Moving to and Living in Beloit
“My early childhood was spent in constant fear. I can remember my sister and I hiding under the bed when a mob went by. One learns to hate what one fears. It took me many years to overcome this fear and hatred.” - Rubie White Bond
Some migrants were driven by a belief that the North offered better economic and social opportunities for them, and their families and friends.
Migrating up north gave Black folks an opportunity to escape the systematic racism, violence, and inequality that oppressed them, their families, and friends in the South.
Hear and read the stories of migrants memories of moving from the South below.
As migrants built new lives in the North, new traditions and family ties were built. This cookbook was owned by Mrs. Cheryl Johnson-Caldwell's grandmother Mrs. Ethel Johnson, and some of the recipes are written in Mrs. Johnson's own handwriting. Here and in the South, cooking brings families together.
Many families grew after they had moved from the South to the North. This marriage certificate attests to that, and pays tribute to the young couples who were the first in their family lines to be married and raise children in what Isabel Wilkerson calls "The Promised Land" in her book on the great migration, The Warmth of Other Suns.