Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The Great Migration [Fourth Installment]

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents the final installation of a four-part series on The Great Migration. The series was excerpted from Spencer R. Crews' article "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-1940," which appeared in the Monthly Labor Review in March 1987.

Historic Event

The "Great Migration" of African Americans from largely rural areas of the southern United States to northern cities during and after World War I (1915-40) altered the economic, social, and political fabric of American society. More than one million black Americans left the South to seek opportunity and fuller citizenship in the North.

Types of Jobs

African Americans typically wound up in dirty, back-break­ing, unskilled, and low-paying occupations. These were the least desirable jobs in most industries, but the ones employ­ers felt best suited their black workers. On average, more than eight of every ten African American men worked as un­skilled laborers in foundries, in the building trades, in meat-packing companies, on the railroads, or as servants, porters, janitors, cooks, and cleaners. Only a relatively few obtained work in semiskilled or skilled occupations.

Occupational choices for black women were even more limited because few of them, in concordance with women in general, had access to industrial jobs. While some women found employment in the garment industry, packinghouses, and steam laundries, the majority of African American women worked as domestic servants or in service-related occupa­tions. While none of these jobs paid high wages, they paid more than African Americans could obtain for similar work in the South.

However, the cost of living in the North was higher than in the South. Funneled into certain areas in most northern cities, African Americans have paid nearly twice as much as their white counterparts for equivalent housing. Higher rents made it harder for them to make housing payments and encouraged migrants to take in boarders or other family members to help meet expenses. While the extra income eased financial problems, it resulted in overcrowded living conditions, little privacy, and poor sanitation.

With the ad­ditional financial burden of having to pay higher prices in neighborhood stores for food, clothing, and other necessi­ties, settling in the North was a mixed experience for many migrants. Though they earned better wages in the North, much of the increased income was offset by higher living expenses.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Meet Kenneth Chenault

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents an interview with Kenneth Chenault, CEO and Chairman of American Express Co. Chenault has received the “Phoenix House Public Service Award”, the “Corporate Responsibility Award” from the International Rescue Committee and the “Wall Street Rising Leadership Award,“ among others.

In this interview, Chenault shares his opinion on why there aren't more African Americans, women, and other minorities in leadership roles at U.S. corporations, and what can be done to foster equal representation in the workplace.

Click on link: Kenneth Chenault

Friday, February 21, 2014

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Traits of a Great Job Seeker

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

  • Traits of a Great Job Seeker"Here are seven job seeker traits to consider as you embark upon your job search. These traits have worked for others; hopefully, they will work for you."

  • How to Stalk Your Future Employer (Without Being Creepy)"It might surprise you to learn that, yes, sometimes digging too deep and oversharing what you’ve learned about a potential employer or hiring manager can actually hurt you during the interview process."

  • 3 Tips to Succeed in the Economy of You"No matter where you are with your side-gig--the key to gaining greater professional control and financial security in this modern-day economy--here are the top 3 things you should be doing to ensure success."

  • How to Manage Your Personal Brand When You're in Transition"When you're changing chapters professionally, what's the best way to manage your personal brand? Should you even think about personal branding? Where do you start? Here are some helpful tips."

  • How to Create an Irresistible Resume"The words you choose to communicate your experience make all the difference in whether your resume is considered average or fantastic."

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The Great Migration [Third Installment]

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents the first installation of a four-part series on The Great Migration. The series was excerpted from Spencer R. Crews' article "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-1940," which appeared in the Monthly Labor Review in March 1987.

Historic Event

The "Great Migration" of African Americans from largely rural areas of the southern United States to northern cities during and after World War I (1915-40) altered the economic, social, and political fabric of American society. More than one million black Americans left the South to seek opportunity and fuller citizenship in the North.

Problems of Leave-taking

Once a decision to depart was made, leaving was often a complicated process. Southern officials tried to slow the tide of migration by arresting or detaining African Americans who tried to leave. Local police regularly searched departing trains for people they thought might be heading North. To escape police scrutiny, many migrants had to steal away late at night or devise elaborate plans to get away safely.

These subterfuges forced the migrants either to sell their property and belongings secretly or to take with them only what they could carry. Most migrants were working people who did not possess great wealth and leaving under these circumstances hurt them financially. Items left behind or given away brought in no money and buyers rarely gave full value for items they knew the owner had to sell.

Many migrants, therefore, did not have enough money with them to tide them over for long periods of time once they reached the North. Consequently, finding a job became a high priority as soon as they arrived.

While job opportunities were readily available in most cities, these jobs were at the lower end of the occupational ladder. Northern labor unions generally did not accept African Americans as members and often threatened to strike companies where nonunion workers performed union jobs. Even when African American workers acquired better paying jobs during the war, many of them had to relinquish these jobs once the war ended.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Meet Ursula Burns

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents an interview with Ursula Burns, CEO and Chairperson of the Board of Xerox Corp. Burns is the first African-American woman to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Click on link: Ursula Burns

Sunday, February 16, 2014

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 6 Jobs for Romantics

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

  • 6 Jobs for Romantics"If you’re in love with love 365 days a year, why not consider working a job that allows you to be around romance all day long? Here are six jobs for all of you romantics out there."

  • How to Find a Job Using Google+"What can Google+ possibly offer job seekers? In a nutshell: a lot."

  • 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Accepting a Job Offer You Don’t Love"Out of all of the interviews, you received one job offer. It wasn’t exactly what you wanted. Do you accept it? If you find yourself in this situation, here are some things to consider when accepting a job offer in which you aren’t completely in love."

  • Your Company's in Turmoil. Should You Jump Ship?"If your company is entering choppy waters, here are three questions to ask yourself to determine if it’s time to jump ship or settle in for the long haul."

  • How to Stop Office Negativity"The majority of your time is spent at work. Regardless of whether you love your job, or whether it’s only a necessity for keeping a roof over your kids’ heads, you can make it a happier and better place to be all those hours."

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The Great Migration [Second Installment]

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents the second installation of a four-part series on The Great Migration. The series was excerpted from Spencer R. Crews' article "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-1940," which appeared in the Monthly Labor Review in March 1987.

Historic Event

The "Great Migration" of African Americans from largely rural areas of the southern United States to northern cities during and after World War I (1915-40) altered the economic, social, and political fabric of American society. More than one million black Americans left the South to seek opportunity and fuller citizenship in the North.

Local Prod

Socio-economic and political conditions in the South made African Americans likely candidates for migration. After the end of post-Civil War Reconstruction, the Nation's legislators and the Supreme Court had turned their backs on black Americans and left determination of their citizenship rights to local jurisdictions.

In the South, this abdication of authority resulted in the creation of a two-tiered system of citizenship with one set of rules for whites and a more restrictive set for African Americans. In this system of "Jim Crow" laws, black Americans, under penalty of imprisonment or possibly death, were forced to use special sections when they rode on public transportation, ate in restaurants, or attended theaters.

Southern statutes also excluded them from voting through such manipulations of the law as grandfather clauses, poll taxes, or literacy tests which prevented the majority of African Americans from voting while allowing their white counterparts access to the ballot.

Oppressive as the political situation was, the economic situation was even more oppressive in that it locked tenant farmers ("sharecroppers") into an ever-tightening cycle of debt. While the majority of black Americans in the South resided in rural areas, they did not own the land they worked. Most often they rented it from large landowners or worked as farm laborers. Bad crop years, boll weevil attacks, floods, or low crop prices often destroyed profit margins and left sharecroppers in debt to the landlord.

In order to avoid imprisonment, they agreed to work additional years in hopes of paying off their debts. Unfortunately, profits rarely were large enough to wipe out their obligations and African Americans found themselves bound to the landlord who owned their land or controlled the local store where they purchased goods on credit.

Migrating offered a chance to escape the oppressiveness of the South and begin anew.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Daily Leap Career Video of the Week: Meet Oscar Micheaux

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents a short video on the life and times of Oscar Micheaux (1884?-1951), a pioneering, entrepreneurial filmmaker whose efforts produced 40 melodramas, social dramas, gangster movies, and musicals between 1918 and 1948.

Micheaux was the one African American filmmaker who survived the competition from Hollywood and even the Great Depression, making the successful transition from silent to talking motion pictures.


Oscar Micheaux from Total Vision Media on Vimeo.

Friday, February 7, 2014

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Using Pinterest in Your Job Search

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

The Great Migration [First Installment]

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents the first installation of a four-part series on The Great Migration. The series was excerpted from Spencer R. Crews' article "The Great Migration of Afro-Americans, 1915-1940," which appeared in the Monthly Labor Review in March 1987.

Historic Event

The "Great Migration" of African Americans from largely rural areas of the southern United States to northern cities during and after World War I (1915-40) altered the economic, social, and political fabric of American society. More than one million black Americans left the South to seek opportunity and fuller citizenship in the North.

The momentousness of the migration as an event does not alter the fact that the migrants were ordinary people. Like colonial settlers or western pioneers of an earlier day, these migrants were not looking to change the world, only their own status. A mixture of farmers, domestic servants, day laborers, and industrial workers, they came from all parts of the South, hoping for a chance to improve their own station or at least that of their children.

War Trigger

Without the increase in job opportunities caused by World War I, the Great Migration might never have occurred. The fighting in Europe dramatically increased the demands on companies in the United States to produce munitions and other goods to support the war effort.

At the same time, the labor pool these companies normally depended upon immigrants and native-born Americans—was dwindling. The draft siphoned off many of these men, while the turmoil in Europe disrupted the flow of immigrants from that area. Desperately in need of additional workers, northern businesses looked southward for new sources of labor.

Because African Americans made up a large portion of the unskilled workforce in the South and because of social conditions there, they became the targets of aggressive recruitment campaigns. Northern companies offered well-paying jobs, free transportation, and low-cost housing as inducements to African Americans to move North. They also sent labor recruiters into the South who received a fee for every recruit they provided for the company they represented.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Daily Leap Video of the Week: Meet Madam C. J. Walker

Each week we present our Daily Leap Career Video of the Week. The video we share presents news or advice related to career development, searching for a job, the economy and employment, and other career-related topics.

In celebration of Black History Month, The Daily Leap presents an short, animated video on the life and times of Madam C. J. Walker (1867-1919), entrepreneur of hair care products for African American women and one of the first American women millionaires. Walker used her prominent position to oppose racial discrimination, and her massive wealth to support civic, educational, and social institutions that assisted African Americans.

Click on link: Madam C. J. Walker