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The Migration, Reflections on Jacob Lawrence

The Migration, Reflections on Jacob Lawrence

by | Nov 8, 2017 | Cultural Harlem Blog

October 31, 2017

Family Activity: The Migration, Reflections on Jacob Lawrence

In this Family Activity for The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence, you will learn about the basic principles of stepping, the Great Migration, its significance in American history and the music from that time! For each show in the season, we’ll post a new Family Activity. You can find all of our past posts right here on our blog and at Pinterest.com/NewVictory.

Watch, Discuss, Connect Step Afrika! was inspired to create The Migration: Reflection on Jacob Lawrence by both the Great Migration and Jacob Lawrence. In this activity, get a deeper understanding of that time in history and the painter whose work inspired this show. The Great Migration The Great Migration was the movement of six million African Americans from the Southern United States to the North, Midwest and West that occurred between 1916 and 1970. Watch this video on the Great Migration.

Discuss these questions:

  • What is the Harlem Renaissance and how does it connect to the Great Migration?
  • What do you think is the reason behind today’s new, reverse migration?
  • What are some connections that you can make between the world after the Civil War and now?

Jacob Lawrence Jacob Lawrence is an artist who tells his personal experience of the Great Migration through his art. Step Afrika! created The Migration, inspired by his artwork in The Migration Series. Click on the image below to find an interview with the painter, himself! Jacob Lawrence in Conversation Discuss these questions:

  • It was said that Jacob Lawrence was the griot of Harlem. What is a griot and how does the definition fit Jacob Lawrence?
  • How would you summarize his overall experience during the Great Migration through the choices he made in his art?
  • Do these paintings bring up any feelings for you? If so, discuss.

Explore the Panels Part I: Check out these five panels from Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series and read their descriptions. Panel 49

Panel 49: They found discrimination in the North. It was a different kind.

Panel 35

Panel 35: They left the South in great numbers. They arrived in the North in great numbers.

Panel 21

Panel 21: Families arrived at the station very early in order not to miss their train North.

Panel 47

Panel 47: As the migrant population grew, good housing became scarce. Workers were forced to live in overcrowded and dilapidated tenement houses.

Panel 23

Panel 23: And the Migration Spread.
Some of the Jacob Lawrence panels are purposefully jarring, “Panel 15” is an additional piece that will be seen during the performance of The Migration.

Panel 15

Panel 15: There were lynchings.
Jacob Lawrence strives to visually tell the story of what life was like in the South for African Americans, including the oppression, fear, violence and heartbreak. Some of the images he painted could evoke a range of powerful emotions and responses.
  • How do these painting make you feel?
  • Based on the images, what do you think life was like for African Americans living in the South during that time?
Watch Jacob Lawrence discuss Panel 15 in this video. Part II: Go online and research photographs from the Great Migration that you feel correspond to Jacob Lawrence’s panels. Can you find real life images that tell the story they are trying to portray? To delve further into Lawrence’s work, discover more of The Migration Series here. We paired “Panel 35” with the image below, as an example.

Panel 35

Migration Depot History Told Through Song

  • What is this song about?
  • What was going on in that decade? Is it connected to the song in any way?
Step Three: Think of songs that tell stories of our current events. Compile your own playlist of songs for 2017 and share it with us on Facebook!

One, Two, Step!

Step Afrika!, the company behind The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence, was founded in South Africa as a collaboration between American dancers and members of Johannesburg’s Soweto Dance Theater in 1994. They’ve since emerged as one of the top African American dance companies in the United States. Stepping is the generic term for dance styles in which the footwork is the most important part of the dance. Watch this video to learn the basics of stepping.

   

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