The City Plantation: The Great Migration and Funding the Growing City

During the Great Migration, a period in United States history spanning from 1910 to 1970, Black Americans left the South in search of better social and economic opportunities. During the same time period, the United States experienced rapid urbanization and property tax mechanisms became the primary source of revenue to fund cities’ changing and growing landscapes. The convergence of these phenomena created the city plantation in which Black bodies were systematically devalued and relegated to undesirable land within the city. The poor quality of life for Black Americans in these sickly spaces were acceptable conditions for the land to have use and therefore have value -- value ruthlessly extracted from Black Americans.

Read the full article in Agora 15 published May 2021.