"Who Set You Flowin'?" The African-American Migration Narrative

by Griffin, Farah Jasmine

• ISBN13: 9780195088977
• ISBN10: 0195088972
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-09-26
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Twentieth-century America has witnessed the most widespread and sustained movement of African-Americans from the South to urban centers in the North. Who Set You Flowin'? examines the impact of this dislocation and urbanization, identifying the resulting Migration Narratives as a major genrein African-American cultural production. Griffin takes an interdisciplinary approach with readings of several literary texts, migrant correspondence, painting, photography, rap music, blues, and rhythm and blues. From these various sources Griffin isolates the tropes of Ancestor, Stranger, and SafeSpace, which, though common to all Migration Narratives, vary in their portrayal. She argues that the emergence of a dominant portrayal of these tropes is the product of the historical and political moment, often challenged by alternative portrayals in other texts or artistic forms, as well asintra-textually. Richard Wright's bleak, yet cosmopolitan portraits were countered by Dorothy West's longing for Black Southern communities. Ralph Ellison, while continuing Wright's vision, reexamined the significance of Black Southern culture. Griffin concludes with Toni Morrison embracing theSouth "as a site of African-American history and culture," "a place to be redeemed."

Author Biography

Farah Jasmine Griffin is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives and writes in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
"Boll Weevil in the Cotton/Devil in the White Man": Reasons for Leaving the South	p. 13
The South in the City: The Initial Confrontation with the Urban Landscape	p. 48
Safe Spaces and Other Places: Navigating the Urban Landscape	p. 100
To Where from Here? The Final Vision of the Migration Narrative	p. 142
New Directions for the Migration Narrative: Thoughts on Jazz	p. 184
Notes	p. 199
Bibliography	p. 219
Index	p. 227
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