Emerging Themes
Journey to Sanctuary captures the mix of strong emotions and determined purpose that infused the Great Migration. The story encompasses the human quests for freedom of worship, social advancement and peaceful coexistence. The project takes a close-up look at the players in this epic social drama.
Richard Allen, founder of the AME denomination; Mother Bethel and Mother Emanuel, the Northern and Southern anchors of the AME Church; and many brave individuals broke with everything that they had ever known to seek better lives for themselves and their families. The oral histories of the elders of the Great Migration are the cornerstone of the Journey to Sanctuary project. Their stories provide a window to the large themes that emerged during the period, including: Burgeoning Congregations, Clash of Cultures, Expanded Opportunities and Foundations of the Human & Civil Rights Movements, and Cultural Renaissance.
Burgeoning Congregations
What adaptations did churches and neighborhoods make to accommodate the influx of people?
The large influx of new worshippers gave rise to conflict between the pastor and the congregation, often exacerbating the financial concerns that began to plague Mother Bethel. Pastor Richard Williams sought more financially contributing members for the church, at the same time that industrialists sought workers to exploit the wartime economic boom. Rev. Williams urged Southerners to leave the bondage of Jim Crow, while attracting them to Philadelphia and Mother Bethel with valuable services that would help them adjust to their new home.
He established an information bureau, printing leaflets inviting southern AME members to join the “mother church” of the denomination, emphasizing the “homelike” atmosphere of Mother Bethel. Known for the value that he added to the congregation’s finances, as well as the structural enhancements that he initiated, Rev. Williams utilized his financial expertise to steer the church toward sustainable growth. Under his expert leadership, the flood of new members helped Mother Bethel maintain its prominence as a leading Black institution.
Clash of Cultures
How did migrants, their churches and communities respond to tensions brought about by cultural differences between newcomers and established worshippers?
Most of the migrants attending Mother Bethel came from South Carolina, where they were influenced by the African-derived folk life known as the Gullah tradition. The Gullah people developed and maintained folk traditions in music, food, family life and spiritual practices that were an amalgamation of West African traditional cultures (Joyner, 1984). When migrants arrived from South Carolina to Philadelphia, they brought with them many of the Gullah traditions, such as the “shout song” (Beck, 1989).
Though there were attempts to accommodate migrants and their style of worship, contentions between congregants remained. Migrants often felt rejected by the resident members (Gregg, 1993). In an effort to attract newcomers into Mother Bethel’s congregation, Rev. Robert J. Williams departed from traditional forms of worship and incorporated more of the Southerners’ cultural practices into services. Rev. Williams’ changes resulted in turbulent conflict between the new and the longtime members of Mother Bethel’s congregation.
Conflicts like this lead to instability, as the newcomers expressed their needs and challenged established members for control. A complex process of merging cultures ensued, characterized by intricate patterns of connection and disconnection within local churches (Gregg, 1993). Ultimately, the African Methodist ideology of progress held sway, and served to support racial uplift and progress, the story that AME churches sought to create for their newcomers.
Expanded Opportunities and Foundations of the Human & Civil Rights Movements
How did migrants create opportunities amid the overcrowded conditions and competition for decent jobs? How did economic and racial tensions motivate increased political activism?
Migrants during both the first and second waves of the Great Migration flocked to big cities. Northern living presented a new set of challenges. Urban living was congested and noisy. Migrants came to Philadelphia hoping for a better life, but were met with housing shortages that came at a time when the city was already experiencing shortfalls in it housing stock. Adequate housing seemed to be the most pressing problem facing migrants. In addition, Philadelphia’s newest urban dwellers needed good schools and economic opportunities; all the things that America excelled at providing were in limited supply for many migrants (Hakim, 2010). However, the labor market opportunities emerging from the onset of World War I were more attractive than life in the rural South.
Philadelphia’s industrial market, the city’s comparatively favorable attitude toward African Americans, and strong railroad recruitment of African American migrants were attractive incentives to migrants who sought opportunities for advancement. Some first wave migrants and native Philadelphians moved to more affluent African American communities. These pioneers set the tone for the Civil Rights Movement to follow in the 1950s and 1960s, which many of them lived to witness.
In his book, Up South, Countryman (2007) investigates two generations of Black Philadelphians and their desire to have the City of Brotherly Love live up to its creed. Their efforts for equality led to boycotts, demonstrations, strikes and other political protests that set the stage for Philadelphia’s vibrant and groundbreaking, but rarely acknowledged influence in the 1940-1970 Civil Rights Movement.
Cultural Renaissance
How did migrants transform Philadelphia’s cultural and artistic landscape?
The cultural and artistic landscape of Philadelphia shifted along with demographics during the second wave of the Great Migration, when migrants descended on Philadelphia in greater numbers than they did during the first wave. The segregated Philadelphia neighborhoods witnessed the growth of a lively entertainment scene, with clubs like the USO and Clef Club on South Broad Street, the Moonlight and Spider Clubs, and “a string of bars and clubs…along a strip of Columbia Avenue [in North Philly]” (explorePAhistory.com, 2011).
The musical ferment of the 1940s and 1950s in Philadelphia was similar to the explosion of jazz and pop music in the 1920s, especially within the Black community. Bassist Reggie Workman lived and played in Philadelphia during those years. His parents owned a restaurant at 54th and Haverford, in West Philadelphia. Workman remembered:
During those days, you could walk right down the street and there's music coming out all day Saturday afternoon, and every night that you pass from the corner tavern. The jukeboxes were doing music…Relatives practicing music at your house. The whole social fiber related to more music than it does today...It was serious. It was popular. It was honorable because it was a part of our culture. (explorePAhistory.com, 2011, n.p.).
Judith Jamison, the regal artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York, also found sanctuary at Mother Bethel and in the cultural community of Philadelphia. The plethora of artistic venues that emerged in the 40s, 50s and 60s in the Black community laid the foundation for her artistic career (Blockson, 2000). Social clubs began, like the Jack and Jill of America Foundation in 1938, and the Links in 1946. The Links, one of the oldest and largest volunteer service organizations, is composed of women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. Both organizations originated in Philadelphia and have affiliates across the nation.