text: Beginning in 1913, the first 80 Rosenwald Schools were built in Alabama for African American children.A total of 387 schools, seven teachers' houses, and several vocational buildings were completed by 1937 in the state.Several of the surviving school buildings in the state are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Continued racial discrimination and lynchings, agricultural depression, and the failure of the cotton crops due to boll weevil infestation led tens of thousands of African Americans from rural Alabama and other states to seek opportunities in northern and midwestern cities during the early decades of the 20th century as part of the Great Migration out of the South.Reflecting this emigration, the population growth rate in Alabama (see "historical populations" table below) dropped by nearly half from 1910 to 1920.At the same time, many rural people migrated to the city of Birmingham to work in new industrial jobs.Birmingham experienced such rapid growth it was called the "Magic City".By 1920, Birmingham was the 36th-largest city in the United States.Heavy industry and mining were the basis of its economy.Its residents were under-represented for decades in the state legislature, which refused to redistrict after each decennial census according to population changes, as it was required by the state constitution.This did not change until the late 1960s following a lawsuit and court order.Industrial development related to the demands of World War II brought a level of prosperity to the state not seen since before the civil war.Rural workers poured into the largest cities in the state for better jobs and a higher standard of living.One example of this massive influx of workers occurred in Mobile.Between 1940 and 1943, more than 89,000 people moved into the city to work for war-related industries.Cotton and other cash crops faded in importance as the state developed a manufacturing and service base.