The Great Migration and the Promise of Work in Turner Station, Maryland

Key Insight

Despite the United States' entry into World War II and a booming tobacco market for soldiers' cigarettes, small farms like Henrietta and Day's in Clover struggled to yield enough to sustain their family and plant future crops. This stark economic reality contrasted with the opportunities emerging elsewhere. Their cousin, Fred Garret, who had previously failed to profit significantly from a 'colored' convenience store and juke joint in Clover, took his last 3.25 dollars to buy a bus ticket north. He found work at Bethlehem Steel's Sparrows Point steel mill and settled in Turner Station, Maryland, a community primarily for black workers.

Turner Station, originally swamps and farmland, rapidly transformed. World War I's steel demand led to black workers overflowing company barracks and moving to Turner Station. By World War II, especially after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, steel demand skyrocketed, prompting significant government investment in the area. This led to the construction of numerous one- and two-story housing projects, some containing 400 to 500 units, becoming a 'gold mine' and 'Promised Land' for black families escaping Southern poverty. Residents could visibly witness the steel plant's activity, seeing flames and 'eerie red smoke pouring from its smokestacks' as Sparrows Point grew into the world's largest steel plant, producing up to 8 million tons annually and employing over 30000 workers.

Black men, including Fred, were typically assigned the most arduous and hazardous jobs at Bethlehem Steel, starting in shipyards collecting debris and progressing to boiler rooms to shovel coal, breathing 'toxic coal dust and asbestos.' These dangerous substances were unwittingly brought home, affecting their wives and daughters during laundry. Black workers earned about 80 cents an hour, significantly less than white workers, yet this wage was unprecedentedly high for many from Clover. Fred returned to Clover in late 1941 to persuade Henrietta and Day to join him, buying Day a bus ticket. Day moved first, with Henrietta and the children following later after Fred, drafted overseas, provided his savings for their journey. At 21, Henrietta boarded a coal-fueled train with her children, leaving her rural life for a new beginning, encountering diverse landscapes for the first time.