African American Migration (Performance)

African American Migration (Performance Investigation

PART 1 of 2)

Historical Question: Why did African Americans migrate to Newark

at the beginning of the 20th century?

Learning Objective: Students will use the historical skills of sourcing, contextualizing, close reading and corroboration to understand about African American migration and the relationship of Southern cities to Northern cities in the early 20th century.

Standard # 5 Relationships among people, places, ideas and environments are dynamic

Writing Prompt:  

For this investigation, you will answer guiding questions arguing the reasons why African Americans migrated to Newark, New Jersey at the beginning of the 20th century. For tomorrow you will complete a google document to write your Schaffer paragraph!

Throughout the different documents and video, consider (search for evidence) to the historical question:

Historical Question: Why did African Americans migrate to Newark

at the beginning of the 20th century?

Be Ready

There will be questions throughout the lesson...

Document A: Newark Anniversary Guide Source: Newark Sales and Advertising Co., Official Guide and Manual of the 250th Anniversary Celebration of the Founding of Newark, New Jersey, Newark, NJ: 1916

(Excerpt) In 1916, Newark celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding. For the occasion, the Newark Sales and Advertising Company published 250,000 copies of the Official Guide and Manual of the Anniversary Celebration. The guide included various articles, pictures, and statistics about the city. What is the purpose of this?

Multiple Choice

(Sourcing) When was this document written? What was its purpose?

• This is the official guide and manual of the Anniversary Celebration of Newark published in 2016

• This is a letter written by the Mayor of Newark to the voters in 1916

• This is the official guide and manual of the Anniversary Celebration of Newark published in 1916.

• This was a speech given by the Mayor of Newark to the voters in 1936.

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) How does this document describe Newark?

• It makes Newark sound like a great city to get work to help the war effort.

• It describes Newark as a great city to visit, but not to permanently live.

• It describes Newark as a great city that is clean, safe, and has lots of job opportunities.

• It is trying to say Newark is not a good place for African Americans (It's kind of a racist city trying to stay as white as possible)

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) What is one piece of evidence from this document that helps to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark? (pick the best answer) What makes the city of Newark sound good to live!

• In 1916, Newark celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding. For the occasion, the Newark Sales and Advertising Company published 250,000 copies of the Official Guide and Manual of the Anniversary Celebration.

• These humble newcomers, therefore, have been forced into finding lodgings in basements and in the worst parts of our city

• These people in many instances need proper clothing to enable them to withstand the rigors of this climate; they need decent housing facilities. . . .

• Its schools greatly enlarged and improved, are among the best. Its beautiful churches are sufficient to give attractive seats to all who would attend.

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) How does this piece of evidence help to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark at the beginning of the 20th century? (pick the best answer)

• This document does not seem to encourage people to migrate to Newark

• This document suggests African Americans migrated to Newark to get jobs that will help the war effort.

• This document suggests African Americans migrated to Newark because it is a clean, safe city with good opportunities.

• This document suggests African Americans migrated to Newark because there were lots of agricultural jobs, which many African Americans have experience with.

Document B:

New York Times

Stay focused everyone!

Multiple Choice

Tell me what kind of document is this, and when was it written?

• It's a newspaper from 1917

• It's a newspaper from 1927

• It's a chapter from a book in 1917

• It's from a webpage in 2027

Multiple Choice

(Contextualization) What major historical event was happening when this article was written? How might this historical context have shaped the content of the document? (Pick the best answer)

• World War 1 is going on, and that is calling for lots of jobs to help with the war effort.

• The Civil War is going on, and this document shows the growing opportunity for African Americans in the war effort.

• World War 1 is going on, and that worried many African Americans about a return to slavery after the war.

• World War 2 is going on, and this document shows the growing opportunity for African Americans in the war effort.

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) What is the central problem described in this article? According to the article, how are businesses and the government addressing the problem? (Pick the best answer)

• The main problem is racial tension in the shipyard construction. They decide to have whites and blacks work at different shifts.

• The main problem is there aren't' enough workers to help build warships, so they display posters showing how important this is.

• The main problem is racial tension in the shipyard construction. They decide to pay everyone WAY MORE money than normal to calm everyone down.

• The main problem is there aren't' enough workers to help build warships, so they send labor union reps to the south to recruit African Americans.

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) What is one piece of evidence from this document that helps to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark? (Pick the best answer, in your own opinion)

• "A special War Committee, which is to aid the great ship plants to get the men needed, has issued posters picturing a steel vessel in process of construction on the ways, and proclaiming..."

• “If you can use tools you are wanted: your country needs ships and men to build them. Armies, ammunition and supplies are useless in this country without ships to transport them... You can thus help to win the war and make the world safe for democracy.”

• "the task of turning out the standardized steel ships in such quantities that Germany’s submarine war shall be balked. "

• Newark Bay to supply the Government’s need for cargo vessels as one means of successful prosecution of the war.

Open Ended

(Close Reading) How does this piece of evidence (below) help to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark at the beginning of the 20th century?

“If you can use tools you are wanted: your country needs ships and men to build them. Armies, ammunition and supplies are useless in this country without ships to transport them. Go to the nearest shipyard and offer your services. You can thus help to win the war and make the world safe for democracy.” (Hint what you are about to write is commentary. Tell me in one sentence why this evidence is important? Use the sentence stem, "This evidence is important because...")

I'm sure those are good answers

Let's move on to the next document, make sure you read all source information closely...

Document C: Cotton Pickers in Northern Counties

Helen Pendleton was a white woman who worked for a charity in Georgia before becoming a supervisor for the Bureau of Charities in Newark. The passage below is from her article “Cotton Pickers in Northern Counties,” in which she described the challenges faced by African-American migrants in Newark. Survey magazine, a leading social work journal, published the article. Helen B. Pendleton, “Cotton Pickers in Northern Counties,” Survey, February 1917. 

Multiple Choice

(Sourcing) When was this document written? What might have been the author’s purpose in writing this article?

• This was written in 1917, to explain the challenges faced by African-American migrants in Newark.

• This was written in 1937, to explain the challenges faced by African-American migrants in Newark.

• This was written in 1917, to explain agricultural jobs in the North

• This was written in 1917, to explain how agricultural jobs in the North compared to agricultural jobs in South

Multiple Choice

According to Pendleton, why were African Americans migrating to Newark? (Pick the best answer)

• Violence towards African Americans has gotten out of hand in the South.

• High paying jobs are being offered in the North.

• Numerous Blacks only colleges are opening in the North.

• Living conditions were specifically housing, were fantastic!

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) What is one piece of evidence from this document that helps to explain WHY African Americans migrated to Newark? (Pick one answer)

• "At first the railroad and other companies furnished the transportation, sending agents all through the South, who painted in glowing terms . . . the high wages and advantages of the North."

• "...in the Pennsylvania station groups of Negro women sitting patiently, surrounded by bundles and babies and shivering in cotton garments."

• Helen Pendleton was a white woman who worked for a charity in Georgia before becoming a supervisor for the Bureau of Charities in Newark.

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) Is this piece of evidence of why African Americans migrated to Newark at the beginning of the 20th century a

"Push Factor" or a "Pull Factor"?

Railroads and industrial plants furnished transportation and offered undreamed-of wages to the simple farm hands from the cotton fields of Georgia and Alabama. . . . (Hint what you are about to write is commentary. Ask yourself why is this sentence (evidence) important?

• Push Factor

• Pull Factor

Multiple Choice

(Corroboration) How do Pendleton’s descriptions of the conditions that African Americans faced when they arrived in Newark compare to the Newark Anniversary Guide’s description of Newark? Remember what you read from document A (The anniversary of Newark manual). IF you need to use the back arrow to go back to read document A.

• Similar living conditions for African Americans were top notch in both documents.

• Different living conditions were not as good as described in the anniversary of Newark manual (Doc A).

• SImilar living conditions for African Americans were horrible in both documents.

• Different living conditions were better than described in the anniversary of Newark manual (Doc A).

This way to the finish line

we're almost there.

Document D: Atlanta Constitution

In the article on the next few pages, an unidentified columnist describes the migration of African Americans. The article appeared in The Atlanta Constitution, which was one of the largest newspapers in Georgia at the time.Atlanta Constitution, “Penalties of Migration,” December 14, 1916.

Multiple Choice

Sourcing) When and where was this newspaper article published? How might this have influenced how the article described the migration of African Americans to Newark?

• This was published in 1916 in the South, so it will probably say bad things about migrating to the North

• This was published in 1916 in the North, so it will probably say bad things about migrating to the South

Open Ended

(Close Reading and Contextualization) What does the article mean when it states that migration was caused, in part, by “the actions of mobs”? Who do you think is the "mob"? Also, is the "mob" a "Push Factor" or a "Pull Factor"?

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) According to this article, what were the consequences of the migration of African Americans to Newark? What evidence does it offer to support its claims ? (Pick the best answer)

• The article appeared in The Atlanta Constitution, which was one of the largest newspapers in Georgia at the time.

• "Notwithstanding there is some excuse, perhaps, for negro migration growing out of the fears which have been engendered by the actions of mobs..."

• "Nor is that the whole story. Many of them are dying . . . due to the unhealthy surroundings in which they are compelled to live. . . . "

• "The emigrants, and it is stated there are some 12,000 of them in and around Newark alone, working chiefly in the munitions factories..."

Multiple Select

(Close Reading) What is one piece of evidence from this document that helps to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark?

(Make sure you select the 2 correct answers)

• Many of the newcomers are driven north by persecution in southern states as well as by the lure of high wages in the munitions factories

• The northern idea of persecution in the south is, of course, a very exaggerated one; but we have to admit that in the work of the mob, at least, it has some foundation.

• It is a matter of common knowledge, however, that the honest and industrious negro gets along better and gets more out of life here in the south than he can anywhere else in the country.

• working chiefly in the munitions factories, are in actual need of housing and clothing, which, with all the promise of big wages, they have not been able to procure.

Open Ended

(Close Reading) How does this piece of evidence help to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark at the beginning of the 20th century? (Hint, think "push factor" not "pull factor")

Document E: Annie Rose Johnston Interview

Actual building -->

In the 1990s, the Krueger-Scott Cultural Center of Newark conducted over 100 interviews with African Americans who migrated to Newark between 1910 and 1970. These oral histories focus on why people migrated to Newark and on their experiences once they arrived in the city.

Source: Interview with Annie Rose Johnston, November 13, 1995.

Multiple Choice

(Sourcing) What kind of document is this?

• this is a letter

• this is an excerpt from a book

• this is a newspaper story

• this is an interview

Multiple Choice

(Close Reading) What is one piece of evidence from this document that helps to explain why African Americans migrated to Newark?

• In the 1990s, the Krueger-Scott Cultural Center of Newark conducted over 100 interviews with African Americans who migrated to Newark between 1910 and 1970.

• "Daddy thought he could get work easier in Newark. He didn’t want to farm anymore."

• "I was born in Bert County, Georgia. . . . It was a farm. We were 13 in all. . ."

• No relatives. We were on our own. . . . It was a tough year. My mother was sick in one room with pneumonia.

Multiple Choice

(Corroboration) How do Annie Rose Johnston’s experiences compare to the experiences of migrants described by Rev. Bonfield in Document D? (Read the answers carefully, pick the best answer)

• SImilar because they both make migrating to Newark sound like a good decision.

• Different Annie Rose Johnston's document talks about going North and couldn't find work, but Rev. Bonfield (Doc D) says going North blacks could find work.

• SImilar because they both make migrating to Newark sound like a bad decision.

• Different because Annie Rose Johnston's document talks about going North to find work, but Rev. Bonfield (Doc D) says going North blacks could not find good work.

Stay calm, we will take this one piece at a time because...

Open Ended

Historical Question: Why did African Americans migrate to Newark at the beginning of the 20th century?

Write your Topic Sentence (TS)

Introduce topic (time, place, etc.) and answer the question (claim).

Multiple Choice

What is an example of a properly written concrete detail sentence? (Remember this for when you write your own concrete detail sentence)?

• According to Document A, "Newark has 252 distinct lines of industry; fifty lines each turning out values from one to thirty million dollars annually.".

• According to the Newark Sales and Advertising Co., Official Manual of 1916, "Newark has 252 distinct lines of industry; fifty lines each turning out values from one to thirty million dollars annually.".

• According to Document A, if says there is 252 district lines of industry that makes a lot of money.

• According to the Newark Sales and Advertising Co., Official Manual of 1916, if says there is 252 district lines of industry that makes a lot of money.

Great job, you are finished with part 1 of this performance assignment

Tomorrow will be part 2, the writing of the paragraph. Remember this is one of those assignments worth 70% of your grade. If you failed last quarter, you can still pass this class with a "C" average. You can redo this assignment to get a better grade if you like!