The Great Migration - The African American Experience

Tomorrow, the children will learn that animals are not the only living things that migrate. Humans do too, of course, and there are many instances throughout history where this has happened.

Val, our amazing and inspiring kindergarten teacher, has invited her friend Kaye to come in with her collection of quilts. Kaye is a member of the Great Lakes Quilter's Guild and Ann Arbor Quilter's Association. Her quilts feature African and Underground Railroad design blocks. Secret messages in the form of quilt patterns aided slaves escaping the south before and during the Civil War.

Later in our history, African Americans left the south in great numbers - especially between WWI and WWII. Christine, Juna's mom, sent me an amazing lesson plan that is actually about blues and literature, and "the great migration" that happened in the first half on the 20th century. Because of the oppressive conditions of the Jim Crow South, millions of African Americans left their homes for the economic and social promises (sometimes unfulfilled) of the north. We will be listening to a couple Langston Hughes poems, The South and One Way Ticket.



And, finally, I leave you with this video of Sweet Honey in the Rock. We will be seeing them next Friday (the day before mid-winter break). This particular song deals with the very current issue of immigration. Enjoy!


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