The document discusses the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North during the early 20th century due to Jim Crow laws and lack of economic opportunity in the South. Many migrants settled in northern cities like Harlem, New York, which became a center of African American culture and creativity. The Harlem Renaissance flourished there, driven by influential figures like Langston Hughes, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Zora Neale Hurston. Jazz music also emerged as an important art form during this era.