Great Migration oral histories featured in Newberry Library exhibition

Stories of the Great Migration, as told by SSHMP families who experienced this transformative moment of American history first-hand, are featured in the Newberry Library‘s new digital exhibition “Midwest Connections.” We’re honored to be part of this powerful exploration of the demographic shifts that shaped this part of the world. Thanks to UChicago professors Carlos Javier Ortiz and Susan Gzesh for inviting SSHMP film donors Jeannette Foreman, Ghian Foreman, Alvinetta Burks and Susan McClelland to record their oral histories.

From the video produced for this project: “In collaboration with the South Side Home Movie Project, students at the University of Chicago interviewed four people whose families experienced the Great Migration. After sharing their own brief stories of migration, the students provide a short overview of the Great Migration and introduce the personal accounts of Jeannette Foreman, Ghian Foreman, Alvinetta Burks, and Susan McClelland. Students provide context for audio clips of the oral histories, highlighting the role of church, education, and family connections in each life story. They also explore the relationship between race and place, past and present, within a broad context of migration as a human and American experience.”

Video available here.