Excellent listen for charting the Great Migration

This is a mammoth non-fiction audio book at 22 hours which takes the listener through the period of ‘The Great Migration’ in the USA through the lens of three main figures. I listened to it over several months, immersed in the journeys and the reflections on the legacies of each of the characters.

African Americans moved from the rural South to cities in the North in droves between 1910 and 1970 with increasing numbers each decade. The historical work does not gloss over the harsh conditions and the graphic detail of racism that plagued the South. The escape to the North is courageous as it is risky, steeped in the hope of a better future for the central characters and their children.

Isabel Wilkerson weaves this enormous oral history project based on hundreds of interviews, each recorded over dozens (some, hundreds) of hours. What she’s achieved here is a truly remarkable feat that brings together individual experiences and paints a picture of the Great Migration from the ground up. What’s more – they are all somehow connected. And there are a lot of familiar names who drop into the narrative, from Ray Charles to W. E. B. Du Bois.

The writer argues that there has been a resistance to recognise the Great Migration as a migration at all, and that typical understandings about Southerners as uneducated and backwards have been dispelled by what actually took place. She cites a plethora of surveys, studies and news clippings. She also provides ample context from before and after the Great Migration, from slavery to modern political shifts.

“By their actions, they did not dream the American Dream. They willed it into being by a definition of their own choosing. They did not ask to be accepted, but declared themselves the Americans that perhaps few others recognised, but that they had always been deep within their hearts.” (Epilogue)

I enjoy non-fiction in Audible form, and this was a particularly great investment of my time. I was thoroughly engrossed in the life stories of Robert, Ida Mae and George from their childhood to final hours. I felt my heart painfully twinge at all they had been through. I understood the parallels being made with migrants coming into the US from outside its borders.

There were a few moments where I felt Wilkerson was being too soft on systematic structural racism by equalising the experiences of Black and white communities, but these instances were few in number. It really is a blessing that she captured the last remaining voices of the Great Migration generation for this pivotal project. If you enjoy this genre, or want to know more about this period in US history, I highly recommend!

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An intelligent and humane epic.

Non-fiction that rivals the grandeur of great American art (Think: The Grapes of Wrath, etc...)

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Highly recommend, captivating and interesting.

Although this book may appear lengthy, it needed all of that time to explore and describe these stories. I found the stories to be captivating and in many cases astonishing. It certainly highlighted this era of US history and how those who were black had to navigate that realm. Slavery did not end with slavery, it continued in different forms after that. As a white person listening to this, I felt shame and I felt strongly how Unjust the system had been made to be for those people who had black skin or were considered Colored. Skin colour, an aspect of our outer appearance we had no choice in when we were born determined so much, or was made to determine so much.
I must applaud the use of words and imagery, this book was so eloquently written and so poetically described.
Overall I would highly recommend this book. You will learn a great deal about this era, the injustices felt by those who were considered Coloured or black.
A terrific read.

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Shockingly interesting

Wow, this book held my attention from the start to the very end, well worth it.

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Tour de Force

Read this and learn...and love every word. A lyrical classic that gives voice to players in a history that was nearly forgotten.

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Outstanding. A huge feat. Fascinating. Thank you!

An amazing piece of work. Fascinating, poignant, informative. Brilliant. Should be on American curriculum.

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a book to pass on to our next generations

Beautifully narrated. A perfect balance between the forgotten history of thousands of families and the extroardinary lives that survived to tell it to us. A masterpiece of oral history.

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An Historical Masterpiece

I bought the audio book because I wanted to understand more about the Great Migration. A truly empathetic yet robust chronicle of black people's history expertly crafted through the lives of three people. So intimate an account that I felt Robert, George and Ida Mae were my family. Robin Niles was an excellent narrator. Her smooth voice made the listening time pass so quickly.
Thank you for a rare and exemplary piece of work.

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Powerful stories in every way

I was transfixed for every minute of the narrative. this should be compulsory reading in schools. it brings home the history in a way that no standard history book can.

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