I (finally) finished reading The Warmth of Other Suns last month. I found myself thinking several things (pretty much at the same time).

First, I thought about how important it is for Americans to know this part of our history. I commend the book to my fellow Americans simply for that reason.

Second, I wondered about the differences between “migration” and “immigration.” In his book American Nations, Colin Woodard posits that there are 11 regional cultures in the USA and that, while the USA in one country, these 11 regional cultures make up 11 different “nations” within the USA. (One of the implications of this is that the so-called “battleground states” are states that include portions of multiple nations.) While the UN would say ‘migration’ is the appropriate word to use when naming the ‘Great Migration’ because the people are moving within one country, this migration was of people moving from whatever one of Woodard’s ‘nations’ they lived in to another ‘nation’ he identifies. Thus, in many ways, the Great Migration is a story of immigration, too, I think.

Third, I wondered if another migration/immigration story is already unfolding, a story about migration due to the climate crisis. Back in 2016, the Native Americans living on Isle de Jean Charles were identified as the Louisiana’s first “climate refugees.” There entire village needed to be moved because of the impacts of #ClimateChange. (Read more at here.)

Now, the “Biden administration will give three Native tribes $75 million to move away from coastal areas or rivers, one of the nation’s largest efforts to date to relocate communities that are facing an urgent threat from climate change.” (Read more here.)

This is, I suspect, just the beginning of the next great migration within the USA. And it will be impacted by international migrations, too. (See https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/climate-change-and-disasters.html for more info about Climate Refugees internationally.)

If Woodard is right, that there are within the USA 11 distinct cultural nations, I find myself wondering how each of them will respond to the arrival of the next waves of migrant/immigrants. I know what the Jewish and Christian scriptures teach about how we should respond: with compassion, concern, and welcome.