"Headed for Louisville:" Rethinking Rural to Urban Migration in the South, 1930-1950

During the period between 1930 and 1970 more than 17,000migrants were drawn to Louisville, challenging us to rethink the centralityof rural to urban migration narratives during the era of the Second GreatMigration. African American migration in Louisville, Kentuckydemonstrates the necessity of recognizing the distinctiveness of theSecond Great Migration as well as the need to turn our attention to Blackmobility within the South. Between 1935-1940, the largest Southerncities witnessed an influx of Black population; many of these migrantsoriginated in the urban, not rural South. That Kentucky's Blackpopulation was primarily urban stood in stark contrast with much of theSouth; however, Blacks in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and NorthCarolina were also predominantly urban. Not only does examining urbanto urban migration patterns offer a more complex view of AfricanAmerican migration, it also offers a more nuanced view of AfricanAmerican urbanization as a process. African American migration inLouisville, Kentucky challenges us to rethink the centrality of rural tourban migration narratives during the era of the Second Great Migration.