In 1915 the boll weevil appeared in Georgia. This small beetle is believed to have originated in Central Mexico and fed on cotton buds and flowers. The infestation had drastic effects on Georgia's agricultural industry. The beetle destroyed the state’s cotton crop—a primary commodity in the state’s economy—and farmers lost billions of dollars. The damage was so great that it became one of the driving factors of the Great Migration, in which almost six million African Americans moved from the South to northern and western cities between 1910 to 1970.In addition, the need for industrial workers following World War I (1917-18) also brought African Americans from the South to the north. While the migration of African Americans to northern cities precipitated new racial conflicts, particularly in residential settings, it also meant that many African Americans no longer worked in the agriculture fields of Georgia, nor owned any of the land that was left behind.

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