1928

On November 6, 1928, Oscar De Priest became the first Black congressman elected from a Northern state, representing Chicago's South Side Black Belt. His election reflected the political transformation wrought by the Great Migration: Black voters concentrated in Northern cities could register and vote, and their numbers had grown large enough to elect Black representatives. De Priest's election — and his persistent use of congressional privileges to challenge segregation in Washington, D.C. — demonstrated that the Great Migration was not only an economic and demographic event but a political realignment that would ultimately reshape American politics.

On November 6, 1928, Oscar De Priest became the first Black congressman elected from a Northern state, representing Chicago's South Side Black Belt. His election reflected the political transformation wrought by the Great Migration: Black voters concentrated in Northern cities could register and vote in numbers large enough to elect Black representatives. De Priest's persistent use of congressional privileges to challenge segregation in Washington, D.C. demonstrated that the Great Migration was not only economic but a political realignment reshaping American politics.

A 1928 survey by the Julius Rosenwald Fund found that Black patients were excluded from 90% of American hospitals and that Black physicians were barred from membership in the American Medical Association and from hospital staff positions. The study documented Black maternal mortality at 2.7 times the white rate and Black infant mortality at twice the white rate. The survey was used by the NMA (National Medical Association, the Black physicians' organization) to advocate for Black hospital construction. The Rosenwald Fund subsequently funded construction of Black hospitals and health centers in rural Southern communities.

Amos 'n' Andy, created and performed by two white men (Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll) in blackface vocal style, began national radio broadcast in 1928 and reached an estimated 40 million weekly listeners by 1930 — roughly one-third of the U.S. population. The show depicted Black men as lazy, ignorant, scheming, and incompetent. The Pittsburgh Courier mounted a campaign against the show in 1931, collecting 740,000 signatures on a petition to NBC for cancellation. NBC refused. The show's portrayal shaped white American perception of Black people nationwide and directly contradicted the Harlem Renaissance's project of counter-representation.

Amos 'n' Andy, created and performed by two white men (Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll) in blackface vocal style, began national radio broadcast in 1928 and reached an estimated 40 million weekly listeners by 1930 — roughly one-third of the U.S. population. The show depicted Black men as lazy, ignorant, scheming, and incompetent. The Pittsburgh Courier mounted a campaign against the show in 1931, collecting 740,000 signatures on a petition to NBC for cancellation. NBC refused. The show's portrayal shaped white American perception of Black people nationwide.