In 1940-41 Lawrence, whose parents participated in the Great Migration, executed sixty paintings for a series entitled The Migration of the Negro, to which this print is thematically related. migrants are represented expressing that freedom."
"During the post World War I period millions of black people left southern communities in the United States and migrated to northern cities. This migration reached its peak during the 1920’s. Among the many advantages the migrants found in the north was the freedom to vote. In my print, migrants are represented expressing that freedom.” —Jacob Lawrence