From VOICES: The Great Migration

Volume 28
Spring-Summer
2002

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"The Great Migration" exhibition documents the experiences of fifteen African American men and women who eventually settled in Yonkers, the largest city in Westchester County.

Nancy Solomon is director of Long Island Traditions. She curated the exhibition "Made in Hempstead: African American quilter Ora Kirkland."

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Headline: The Great Migration--Stories from the South to the North

From 1930 through the 1960s, millions of African Americans left their family homesteads in the rural South in search of better economic, educational, and social opportunities in the North. "The Great Migration" exhibition documents the experiences of fifteen African American men and women who eventually settled in Yonkers, the largest city in Westchester County. During the past year, students at Marymount College in nearby Tarrytown interviewed residents about their reasons for leaving, the circumstances of their journey, and their experiences upon arrival in New York and Yonkers. The exhibition includes quotes from those interviewed, personal items and family photographs, and images of Yonkers during the 1950s-1970s.

The exhibition is divided into five sections: Black Migration, The South, The Journey, Yonkers, and American Journeys. Each section contains a contemporary portrait by photographer James Hinton, a brief quotation from the person interviewed, objects such as an iron or quilt brought by the resident, family mementos such as a diploma or class photo, and a photograph of their birthplace or their family. In addition, a simple map identifies the hometown location of each person interviewed. A set of small audio speakers above the panels quietly broadcasts a reminiscence of one of the persons interviewed.

Photo of James L. Green, a narrator for the Great Migration exhibition, and his cousin, Joan, outside Atlanta in 1939.

James L. Green, a narrator for the Great Migration exhibition, and his cousin, Joan, outside Atlanta in 1939. Collection of James L. Green.

Creating an exhibition that explores personal, economic, and political decisions is complex and sensitive, given the circumstances that lead to such decisions. Many African Americans personally witnessed brutal lynchings and beatings, along with "ordinary" acts of oppression, such as nighttime attacks by dogs, and policemen who failed to protect them. The students’ interviews reveal these memories in an unedited collection of excerpts at the museum’s reading room. However, they are not found in the exhibition panels and images. The exhibition is presented primarily as a short biography of the people interviewed, rather than a thematic analysis of why they left and the struggles they endured in their birthplaces and in their new homes.

Perhaps to compensate for these oversights there are a small number of images that document lunch-counter sit-ins during the 1950s and 1960s, and photographs of segregated drinking fountains. One of the persons interviewed, Sophie Ward, is pictured at a lunch-counter sit-in during the 1950s, but we do not learn of her experience that day and the circumstances that led her to protest. The vast majority of artifacts, panels, and photographs focus on the interviewees’ personal accomplishments, such as church-related traditions and educational achievement.

As a result of this "family album" approach, the visitor is left with many questions, such as why did these particular individuals settle in Yonkers, what was the experience of leaving a segregated society and entering a more integrated one, how did they make the transition from rural life to living in a highly urbanized community, and how did they maintain their family ties over time and distance. In addition, there is no information about their experiences living in Yonkers, which has a long history of racial divisions. Although the answers to these questions and issues can be found in the interviews in the reading room, they should have been presented in the exhibition. It is there that the voices would have the greatest impact.

This review was published in Voices Vol. 28, Spring-Summer, 2002. Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society now.