American dream Quote by Isabel Wilkerson
““Over the decades, perhaps the wrong questions have been asked about the Great Migration. Perhaps it is not a question of whether the migrants brought good or ill to the cities they fled to or were pushed or pulled to their destinations, but a question of how they summoned the courage to leave in the first place or how they found the will to press beyond the forces against them and the faith in a country that had rejected them for so long. By their actions, they did not cream the American Dream, they willed it into being by a definition of their own choosing. They did not ask to be accepted but declared themselves the Americans that perhaps few others recognized but that they had always been deep within their hearts.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, 2010
The quote reframes the Great Migration as a story of agency, courage, and self‑determination rather than a simple push‑pull analysis.
In simple terms: Migrants shaped their destiny, not just reacting to forces.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and honor the agency of marginalized groups.
Themes
migration
agency
identity
American Dream
Mood
reflective
inspirational
Type
historical
sociological
When to use this quote
- historical research
- public policy
- education curricula
- community storytelling
Key Concepts
self‑determination
courage
collective memory
Questions to Reflect On
- How did migrants negotiate identity in new cities?
- What policies could honor their self‑defined American Dream?
A Different Perspective
It may overlook structural barriers that limited choices.
![“The suburbanization and the ghettos that were created as a result of the limits of where [African-Americans] could live in the North [still exist today.] And ... the South was forced to change, in part because they were losing such a large part of their workforce through the Great Migration.” quote by Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/791/isabel-wilkerson-10765_african-american_the-suburbanization-and-the-ghettos-that_1992366.jpg)
![“[The Great Migration] had such an effect on almost every aspect of our lives - from the music that we listen to to the politics of our country to the ways the cities even look and feel.” quote by Isabel Wilkerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/591/isabel-wilkerson-10765_aspect_the-great-migration-had-such-an-effect-o_1714768.jpg)
