After the Civil War, some black Americans sought to settle in new places around the United States. Some formerly enslaved people left the South for the North, in search of a new life. Many others stayed in the South, or journeyed around the country seeking relatives who had been sold away years before. 

This illustration depicts black men, women and children on a boat. The title refers to them as "Colored Emigrants"; colored was a common term for African American people in mid-19th century America. The word "emigrant" shows that the people are leaving their native region for another. The drawing originally appeared in the magazine Harper's Weekly on August 3, 1867.