Description of Great Migration Journal
In the tradition of great epistolary storytellers such as Anne Frank and Patricia McKissack, you will create a Great Migration Journal of at least seven detailed entries. In The Diary of Anne Frank and Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the authors told complete stories by only using journal entries. What was life like for African-American migrants to the North? Read their own words:
A Black Migrant Recalls Life in Philadelphia
"We Tho[ugh]t State Street Would Be Heaven Itself": Black Migrants Speak Out (about life in Philadelphia)
"Don[']t Have to Mister Every Little White Boy. . .": Black Migrants Write Home
Here are a few ideas to think about as you compose your own Great Migration journal:
Describe the trip from Charleston to Harlem. How did you get to Harlem? What did you see along the journey? Did everyone who left with your family survive the trip? What happened?
What kind of job do you have? How did you find it? Where does your family live? How did you find this place to live?
What did you used to do everyday in Charleston? Can you continue those activities in Harlem? Why or why not? Did you discover any new activities in Harlem that you enjoy?
How are your experiences at school in Harlem different from your experiences at school in Charleston?
Did you make any new friends in Harlem? Do you miss any friends from Charleston? Who? Why? What did you used to do with them?
Do you enjoy the same kinds of music and art? Why or why not? What kinds of music and art?
Were you treated any differently in Charleston and in Harlem? Why? By whom? When?
Are race relations any better in Harlem than in Charleston? Any worse? How are they better or worse?
Are women treated the same way as men in Harlem? Were they treated any differently in Charleston?
How have you adjusted your lifestyle since leaving Charleston? What happens when you or a family member gets sick? What happens when someone dies?
What's happening politically in Harlem? Which Black leaders do you follow? Why? Why don't you follow the other Black leader(s)?
What was the emotional quality of your life before you moved to Harlem? What is the emotional quality of your life after you moved to Harlem?
Have any particularly disturbing, funny, frightening, or sad events happened to you? Describe what happened.
Overall, are you glad that you moved to Harlem? Why or why not?
After you have finished your Great Migration journal, you will gather together with your family to read some of your entries. As a family, you will select one entry from each family member to read to the rest of the class.
As you listen to other entries, what kinds of similarities and differences do you notice? How did the family members' age, gender, and/or experiences affect their views of the world?