During the 1940’s to the early 1960’s, Blacks from America’s southern states migrated to the larger and more industrial northern cities. This was due to lack of employment after slavery was abolished in the American south. Large industrial companies needed workers and color was not in the equation of getting the job done. Only in mixing socially and away from the work sites. During that time many Blacks prospered; working at places such as, A.O. Smith, Briggs and Stratton, etc. There tends to be a joke circulating in the Black community, which states a man, could quit one job in the morning and have another by the end of lunchtime.
My father worked at A.O.Smith after returning from Vietnam in the late 1960’s and worked there for six years. My mother says it was a rough although the money was good sometimes; lay offs and threats of the company moving loomed overhead. In the 1980’s during the Regan Era, companies became less available to hire. Lay offs, shut downs, and eventually closings of companies spun many communities across America into a tailspin. Compound that with the influx of drugs and alcohol in the more impoverished communities and you have an epidemic. By that time, my father had secured employment with the Milwaukee Police Department and saw an opportunity for change. While on vacation in 1983, my father interviewed for and secured a position with the El Dorado Police Department in southern Arkansas.
Leaving Milwaukee and the busy streets and hustle and bustle of a large city was a tough decision, but my father believed it to be a necessary one. With three children and a wife, my father felt opportunities to raise his children in a relax environment would only be possible in the south. So, he returned.
On a telephone interview with my mother (Sherry Matthews), I learned some things, which lead to my mother not wanting to ever return to the south.
Q: What did you think moving to the south would be like in 1983?
A: I thought it would be nice living in a small town and I thought the cost of living would be a lot cheaper than being here in Milwaukee.
Q: What did you not like about it?
A: It was boring!! There was no culture or outlets to see or study African-American culture. If you wanted to do anything, you would have to go out of town. And many of the people were on a different thinking process than I was.
Now with the current happenings in Wisconsin and Milwaukee County, I’ve had thoughts of leaving and returning to the home my family has in El Dorado, Arkansas or even to Texas where we have family. My current concerns are for my family to grow and live in comfort and peace. I do fear wanting to go south and not being able to secure employment that would sustain my family in comfort.
I thought of the possibly to secure primary employment with some entity and work a secondary job for supplementary income. Initially, I thought about working for the El Dorado Police Department (EPD) and at Southern Arkansas Community College (SACC). The logic behind these two employers would be simple. If I worked with the EPD, I could work second or third shift. This would free up my mornings and allow me to work a second job during the daytime. Working at SACC in the administration office or even as an adjunct instructor would fit my experience and education well. What’s horrible for the possibility of our actually moving there is the cost of living is parallel to Milwaukee, but the salaries are much lower. So, my returning home to the town, which raised me, seems even that much further to consciously make reality.
An alternative would be to target going to Texas. My family there live in Houston and a little south of Houston in a town called Texas City not far from Galveston Island. Texas is beautiful!!! My wife and I both agree we can totally live in southeast Texas. It was a trip to Texas when I began thinking about the number of Blacks who are, now, moving back to or to the south from larger northern cities. My current dilemma is a double edged one. For starters, my parents are here in Milwaukee and not in the best of health. My father would want to follow us, but my mother has had her last of southern living, I believe. Second, it’s hard to find employment when you are not living in the area at the time. I think the prospective employer wants to see the person they’re to hire and interact with him/her face-to-face.
Recently, she and I decided to go on a weekend trip to either El Dorado or Houston. We’re going to use the trip as a get-a-way!!!
The overall idea to leave the north and return south isn’t at all about north or south. This transition is about opportunity and stability for one’s family. I guess if the moon had a colony and jobs were being offered, I’d start looking for 3-Bedroom Townhouses up there! As a young pre-teen, I never understood why my father moved from Milwaukee. Now as an adult, a father and a husband, I understand his motives and respect them. He did what he thought was in the best interest of his family. Oh, he also missed being home. I guess this is the feeling I get when I hear Gladys Knight’s song “Midnight Train to Georgia” and I start feeling like a lovesick puppy. Oh, I’m in love, but every now and then, I want to jump up and go home.
