The Great Migration coincided with a rise of unionized labor in the United States, meaning many migrants found themselves in the midst of labor disputes once they arrived and found work in the North. While finding employment was a large reason for the migration northward, it very often meant crossing picket lines. Here, Lawrence depicts this melancholic decision with the hunched over figures agreeing to work, often unknowingly that they were doing so at the expense of those striking.

SKU: 64034
Creator: Jacob Lawrence
Date: between 1940 and 1941
Original Medium: Casein tempera on hardboard
Original Size: 12 x 18 in.
Location: The Phillips Collection
© 2016 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York