Northward Bound Slides Northward
Bound
Voices of the Great Migration
Warm Up: Daily Realities
5 MINUTES
Image Analysis
"Rex Theatre for Colored People"
Leland, Mississippi, 1937
Observe & Reflect:
Imagine navigating a world where your path is dictated by signs like this.
What does this space tell you about your value in society?
How does it feel to navigate "separated" worlds every day?
The Big Picture
12 MINUTES
Embedded media
Focus Section: "Leaving Home" (9:53)
Pay attention to the Push and Pull factors discussed.
The Refugee Framework
"We should actually think of the Great Migration as a sort of refugee crisis... people fleeing famine, war, and genocide."
— Isabel Wilkerson, *The Warmth of Other Suns*
Why use the word "refugee" for people moving within their own country?
The Push (South)
Sharecropping debt, Jim Crow violence, lynchings, disenfranchisement.
The Pull (North)
Industrial jobs ($5/day), "the story of the North," better schools, less state-sanctioned violence.
Your Narrative: Letters Home
25 MINUTES
"Dear Chicago Defender..."
Assume the role of a person in the rural South in 1915 .
Your Letter Must Include:
Two specific Push Factors (grievances from the South).
One specific Pull Factor (an industry or Northern city).
The Risks you are taking by writing this letter.
The Will to Leave
"They did not dream the American Dream, they willed it into being."
In your groups, share your letters.Discussion: Why would Southern whites violently prevent the people they oppressed from leaving?
Chicago Defender Source Sheet Volume XI — No. 42 Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, May 15, 1917 Price: Two Cents
The Chicago Defender
World's Greatest Weekly
Primary Source Gallery
Between 1916 and 1918, the Chicago Defender received thousands of letters from Black Southerners seeking to escape the Jim Crow South. Study these excerpts to understand their "Push" and "Pull" factors.
From: New Orleans, LA (1917)
"Sir: I am a young man and I want to get out of the South... I have no money but I am willing to work. I have worked on farms and in the city but I cannot make enough to keep me in clothes and food. I have heard of the North and the many opportunities there for my people. Is there any way I can get a ticket?"
PULL FACTOR: Economic opportunity / "The Story of the North"
From: Selma, AL (1917)
"Dear Sir: I am writing you to see if you can help me get a job in Chicago. I have been working here for 75 cents a day and I have to pay for my own house. I am a good worker and I am tired of being treated like a dog. I want to come where a man is a man regardless of his color."
PUSH FACTOR: Low wages / Inhuman treatment / Jim Crow
From: Hattiesburg, MS (1917)
"Gentlemen: I want to come North for I am not treated right down here... they are lynching and burning our people and we have no protection. I am a carpenter and I can do any kind of work. I have a wife and four children and I want them to be in a place where they can go to school."
PUSH FACTOR: Domestic terrorism (lynching) / Lack of education
From: Memphis, TN (1917)
"Dear Editor: I am a woman 30 years old and I want to come to Chicago to work as a domestic or in a factory. I have seen the paper and I see where you help people. I am willing to do anything to get away from the South where there is no justice for us in the courts."
PUSH FACTOR: Legal disenfranchisement / Lack of justice
Read & Reflect
Write with Purpose
Claim your future
Dear Defender Template Student Name:
Historical Date: May _______, 1915
Location:
Subject: Letter to the Editor
Dear Chicago Defender
"The only way to keep the people is to treat them like human beings."
The Writing Prompt
Write a letter to the editor of the Chicago Defender seeking help to leave the South. Your letter must include:
At least two specific Push Factors (Sharecropping, Jim Crow, violence, etc.)
At least one specific Pull Factor or inquiry about a Northern city/industry.
A mention of the Risk of writing or sending this letter.
Dear Editor,
Respectfully,
Teacher's Note: Remind students that many Southerners had to hide these letters from white employers and even local postmasters to avoid retaliation.
Migration Letter Rubric Rubric: Northward Bound
Narrative Assessment: Letters to the Chicago Defender
Total Score
/ 20
Criteria Exceptional (5) Proficient (4-3) Developing (2-1) Historical Evidence Push/Pull Factors Clearly identifies 2+ specific push factors and 1+ pull factor/city using evidence from the video or sources. Identifies push and pull factors, but details may be general or slightly incomplete. Factors are missing or historically inaccurate based on the provided materials. Voice & Perspective Historical Empathy Adopts a compelling, realistic historical persona. Demonstrates deep understanding of the emotional toll of migration. Maintains a consistent persona, though some moments may feel modern or detached. Voice is inconsistent or does not reflect the historical context of a migrant in 1915. Risk & Resistance Contextual Awareness Skillfully weaves in the dangers of writing/sending the letter (retaliation, white Southern resistance). Mentions a risk or need for secrecy, though it may feel tacked on rather than integrated. Fails to acknowledge the dangers or resistance faced by those attempting to leave. Craft & Structure Letter Writing Perfect letter format (date, salutation, body, closing). Writing is polished and clear. Follows letter format with minor errors. Writing is generally clear. Format is incomplete. Significant errors in structure make the letter difficult to read.
Teacher Comments
Student Reflection
"One thing I learned about the bravery of migrants while writing this letter was..."
Assessment Tool
Northward Bound Unit
Northward Bound Teacher Guide Northward Bound
Teacher Guide
Empathy, Evidence, and the Great Migration Refugee Experience
Time
50 Minutes
Grade Level
9th - 12th Grade
Subject
History / Writing
1 Warm-Up: Segregated Spaces (5 min)
Display Slide 2. Direct students to the description of the "Rex Theatre" image.
2 Direct Instruction: The Refugee Framework (15 min)
Watch the Crash Course video. Use the pause points suggested in the transcript:
2:48: Discuss Sharecropping as "debt peonage."
7:27: Introduce the "Refugee Crisis" framework. Discuss if students agree with Isabel Wilkerson's term for domestic movement.
9:53: Focus on the emotional difficulty of leaving an ancestral home.
3 Activity: Letters to the Chicago Defender (25 min)
Distribute the Source Sheet and Letter Template. Students should analyze the real excerpts first to get a sense of the tone and specific concerns (wages, safety, family).
Historical Context Tip:
Explain that the Chicago Defender was banned in many parts of the South. Pullman Porters (Black train attendants) would smuggle the paper into Southern towns. Writing a letter to the paper was an act of high-stakes rebellion.
4 Closure: The Will to Leave (5 min)
Students share letters in small groups. Close with the final quote from the slides: "They did not dream the American Dream, they willed it into being."
Essential Materials
• Northward Bound Slides
• Chicago Defender Source Sheet
• Dear Defender Template
• Migration Letter Rubric
Core Objectives
Analyze push/pull factors of the Great Migration and use primary sources to draft an empathetic historical narrative.
