Great Migrations explores how a series of Black migrations have shaped America.

Great Migrations explores how a series of Black migrations have shaped the U.S. From waves of Black Americans to the North—and back South—to immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean, movement is a defining feature of the Black experience.

Great Migrations: A People on the Move examines the powerful influence of Black migration on American culture and society. While the first large migration was a forced journey from Africa in bondage, voluntary migrations in the 20th and 21st centuries have significantly reshaped the nation. This series explores the first and second waves of the Great Migration from the South to the North during the two World Wars, the “New Great Migration” of African Americans returning home to the South of their ancestors since the 1970s, and the “Next Great Migration” marked by the historic and growing influx of African and Caribbean immigration in the 20th and 21st centuries. The film powerfully demonstrates that movement is a defining feature of the Black American experience.