Editing Great Migration to Philadelphia (section)

== Legacy ==

The Great Migration fundamentally transformed Philadelphia. A city that was less than 5 percent Black in 1910 became over one-third Black by 1970. This demographic transformation had profound political implications, as Black voters became an increasingly important constituency that neither party could ignore. The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s drew strength from the community institutions that migrants had built. Black political power eventually achieved major breakthroughs including the election of W. Wilson Goode as Philadelphia's first Black mayor in 1983. The neighborhoods migrants created—despite continuing challenges of poverty, crime, and disinvestment—remained centers of African American life and culture.<ref name="trotter"/>

The migration also brought cultural contributions that enriched Philadelphia. Musicians, artists, and writers who came north contributed to Philadelphia's cultural life. The city's distinctive sound—from jazz clubs to soul music—owed much to migrants and their descendants. Food, religious practices, and cultural traditions from the South became part of Philadelphia's character. The Great Migration created the Black Philadelphia that exists today, with all its achievements and continuing struggles. Understanding modern Philadelphia is impossible without understanding the migration that reshaped the city during the 20th century.<ref name="wilkerson"/>