War+Time+Population+Shifts-Block+1

Name:Shantal Wanda Jackson Age: 45 Hometown: Baton Rouge, Louisiana High School Atended: Baton Rouge High School Birthday: April 17, 1898 (Zodiac Sign: Tarus) Relationship Status: Maried with 2 kids, Husband fighting in war Income: $500 Occupation: Farmer

I find my self facing a long and challenging road a head of me. My husband, Cedric, has recently left for the war, and left me alone on our farm in Louisiana with our two children. Ever since the depression our farm has been getting harder and harder to keep it on its feet. Cedric did most of the grunt work around here. Now, with him gone its up to me to maintain the farm. This battle to keep the farm has been a tough one, one in which I am losing. Luckily for me at least I have something. Most women in my situation are un-enployed at this point in time after their husbands have left for the years leading up to the war ("Women" 1). So I should be happy with that, but there needs to be a miraceal to help me now.

Ironically, this war was that miraceal. Since all the men left to fight the war, and all of those men now need supplies new job oppurtunites came about (Danzer et. al. 591) Every thing was being turned into something that went to go contribute to the war. A car factory in a near by city was changed into an air craft plant, and the factory buy the docks was changed into a new naval ship yard ("Women" 1). With all these new, better paying, job oppurtunites people started to move from all over the country, especially the people from the South to the major cities of the North, West and Mid Atlantic. Soon, this number of people moving grew to the millions. This migration of people to me was huge, and it was. It would later be known as one of the greatest mass migrations of US history (Danzer et. al. 591). With all these new jobs, the lure of them drove people away from there homes that they in for a while, but I stayed. I stayed because I was black and felt that because of this I wouldn't be able to get a job. It was a good thing one of my friends told me other wise, or I'd still be on that farm.

Yes, it was true. With this new industry the desire for black labor grew ("African" 1). I could not believe it. When i heard of this great news a packed up my things, and got in a car with my kids and went on our way to California. In this time, it seemed that California was a very popular place to go as over a million people headed there from the South (Danzer et. al. 591). This also made many blacks par take in this mass migration because they could all find jobs that could help support their familes, like I did ("African" 1). So, when my family and I reached San Fransico, I got our selves a placve to sleep and then went out to find work.

I didn't have to look long until I got a job as a mechanic. Normally, this would be a difficult job that required professional training in which to do so. But since these materials were needed now and fast most jobs like this were broken down into smaller, easy tasks so that it could hire more people and have the materials made faster ("Women" 1). Any way, I'm glad for this because this gave me a job in which I can get enough money to support my family. I also received a letter from Cedric yesterday and he told me that he is alright. It seems things might finally be looking up for me!

"African Americans". __Cleveland History__. 2000. 24 Oct 2007 .
 * //__Works Cited__//**

Danzer, Gerald A. et. al. __The Americans__. Evanston, Illinois: McDougal Littel, 2003

"Women in the Weather Bureau During World War II". __NOAA History__. 2006. 24 Oct 2007 .

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