Lesson Overview:
This lesson was written to compliment and enhance the Scholastic Book, Color Me Dark and subsequent production staged and produced by the Kennedy Center. This lesson also stands individually and may be taught without referencing the book or the play.
Through teacher-guided discussions and hands-on activities, students will understand the political and economic reasons for the African-American migration to Northern cities between the World Wars. They will discover the similarities and/or differences of life experiences in the South and the North through research, photographs, and artwork, as well as examine how these changes affected African-American life.
Length of Lesson:
Four to five 45-minute class periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 5-6.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- learn and discuss the political and economic reasons for the African-American migration north.
- learn the migration route of African-Americans by drawing routes between southern and northern states.
- analyze and discuss changes between rural and urban life through what they observe in a variety of photographs.
- compare and contrast elements of rural and urban life in a Venn diagram.
- discuss differences in rural and urban life as depicted in the art of Jacob Lawrence and Ellis Wilson.
- create a panel of artwork using a variety of materials that will express an aspect of African-American life in the South and/or North during the 1900s. These panels will be joined together to create a wall hanging.
Supplies:
- Chart paper
- Computer
- Construction paper
- Glue
- Markers, crayons, colored pencils, or paint
- Online photographs (printouts optional)
- Pencils
- Printouts of maps
- Scissors
- Venn diagram
- Writing paper
Instructional Plan:
Moving North
Introduce the topic of the Great Migration by presenting the PBS Photograph of the Migration of an African-American family.
Elicit observations from students about the photograph (e.g., African-American family, traveling by car, moving somewhere due to the suitcases on top of the car, looks like they are in the country, etc.). Tell the students that this photograph was taken in the past during the 1900s. Ask the students why they think this family might be moving and list responses. (e.g., find a better home, new job, better life, etc.). Write responses on the board.
Ask students: Does anyone know another word that can be used to describe the movement of people from one place to another? Write the word "migration" on the board. Explain to the students that from 1900 to 1920 large numbers of African-Americans migrated/moved to northern cities. This time was referred to as "The Great Migration."
Explain to the students that there were many reasons for this move. Make references to the chart you created earlier. Write the word "segregation" on the board and explain its definition.
segregate: (verb) to separate or keep people or things apart from the main group.)
Discuss that African-Americans were separated from whites, and that in the South, schools, hotels, restaurants, and other public places were segregated. African-Americans were not allowed to vote and were excluded from many job opportunities because of the color of their skin, so they wanted to move to a place where life would be better for them.
Tell the students that we are going to find out where African-Americans moved to and where they came from during the Great Migration. Divide students into small groups. Present each group with a copy of National Geographic's Xpeditions Atlas. Note: When on the site choose "United States" in the Select Location window, then go to the lower left-hand side and click on "enlarge." You can now print a copy for each of your small groups.)
On the chalkboard or on chart paper make two columns: Label one column "Some Southern States Where African Americans Lived During the 1900s," and then list the following states beneath: Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida. Label the other column "Some Northern States Where African-Americans Migrated to During the 1900s," and then list the following states beneath: Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania. Have students choose two different color crayons or markers. Have them locate the states in the first column and color them one color; do the same in another color for the states in the second column. Note: The map U.S. map cites abbreviations of states. For printable state maps, which also show complete state names and cities, click on the individual state from the larger map. When they finish, direct them look at the map. On the board review directionality: north, south, east, and west. Ask students to determine the direction from which African-Americans started to migrate. Responses should be south/southeast to north/northeast. Students can then color in all the other states on the map a third color. This will clearly indicate in which areas African-Americans lived and where they migrated.
Tell students that African-Americans generally migrated northward in two distinct patterns. One group of migrants—originally from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas—followed the Mississippi River north and landed in such cities as Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Gary, Indiana. Have students write the names of these cities on the map. The other group of migrants—predominantly from Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida—traveled east, moving northward along the railroad lines of the Atlantic Coast. They settled in such cities as New York, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Again, have students label the cities on the respective states. When the students have finished have them draw lines to show the two migration routes that were just discussed.
Finally, have students title the map: "The Great Migration Routes of African-Americans 1900s." Explain to students that there were other Southern and Northern states and cities involved as well in the Great Migration, but they've studied some of the main ones.
Country Life Versus City Life
In preparation for step #4 of this lesson, you will need to use the Rural and Urban Life interactive photo gallery. You can retrieve more photographs by using the Library of Congress: American Memory Website, and clicking on "Search." In the Search field provided, cut-and-paste or type in the first few words of the titles listed below; click "Search," then click on the title link. Bookmark each page so it is ready when you want to print. If you want to enlarge the photograph, double-click directly on it. The following photos are available on the interactive photo gallery:
Note: The original titles of the photographs appear on the handout. Most of the titles use the word "Negro" to refer to African-Americans. Before distributing the handout, you may wish to tell students that the use of the word "Negro" was common at the time the photographs were taken. Today, the term has a more negative connotation.
Comparing Homes Exterior:
- The home of Lloyd Rhodes, Negro tenant farmer near Siloam, Greene County, Georgia
- Home of well-to-do Negro living on the south side of Chicago, Illinois
Comparing Bedrooms:
- Interior of Negro tenant's home showing mosquito netting over bed. Mileston Plantation, Mississippi
- Master bedroom in home of well-to-do Negro. Chicago, Illinois
Comparing School Setting:
- Siloam, Greene County, Georgia. The Negro school.
- Young people outside of Negro high school, Black Belt. Chicago, Illinois
Comparing Churches:
- Negro church. South Carolina
- Easter procession outside of a fashionable Negro church, Black Belt. Chicago, Illinois
Comparing Barbershops:
- Mr. Oscar J. Freeman, barber, owns the Metropolitan Barber Shop, 4654 South Parkway, Chicago, Illinois. He has been in business fourteen years.
- Saturday afternoon outside of a Negro store and barbershop in Union Point, Greene County, Georgia
Have students take out their maps of the United States from the previous lesson and review the migration patterns from the South to the North of Africans-Americans during the 1900s.
On a chart or chalkboard make two columns: Label one "rural" and the other "urban". Ask students to define these terms:
rural: (adjective) of or relating to the country, country people, country life, or agriculture
urban: (adjective) of or relating to a city, city people, or city life.
Add the words "country" below "rural" and "city" below "urban".
Have students brainstorm the ways in which life in the country would have differed from life in the city; chart them under the appropriate category. (Possible discussion topics: types of transportation, stores, overall environment, crowded versus open spaces, etc.) Tell students that they are going to study photographs to see how life in the rural South for African-Americans was very different from life in the northern urban centers. Also explain to students that southern states are not all "rural" and northern states are not all "urban," but you are specifically talking about rural parts of southern states and urban centers of northern states. Remind students of the definitions of rural and urban when making a determination of an area.
Divide students into small groups and provide each group with a pair of photographs from the handouts. As you distribute them explain to students that these photographs will show African-Americans in the rural South and in northern cities. Some photos will be homes, schools, churches, etc.
Distribute writing paper to students. Tell them to look carefully at the pair of pictures; compare them by discussing with the group and writing in the similarities and differences. Have them ready to identify which picture represents rural life and which picture represents urban life.
After each group presents their findings orally, each student will summarize the similarities and differences between rural and urban life on the downloadable Venn Diagram. If time allows, students can present their Venn diagram.
Art Imitates Life
Review with students the reasons for the Great Migration of African-Americans during the 1900s. (Lack of job opportunities, segregation, wanting a better life and better education, etc.) You can reference the chart that was made with the class earlier in the lesson.
Ask students: How do we learn about important historical events? (Through written work, textbooks in school, books in a library, etc.) Ask if important historical events can be presented in another form besides the written word. Explain that artwork such as paintings or sculptures can represent an important historical event. Tell students that we are going to look at a painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art depicting George Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851. Read aloud or have a child read the description of the painting. Tell students that certain painters/artists sometimes would portray important events or choose an event or issue they felt strongly about and portray it in their art.
Tell the students that they are going to view the works of two well-known African-American artists used their artistic talents to express the experience of African-Americans. Point out that these artists painted most of their works in the mid-1900s, after the most intense period of the Great Migration, but that their works reflect the rural and urban lives of African-Americans. The artists' names are Jacob Lawrence and Ellis Wilson. (Write their names on the chalkboard or chart.) Tell the students that they are going to look at how these artists' work represents rural and urban life of African-Americans. Review the definitions of rural and urban with your students.
Explain that painter Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He is considered a leading African-American artist. He is famous for the distinctive flat surfaces of his narrative paintings (narrative meaning that when you put all of his paintings together they tell a story). Tell students that they are going to take a look at several of his paintings from a series called, "The Migration of the Negro." Ellis Wilson was born in Mayfield, Kentucky. He was one of the earliest African-American painters to portray the everyday lives of African-Americans in rural settings. Note that Wilson made special use of color and form. Review with students definitions of color and form as they related to studying a painting:
color: 1. (noun) A property of an object that reflects light of a certain wavelength. The eye perceives such light as being red, yellow, blue, etc. 2. (noun) The appearance of a person's skin. 3. (noun) A substance, such as a dye or pain, that gives something color. 4. (noun) The use of color in painting.
form: 1. (noun) The shape or structure of something. 2. (noun) The design, structure, or pattern of a work of art.
Tell students that they are going to begin with Jacob Lawrence's work. Go to the interactive Jacob Lawrence: Exploring Stories Web Site of the Whitney Museum. The window will open to the panel 1, The Migration of the Negro. Read aloud the information located in the box at right entitled, "LOOK." As you move the mouse over the pictures, questions for discussion will appear in the "LOOK" box. Use them to discuss each panel. Clicking on the boxes on the left-hand side can retrieve panels. Continue the same procedure for panel 3, 53, and 58 and for Brownstones. Lawrence's migration series are referred to as panel numbers with the exception of the one entitled Brownstones (that painting would be the second, seventh, eighth and eleventh box on the left). Also use the section entitled "INFO" located in the lower/middle portion of the screen. Discuss what makes the scenes urban, (e.g., brownstones, dress of the couple, the city feel). List ideas on the board/chart under Lawrence's name.
Next display Ellis Wilson's rural paintings. (Click on "Gallery" and view several of the paintings listed on the right side.) In particular, view Funeral Procession, To Market, and Two Mothers. To enlarge, double-click on each one. Discuss what characteristics make his paintings rural (e.g., grassy background, not wearing shoes, dirt roads). List students' ideas on the board under Wilson's name. (Further background and biographical work is also available on this Web site.)
Distribute writing paper; have students write which painting or artist they liked best and why. Share their responses with the class.
The Great Migration Wall Hanging
Review with students the names of the two well-known African-American artists whom they learned about in the previous lesson (Jacob Lawrence and Ellis Wilson). Ask students to recall how these artists depicted events in history (Lawrence painted the Great Migration of African-Americans and showed the urban or city aspect in his work; Wilson displayed African-Americans in a rural or country setting).
Remind students of the similarities and differences they saw in the photographs and discuss (e.g., homes and schools in the South were in poor condition, schools and homes in the North were generally in better condition).
Tell students to think about everything they have learned about the Great Migration. Explain that they are going to choose one aspect of it and create their own scene. (For example, they may want to show African-Americans moving in large groups headed north, they may want to show the aspect of segregation of blacks and whites, or they may want to show a side of city life and country life.)
Give squares of colored construction paper-measuring 12" x 12" or larger-to each student or each group of students for their background. Students will cut out shapes from construction paper or any other material you would like them to use to depict their representation of an aspect of the Great Migration. Students will glue these shapes to their colored construction paper. Some students may prefer to paint right on the square. Give students freedom in the way they wish to use the materials.
Have students present their artwork to the class. Collect the panels and put them together to create a wall hanging.
Assessment:
Use the Venn Diagram Assessment Rubric and the Visual Arts Assessment Rubric to assess your students' work.
Extensions:
Diary Entry. Present the photograph used in step 1, or use any other photos in the lesson that depict people. Have students choose one person in a picture and write a diary entry from that person's point of view about the Great Migration from the South to the North.
Sources:
Web:
Authors:
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Scholastic Inc.
New York, NY
