Were a different story. They gave Mary what she needed but were not very friendly toward her. They made sure she knew that she was an outsider to the family. She was made to wear and apron and a cap a sign of inferiority. Although not treated as she wished to be, Mary was glad she had a home and a fairly easy life compared to some girls she knew that were working in a factory. .
On the plantations in the south, many African Americans told stories about traveling north. Many did not tell their employers that they were leaving. Every African American who could afford a train ticket bought one. Those who could not would tell their employers that they stayed behind because they were faithful while secretly hoping to get a little extra money so they too could have a better life up north. Jeremiah Taylor was one of these men. Being only twenty years old and working on a plantation in Georgia for very small wages did not please him. Some of the other men who worked with him told stories at the campfire at night of men who made forty cents an hour. Jeremiah could not believe what he was hearing. He knew he had to go up north and find a better job. He swore to himself that he would save every penny until he had enough to travel north. He only made about $1.40 a day so he knew it would take quite a bit of time to save the money. .
Jeremiah often looked at the papers that some African Americans would sneak onto the plantations. They advertised molding jobs where you could make $4.50 a day. Some other jobs included work in a steel mill and warehouse work. Jeremiah waited for a few months saving every penny he could so that he would be able to travel north. He watched his friends leave and wished more than anything that he could afford to go with them. To Jeremiah's surprise, a friend of his contacted him from Newark New Jersey telling him of a job that he found him up north. It pays $2.