black people in the USA
Oh, this beginning is thinking of my ancestors from Ireland, Austria and Norway. I'm always in awe of those decisions and thankful to them.
Don't understand how this video has less than a million views
Excellent. Her books should be required reading in all High Schools and American History classes.
This is a brilliant work based on solid research that explains the great migration of African Americans and their struggle to survive in these United States of America. I am a child of that migration- my family moved from 😮 Waynesboro ,Georgia to Boston, Massachusetts in 1964 to seek a better life.
I am a product of the Great Migration. My maternal grandparents all came to the north for better opportunities. On my grandfather’s side his siblings along with his parents left segregated Fort Gaines Georgia and migrated to Chicago, however, they were told that the black culture is rich is Harlem due to the Harlem Renaissance at the time. Later on, they were informed that a lot of Blacks thrive in Newark NJ. As a result, my grandparents both came from the South. My grandmother was a small town girl from Magnolia NC, she graduated High school and moved up north with her two sisters Annie Rae and Eleanor (Sissy) Mae. My grandmother was Jannie Bell by the way. Eleanor has moved to Manhattan and found a man and later on became her husband. Annie Rae met a man here in NJ called James Bouldin and later on became her husband too. Then, Jannie Bell-Newkirk(my grandmother) had befriended three sisters by the name of Eunice Woods Morant, Emma Woods-Dixon and Marjorie Woods Bruton. All were sisters from Fort Gaines Georgia and they all loved Jannie. They had a brother named Joseph Edward Woods(my grandfather) and thought this man would be the that soon swept her off her feet. He stood at 6 foot 8inches and my grandmother stood at 5 feet 6 inches. They became close friends and soon lovers. They later on got married and had 7 beautiful children. Stephen, Arleen, Lathan, Barbara(my mother), Diane, Ethel and Joseph Jr. Their story ended due to Joe Sr.’s heavy alcoholism and abusive behavior their relationship ended. Years after the separation Joe Sr perished after complications from a house fire from his mother’s house. Later on 26 years later Barbara Woods met a Bahamian man named Michael Williams Sr. in the Bahamas on a getaway with her friend from High School. Later on, they became lovers and were bound to be engaged. But due to a Michael’s stubbornness she left him. Weeks later she thought she had real bad gas. She went to her OB-Gyn and discovered she was pregnant with a boy. Nine months later she gave birth to a 6lb 14oz baby and named him Deion Woods and was a single parent. Years later Michael passed away due to a heart attack and 7 years after his death Barbara was diagnosed with cancer and died months later. However her son is still alive and this is the story on how the Great Migration saved began my family!
This is prolific! Amazing speech!Thank you for being the light and spreading the light to our youth who are uninformed
This was so good! Thank you for this exchange!
I'm reading The Warmth of Other Suns right now and it's been amazing. I have family who was part of the Great Migration.
Bravo! So brilliantly told!
I’m only here cause this is a school assignment
Same! For my college English course.
Same dude
Do u know what she said about The Great Migration and the Power of a Single Decision
What were 2 reasons for African-Americans to migrate North?
Give one of the example she uses of a Jim Crow law.
same, it is my 8th grade assignment
Same
This talk serves as a poignant reminder of the critical significance of social justice, equality, and the unyielding struggle against institutionalized oppression.
Thank you for this important and much neglected history lesson. I learned so much about our difficult history.
"They freed themselves"!!!! I love that.
Beautiful!
Wow some sacrifices can truly have a life time effect
Excellent!
Powerful presentation!
History written by a victim is different from a version put forward as the facts.
Communication must be such that the message enters and dwells in the ears of the listener.
Your presentation is a success. Well done.
Isabel's books should be required reading on the American curriculum.
We are still in time, same place. BELIEVE AND ACHEVE YOUR GOALS.
It's really an interesting topic to discuss as migration is really crucial part and one has to go through so much.. of pressure ...and u really stress out
"they had more power in leaving than in staying"
My Gosh Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor … The essence was embodied!!❤
4:27 "No other group of Americans has had to act like immigrants in order to be recognized as citizens"
sometimes it is better to just leave.......go as afar as your energy can give.......
Shout out to our great great grandparents who made the bold decision to leave India in the 1880s to come to South Africa..
That’s not what this video is about but kay
I was born in Richmond VA in 1975, and I saw the leftovers of what she describes. White only fountains and restrooms. Segregated community swimming pools. Neighborhoods redlining affecting school demographics. Her use of the word "caste" is on the mark. Sadly, segregation continued in the north, even enforced by government at all levels, as documented in the book _The Color of Law._ We can be thankful that this created a critical mass that led to a community movement leading to the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
This is a wonderful and inspiring presentation. Thanks for sharing!
Brenda Rua I think the worlds eyes will be opened to the universal nature of racism when the South African Whites are genocided over the next 20 years.
marccas10 Don't have to wait 20 years. Just look at Zimbabwe and Zambia today -- two of the poorest countries in the world. These two have similar history as South Africa, but gained their independence earlier and have since removed most of the whites.
Marccas, I seriously doubt that will happen. And your reply is nothing more than a Conway Shuffle, a diversion and distraction. It no longer works for Kellyanne. What makes you think it works for you? That said, it is fair to point out that power and racism go hand in hand as if it is a part of human nature. I just object to your baseless smearing, and self-projection.
The only African country with advanced civilization and can stand on its own is Wakanda.
mgtinla I hope that's a joke because otherwise it is an outright, blatant lie. In any event, I fail to see how it is responsive to my OP.
very interesting I did not know . thank you
Beautiful...just beautiful.
excellent
would have been interesting to also hear the risks involved with the migration
Loved her book. Classic.
Jonathan Monnet :P
She is brilliant and brought up things I hadn't thought much about before. Her speaking style is a little challenging to listen to in the beginning - I think because of the rise and fall of each sentence, just something to keep in mind for future. Keep up the good work. This is a very important subject.
🟤💖 Thank you 🤎❤️🔥
We migrated from the Jim Crow south to the Jim Crow north.
Great dissertation about the struggles & triumphs of Black people, former & present decendants of the enslaved, prevailed!
Good one
Interest
Both my Grandparents on both sides left Alabama and Mississippi for Chicago Illinois
Awesome...
Isabell’s books and many others could be the reasons why they are banning books. The research, facts and information Isabell did should be in schools and in libraries so that it can help this generation grow. But there are people that do not want that to happen.
Uh!!!! Words cannot describe how much I LOVE this Ted Talk!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
If not words: Music? Crying? Marry an immigrant? Preferably an illegal? Gives more moral virtue! Just trying to help you wording your feelzzz. :-)
Lol
As a result of the great migration, Detroit today is 85% black. Ferguson is 70%, and Baltimore is 65%. I wonder if they are in higher caste than those remain in the south, given they now have the option to utilize their talent.
mhtinla Newark New Jersey is heavily populated with Blacks
There a lot of northern cities with majority blacks st.louis Cleveland Gary flint , Cincinnati and Philadelphia are close
Just trying have a better life
Why we watching this in class?
doing this for homework
I hate school, I DONT WANNA BE HERE
Ted 😊🎉❤
Now i want to know more about black alaskan history - i had no idea.
And does anyone know what law, if any, they used to arrest people getting on a train for the north?
Another TED talk school assignment
what 2 famous people did she mention?
I recommend a continuation of the Great Migration right into Canada.
Care to elaborate?
@@commenterperson4481 I'm thinking they are talking about the number of black people going back to slavery that started migrating to Canada (because they didn't have slavery). I admit I don't know as much history on how many black people actually "migrated" to Canada to avoid slavery and the racism of the US.
anyone here for a assignment 😟
"What are you in for?" "checkers"
What did y’all get for #2
It's interesting because I wish there was a Part II to this. Alot of people now blame the great migration on why there are so many problems in the Northern "urban" cities. When the populations of these cities doubled due to the Great Migration - some people felt like it forever changed those cities in negative ways (with the influx of so many black people). Some people feel it changed these cities (Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia) specifically in negative ways that still continue to this day. I would love to know Isabel's thoughts on that.
It's all in her book on the subject, "The Warmth Of Other Suns".
ماشاءالله عليها 💖
admit it, we're all here only for a school assignment
Migration is in human DNA we all at one point in our life have the need to migrate the big difference is rich people does it with comfort and poor people does it any way they can
True
I've got ted
What you teach me not even code at all, might get misunderstood
Caste system is alive and well in tx. It has been amended so transracially adopted kids are now the most persecuted
A single decision can change your whole idea of what you want 😓
Elite Warlord98 XD
I think everyone here is because of school asigment
No one is going to speak about the Native Americans?
140TH Comment!!!
Take a shot every time she recites a list of things.
compton
Look at people living in Africa, they treat each other very badly... Africa is very beautiful continent with plenty of natural resources, but with very corrupted governments and harsh life. Who do we blame over there????
Learn the history and why it's in that shape ...don't try to pass along ur ignorance and deflecting.
Contrary to what you've been told, the peoples of the African continent and the Indigenous peoples of the Americans are two different groups. As far as North America is concerned, the majority of people who were thrown into slavery were brown- and black-skinned people that were already here. History has been told in reverse. We humans are an interesting bunch. When some of us are the targets of caste discrimination, we at least want others to understand. But when some of us don't face the burden of that same problem, then we choose to turn a blind eye. Dishonesty and lack of connection between people is the heart of this problem. As far as Africa is concerned, it didn't get destroyed by itself; there was plenty of outside interference.
Let me see...France, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal. Look at what happened to Nkrumah and Lumumba.
Central America is coming to the U.S. whether we want it or not. Call it the Great Monarch migration.
Ruben Soto Fuera!
Cancer guy got cancerXD
By having "mercury" disease
I'm mean thay heal quickly( barely see anything) by getting anticipated
I wonder, who is diving us? All this negative and positive comments are to be thinking for.
I mean, Jazz and Blues would have existed without the great migration, though they may not have flourished as much. Good speech overall, but there’s a statement or two that might be a bit hyperbolic.. ✌🏼
The southern blacks give us Jazz and Blues, regardless of the migration. Urban blacks give us Rap and Hip Hop, which may not have happened without the migration. Both reflect the mood and attitude of their time and space.
Nikola Demitri XD
Nikola Demitri gonna spread that cancer like music library
mhtinla Good points, agreed! ✌🏼
Chicago blues. Most came from Mississippi
Why disturb a lasting peace. Why not stay and fight, for own rights? Don't try to relate Siriya.
🙄
k
Democrats and their Jim Crow. Glad it's gone.
Joshua Gentry Welfare was invented by Democrats to bribe black people to vote against the party that set them free.
Joshua Those Dems became Republicans with the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.
Lol. All the Republicans, who freed the slaves and fought for their right to vote, suddenly decided to become Democrats for what reason? Because they got even more rights? Lol, insane.
Yeah it is pretty crazy.
It seems the original culprit was Checkers haha. Did lawmakers addictions to lawmaking really get that far outta hand? If so, talk about the "Worse RageQuit Ever", or the "Sorest Loser Ever"!!!
Great speech but boring delivery
black woman talking about black history in a meaningful way.., huh..
kevjtnbtmglr vdisagree by being yellow