The Migrant Voices project is dedicated to illuminating Pittsburgh’s place in the Great Migration through the perspectives of Black migrants. During the 2022-23 academic year, Pitt-Greensburg IT major Alex Doran provided web development assistance to this project.
Drawn by the promise of good jobs and greater freedom, from 1915 to 1930 over a million African Americans moved from rural communities in the South to urban industrial centers in the North, including Pittsburgh. This opening phase of the Great Migration saw the Steel City’s Black community increase from about 25,000 to 55,000, making it the fifth largest in the nation.
Despite Pittsburgh’s prominent role in the story of the Great Migration, accessing historical records about it can prove challenging. The project preserves and makes accessible interviews originally recorded in the 1970s that provide rare and valuable glimpses into migrants’ lives and perspectives. In doing so, it serves as a central hub of information on Pittsburgh and the Great Migration.
Pitt-Greensburg Faculty Sponsors
- Adam Cilli (PI)