Chicago: Destination for the Great Migration
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Ethnography focuses on the customs of particular
tribes or peoples. Ethnographers are generally anthropologists
well- trained in the use of elementary mapping and linguistic principles.
This ethnographic map of 1926 Chicago shows the communities of
different ethnic groups, including blacks.
The Social Base Map of Chicago: Showing Industrial
Areas, Parks, Transportation and Language Groups, Illinois,
Chicago (city) Ethnography, 1926 University of Chicago
Local Community Research Committee Chicago: The University
of Chicago, 1926 Map Geography
and Map Division (118)
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The Chicago Defender and Black Migrants from the South
[Adams letter][Galliard
letter]
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The Chicago Defender was a remarkably successful
in encouraging blacks to migrate from the South to Chicago, often
listing names of churches and other organizations to whom they
could write for help. As a result, thousands of prospective migrants
wrote letters to black churches, such as the Bethlehem Baptist
Association in Chicago, Illinois, which assumed the task of helping
black migrants find housing and employment. They also helped migrants
to adjust to their new environment.
[Letter from Mrs. J. H Adams, Macon, Georgia, to the Bethlehem
Baptist Association in Chicago, Illinois,] 1918 Holograph Carter
G. Woodson Papers Manuscript
Division (119)
[Letter from Cleveland Galliard of Mobile, Alabama, to the
Bethlehem Baptist Association, Chicago, Illinois,] 1917 Holograph
Carter G. Woodson Papers Manuscript
Division (120)
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The geographic isolation and discriminatory school
policies imposed on urban blacks gradually lowered the quality
of their public education system and inspired the use of stopgap
measures to solve such problems as overcrowding. For example, the
Ida B. Wells housing project community center was used to alleviate
overcrowding in the kindergarten classes of the Chicago school
system.
Ida B. Wells housing project, Chicago, Illinois, April 1942
Jack Delano, Photographer Photomural from gelatin-silver print
FSA-OWI Collection Prints
and Photographs Division (121)
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The National Youth Administration, signed into law
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, was the only New Deal
agency primarily designed to meet the employment and educational
needs of American youth. By December 1940, resident training centers
had been established for rural youths, blacks,and students. Each
center had a "Citizenship Instructor" who held youths to practice
the business of self-government.
National Youth Administration girls and their instructor at the
Good Shepherd community center, Chicago (south side), Illinois,
April 1941 Russell Lee, Photographer Photomural from gelatin-sliver
print FSA-OWI Collection Prints
and Photographs Division (122)
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In "the Promised Land" of Chicago, many black migrants
still had to join picket lines to fight for fair wages. Some foremen
in various companies discriminated by placing restrictions upon
the promotion and advancement of black workers, frequently preventing
them from earning higher wages.
Carrying a sign in front of a milk company, Chicago, Illinois,
July 1941 John Vachon, Photographer Gelatin-silver print FSA-OWI
Collection Prints and
Photographs Division (123)
Picket line at the Mid-City Realty Company, Chicago, Illinois,
July 1941 John Vachon, Photographer Gelatin-silver print FSA-OWI
Collection Prints and
Photographs Division (124)
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Many of the black migrants who came to Chicago between
1910 and 1930 started businesses and became entrepreneurs. The "Perfect
Eat" Shop, a restaurant on 47th street near South Park, is an example
of such a business. It was owned by Ernest Morris, seen standing
in the rear of the restaurant.
The Perfect Eat Shop, a restaurant on 47th street near South
Park, owned by Mr. Ernest Morris, Chicago, Illinois, April 1942
Jack Delano, Photographer FSA-OWI Collection Prints
and Photographs Division (125)
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Chicago's South Side "black belt" contained zones
related to economic status. The poorest blacks lived in the northernmost,
oldest section of the black belt, while the elite resided in the
southernmost section.
Apartment building in a black section of Chicago, Illinois,
April 1941 Russell Lee, Photographer Gelatin-silver print FSA-OWI
Collection Prints and
Photographs Division (126) |
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