Sengstacke also used the Defender as a means to grow the community, writing stories about Northern city life that enticed African-American residents of the Southern United States to move to Chicago, a phenomenon that came to be known as the Great Migration. Like other giants of the contemporary black press, the Defender enjoyed substantial circulation across the nation.
The Defender was also employed by Sengstacke to foster growth within the community, producing stories about urban life in the North that attracted African-American residents from the South to relocate to Chicago, earning it the reputation of the Great Migration. Similar to other influential black press leaders, the Defender had a significant national following.