Job Growth During the Great Migration in Brockton

By Matt Brown

The Great Migration occurred over a 60 year time period from 1910 to 1970. During this time, 6 million African-Americans migrated from the rural southern states to the more urban states in the north, west, and northeast. Popular landing areas for these African-Americans were Boston, Chicago, and New York. Another area where African-Americans moved was the city of Brockton.
 With so many people coming to Brockton, the city saw an increase in job growth similar to what was seen in the late 1700s and early 1800s with the shoe factories.

"I know that industrial job growth during that time period (Great Migration) was pretty strong, although maybe not as strong as it was in the 18th century," said Corey Dolgon, a professor of sociology at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.

According to the US Census Bureau, Brockton was  a draw for many African-Americans.

Prior to the start of the Great Migration, there were only 40,000 residents in Brockton. However, at the time of the 1970 census, that number  more than doubled to 89,000. This includes a nearly 49 percent  increase in population in the first 20 years alone.

  

Today, 43.1 percent of the population in Brockton, Massachusetts is African-American which is a significant increase from the early 1900s. Some of the most common occupations of Brockton residents include driver/sales workers and truck drivers, material recording, scheduling, dispatching, and distribution workers, and electrical equipment mechanics and other installation, maintenance, and repair occupations including supervisors.