Isabel Wilkerson, noteworthy author of The Warmth of Other Suns, displays literary prowess and insightful knowledge of the plight of African Americans in both her debut novel and myriad journalism and reporting entries. On multiple occasions, Wilkerson’s abilities in journalism garnered attention from universities and award committees, earning her the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing and the George Polk award for coverage and research on the Great Migration, as well as allowing her to lead seminars and hold positions of high esteem at universities such as Harvard, Emory, and Princeton. In addition to being the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for individual reporting, Wilkerson and her parents lived and participated in the Great Migration themselves. Hence, it will come as no surprise to hear that her claims within The Warmth of Other Suns present themselves as spectacularly accurate. Wilkerson proposes that the Great Migration altered the cultural, economic, and social history of America dramatically, …show more content…
Due to the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and National Origins Act of 1924, international immigration to America became limited to a precious few thousand people because of common fears of communism and increased prejudice from native-born Americans against foreigners. While Americans believed they could control the influx and migration of foreign-born people during this time, they possessed little to no control of internal migration within their country. Considered legal, natural-born citizens of the United States, African American retained full ability to migrate throughout the country as they pleased, provided they could find the finances for it. Though the most basic of principles for internal and international migration matched fluidly, each group’s ability to complete its migration varied immensely between places of