The Warmth of Other Suns tells the story of the Great Migration in America, the event which saw around 6 million African Americans migrate from the South to the North in the hope of finding a better life. This story focuses on three individuals and their experiences, emphasizing the difficulties of migration and the experience of de facto racism once they reached the North.
Although the North was seen by many to symbolize a place of hope, opportunity, and fairness, this was far from the truth. Although legally the North was a lot less discriminatory than the South, there was still a great deal of de facto racism and prejudice, making life very difficult for migrants. For example, employers and landlords would find excuses for why they couldn't hire African Americans or allow them to rent homes; this way, they could not be accused of breaking the law. Nonetheless, racism was still very much present in the North, which Wilkerson discusses in this novel.
