Conclusion
There was great continuity in the Great Migration. Things changed but much remained unchanged. Migrants left to secure a better life, yet they maintained strong ties with remaining family members in the Delta and frequently returned home to visit, to stay in touch with the place they called home. Families left by the thousands during the the two World Wars. Many African-Americans left the Mississippi Delta in search of something better, though they were not always sure what they were looking for. Migrants left everything familiar to them to pursue a better job, earn more money, or to secure happiness and safety. Some migrants, returned to the Delta because the slow paced, Mississippi Delta was home. Even those who remained in Chicago, continued to call the Delta home, frequently returning to visit family.
People who left the Delta were looking for a better life. They left for Chicago, found an apartment on the South or West side of the city, and settled. Some moved around the city, they even bought houses in the city. Still, for them this was not enough. For years, they lived in Chicago making a comfortable life for themselves, all the while longing for Mississippi. Then one day, they decided to go back. Maybe someone was ill, or even dying, or maybe their time in the city had become difficult. Whatever the case, they felt it was time to go back home.
Whether they settled in Chicago permenantely, remained for a while and then returned to the Delta, or as soon as they---as Chicago in identity they remained Mississippians. Much as the first African slaves in North America, Chicago's migrants often flew away to the Delta.