Final answer:
During the Great Migration, African Americans moved from the South to the North and Midwest to find jobs and escape segregation, taking up positions in railroads, steel mills, and various industrial sectors.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the era known as the Great Migration, African Americans moved in large numbers not to Europe, not within the South, and not from the North to the South, but overwhelmingly from rural Southern regions to urban areas in the North and Midwest. This exodus primarily occurred between 1910 and 1925, with over 10 percent of the African American population participating in the migration and even greater numbers following in subsequent years.
They sought to escape the oppressive conditions of Jim Crow laws in the South and pursued economic opportunities, like working for railroads, steel mills, and other industrial jobs. Urban centers such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York saw significant increases in their African American populations as a result.
African American men often found employment in lower-paying, unskilled, or semi-skilled jobs, such as work in steel mills, construction, and as porters in the railroad industry. Women, also seeking better employment opportunities, typically found jobs in industries they had largely been excluded from in the South, like manufacturing or as domestic servants.
Although they faced discrimination and were often relegated to menial jobs, African Americans pursued the Great Migration for the promise of higher wages, better educational opportunities, and a chance for greater freedom and suffrage in the North versus the South.