The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

Isabel Wilkerson

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"The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson tells the story of the Great Migration of African Americans fleeing the Jim Crow South through the biographies of three representative participants. Wilkerson chronicles this decades-long migration from 1915 to 1970, highlighting the experiences of those who left the rural South for northern and western cities like LA, Chicago, and New York City. Through personal narratives, the book explores the racism and economic struggles faced by these individuals, shedding light on the impact of the migration on America's cities and society.

The writing style of "The Warmth of Other Suns" is described as fascinating, novel, and eminently readable. Wilkerson weaves together the personal stories of migrants with historical context, providing a compassionate and artfully empathetic account of the Great Migration. delves into the complexities of race relations in America, offering a detailed and inspiring exploration of the African American journey during the 20th century.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is a compelling blend of narrative and journalism, making complex historical themes accessible and engaging.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot centers on the Great Migration, illustrating the journey of African Americans seeking better lives, primarily through the experiences of three individuals.

Setting:

The setting captures the stark contrast between the oppressive Jim Crow South and the aspirations and realities of Northern life during the early to mid-20th century.

Pacing:

The pacing effectively balances individual stories with broader historical commentary, although some repetition can be noted.

A MAN NAMED ROSCOE COLTON gave Lil George Starling a ride in his pickup truck to the train station in Wildwood through the fruit-bearing scrubland of central Florida. And Schoolboy, as the toothless o...

Genres:

Topics:

black migration

jim crow laws

racism in america

african american history

personal narratives

social justice

historical socioeconomic factors

immigrant experience

Notes:

The Great Migration refers to the movement of millions of African Americans from the South to Northern and Western cities between 1915 and the 1970s.

Isabel Wilkerson, who wrote The Warmth of Other Suns, is the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism.

The migration is often viewed as a response to escape the oppressive Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation and violence in the South.

During the Great Migration, people left the South mainly for better job opportunities and to escape violence and systemic racism.

The author highlights the lives of three main characters: Ida Mae Gladney (moved to Chicago), George Starling (moved to New York), and Robert Foster (moved to Los Angeles).

Wilkerson spent over a decade researching and interviewing more than 1200 individuals to gather stories and historical context for her book.

The book illustrates how the migrants faced challenges in the North as they found themselves in neighborhoods with their own systems of segregation, often referred to as 'James Crow.'

Wilkerson's narratives reveal that the migrants often faced violence and intimidation when attempting to leave the South, including threats from white people who did not want them to leave.

The railroads served as a main route for migration, with many migrants ending up in cities that had direct train connections to their former Southern homes.

Wilkerson argues that the Great Migration had a profound impact on American culture and the demographics of cities across the country, changing the social fabric of urban America.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings include discussions of racism, violence, lynchings, and systemic oppression.

From The Publisher:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In this beautifully written masterwork, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life.

NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER

From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.

With stunning historical detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives of three unique individuals: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago, where she achieved quiet blue-collar success and, in old age, voted for Barack Obama when he ran for an Illinois Senate seat; sharp and quick-tempered George Starling, who in 1945 fled Florida for Harlem, where he endangered his job fighting for civil rights, saw his family fall, and finally found peace in God; and Robert Foster, who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career, the personal physician to Ray Charles as part of a glitteringly successful medical career, which allowed him to purchase a grand home where he often threw exuberant parties.

Wilkerson brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well as how they changed these cities with southern food, faith, and culture and improved them with discipline, drive, and hard work. Both a riveting microcosm and a major assessment, The Warmth of Other Suns is a bold, remarkable, and riveting work, a superb account of an "unrecognized immigration" within our own land. Through the breadth of its narrative, the beauty of the writing, the depth of its research, and the fullness of the people and lives portrayed herein, this book is destined to become a classic.

MARK LYNTON HISTORY PRIZE WINNER

HEARTLAND AWARD WINNER

DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE FINALIST

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

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NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY

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About the Author:

Isabel Wilkerson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, is the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller The Warmth of Other Suns. Her debut work won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction and was named…

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