In the early 20th century, more than two million African Americans fled their homes and small farms in the south of the country. In search of good jobs and a happy life, migrants went to industrial cities in the north, where racism was not so overt. This exodus was called “The Great Migration”. The second major wave of migration took place after the Second World War.

By 1970, when, according to the census, 80 percent of African Americans lived in metropolitan areas, black America had become predominantly urban.

And today we can observe the opposite process. The USA Today newspaper called it the return of African Americans “to their southern roots.” From 2000 to 2010, the African American population of Florida increased by 587,000, Georgia by 579,000, and North Carolina by 297,000.

“It’s all about quality of life,” May Morton told USA Today. As a correctional officer, he moved from New York to the small town of Palm Coast in Florida.

“When I come to New York now, I have a culture shock,” the migrant notes. “You won’t hear a single car horn here, and thousands of cars are honking at once in New York.”

According to the 2010 census, 57 percent of black Americans today live in the southern states. This is the highest percentage in fifty years.

Some African Americans say they are moving south for the first time – in search of warmer weather, away from high urban crime, or to reunite with relatives living in the south. Lower taxes and property prices are also an important factor.

But not everyone takes the move with joy. The new place has too many elderly people, not enough jobs, less developed public transport and less vibrant cultural life.

The next census, due in 2020, will tell us whether the African American exodus to the south is massive enough to be called the “Third Great Migration.”