The New City's Trials & Triumphs

The migration of African Americans to northern urban areas during the earlier part of the twentieth century brought with it much joy and promises of a better life. And in light of the conditions for Southern blacks, this was a worthwhile goal. Discrimination, disenfranchisement, police brutality, lynchings, to arrive at just a few, were commonplace in the South. With the demise of thrall came new patriarchal institutions, established to keep blacks in debt, such as sharecropping and tenant farming. Given these conditions, northern cities could only be thought of as havens, comparatively speaking. In service humankindy ways, the city was a haven. In larger urban areas such as St. Louis and Chicago, a newcomer could be surrounded by plenty of his or her own color, quite possibly for the first time. in that posture were opportunities for education and higher income, and increased exposure to the flourishing culture. Of course, paw any community, these cities had their pr oblems, too. Rudolph Fishers City of Refuge tells the candid story of a young, naïve man who makes the move from North Carolina up to Harlem in New York City. King Solomon Gillis, the main character in this unprejudiced narrative, is immediately taken advantage of by a man that was supposed to be his new friend. This particular aspect of the story, however, is not unlike any other common theme in human behavior: tricking the gullible rookie - we see it a good deal in many cultures, take inless of race. But what is far to a greater extent than touching (and almost humorous, in a strange way), is Gillis reactions to his environs when he reaches Harlem. One can gather a conspiracy about his background by this, and by the stories he tells. As Gillis stepped off the train in Harlem, he grinned at what he saw: (indention): Negroes at every turn; up and down... If you regard to get a full essay, order it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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