Short-Form Text

Striking Black and White Photos Capture the Black Experience in 1940s South Side Chicago

Children playing “ring around the rosie” in one of the more affluent neighborhoods of the Black Belt of Chicago, Illinois, in 1941 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, Farm Security Administration, courtesy of Library of Congress

Edwin Rosskam, Library of Congress

Text Type

Photo Essay

Words

1512

Lexile

1070L

Published

1941

In the Great Migration (from roughly 1910 to 1970), millions of Black Americans, many of whom lived in the rural American South, permanently relocated to cities to the north and west. These individuals had many reasons for leaving their homes. They were spurred in large part by a desire to seek opportunities in locations not governed by oppressive Jim Crow laws and the social structures that upheld them. They established lives and created communities in new cities, enriching and changing the American landscape.

The “Black Belt” was an area on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. Many Black Americans from the South moved there during the decades of the Great Migration. Housing covenants were rules or even deeds on houses that effectively segregated Black Americans into this area. This part of the South Side grew over time and was also referred to by other names, including Bronzeville.

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing several Black children and one adult woman standing outside an apartment building with a sign advertising “Pomeranian Apartments 1-2-3 Room Furnished Apts. Gas and Light Free” — Fig. 2 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing several smartly dressed young black men, none looking right at the camera, standing on a wide city sidewalk with brick buildings and vehicles in the background — Fig. 3 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white portrait photo taken in 1941 of a Black boy wearing a suit, tie and a large newsboy-style hat. He is leaning on the back of a car — Fig. 4 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 of a Black woman wearing a daydress and a long white apron. She stands at the top of a wooden staircase in the second story doorway of a brick building. — Fig. 5 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing several Black children sitting and standing on and around the front stoop of a brick building on a city street — Fig. 6 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing Black children playing jump rope together on the sidewalk in front of a brick building. One girl is jumping, two children are swinging the rope, and several others watch. Two of the girls are smiling at the camera. — Fig. 7 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing over a dozen Black men and women on a city sidewalk in front of a large brick building. The men wear suits and hats. The women wear dresses, heels and hats, and one wears a fur stole. Most are smiling. — Fig. 8 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing nearly 20 Black children in line for a movie theatre. The boys wear suits, hats and dress shoes, and the girls wear suits or dresses, saddle shoes or heels, and hats. — Fig. 9 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing five Black men on the edge of a wide city street, some leaning on a wheeled wooden cart. The men are dressed in work clothes and hats and two of them have glanced at the camera. — Fig. 10 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white portrait photo taken in 1941 of a young Black man, seated in front of an exterior wall. He has one hand on his hip and leans on his leg with his other arm. He looks at the camera and is wearing a suit, vest and large newsboy-style hat. — Fig.11 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing four middle-aged Black men facing into the sun while three are perched on the outside windowsill of a restaurant and the fourth leans on the wall next to them. The word “spaghetti” is painted on the wall underneath the window and is visible through their legs. — Fig. 12 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing what appears to be a Black couple. They are sitting on the front stoop of a building and he is holding a toddler. The man has a big smile but the woman’s expression is more guarded. — Fig. 13 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 of five Black boys and one adult man. They stand in a circle and the man is shooting marbles while the boys watch intently. — Fig. 14 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 of three Black boys outside a shop on a city street. The boy in the middle sits on a crate while the other two peer over his shoulder at the magazine he is reading. — Fig. 15 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing a Black woman standing in the doorway of a brick building. She holds the back of a wooden chair that is in front of her. She is wearing a long skirt, a partially buttoned sweater, glasses and is not smiling. — Fig. 16 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing the head and torso of a Black boy looking at the camera. He wears a suit jacket and hat and in the blurry background is a city street of brick apartment buildings. — Fig. 17 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing a row of stone apartment buildings. Each one has a set of large stone entrance stairs with decorative handrails. A few people are scattered across the stair landings and one woman stares directly at the camera. — Fig. 18 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing a handful of Black children standing in line outside a building. The closest child fills much of the frame, and he looks off into the distance. — Fig. 19 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

A black and white photo taken in 1941 showing a Black man and woman outside of a two-story wooden house with two windows on each floor and a set of wooden stairs that goes directly to the second floor. The woman leans against a fence that is missing some pickets, and the man sits on a stool looking up at her. He wears glasses and holds a cane, and she wears a floral dress and dark cardigan sweater. — Fig. 20 Photo by: Edwin Rosskam, courtesy of Library of Congress

Edwin Rosskam worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). He documented American life through photography during the Great Depression and the Great Migration. He visited the South Side of Chicago in 1941 to take photographs. All of the photos that follow were taken by him on that trip.

Lesson 2 Sequence

Turn-and-Talk

Directions: Think back to the photographs we studied in Lesson 1. Choose one image that you think best responds to the prompt below and be ready to share your ideas. Partner A, share your image choice and one detail from the photo. Partner B, listen for the details and then share your own.

Which image best shows dreaming, and what details lead to that inference?

Inferring Meaning using Context Clues

Based on the opening line of “Harlem,” what do you predict this poem will explore?

Whole-Class Discussion

Poetry Close Read

Directions: You are going to experience this poem three ways: silently on the page, through audio, and through our own voices. Each time, notice something new about how Hughes shapes the idea of a deferred dream.

Read the poem silently once. Then write 2–3 sentences answering the question: What is this poem about?

Directions: Now listen to the audio recording. Pay attention to the reader’s pauses, emphasis, and tone.

What did you notice in the audio version that you did not notice on the page?
What did the reader's voice do that the punctuation or line breaks could not do by themselves?

Choral Reading

Directions: Circle every punctuation mark you see in the poem. Then we will stand and read the poem aloud sentence by sentence, paying attention to how the punctuation changes our pace.

What pattern do you notice in the punctuation?
Why might Hughes end with the shortest question, "Or does it explode?"

Comparing Poetic Mediums

What does the page show you that the audio cannot?
How does seeing those choices on the page affect your experience of the poem?
Why do you think Hughes asks a series of questions instead of giving one final answer?

Pulse Check

Which feature of the printed poem most strongly builds tension in a way the audio alone cannot fully show?

A. The poem includes the word dream.

B. The final line stands alone after white space.

C. The reader pauses between questions.

D. The poem is short and compact.

Quick Write

Directions: Look back at the class-selected photograph and at the poem “Harlem.” Write a short response that answers both parts of this question:

“What dream might this person have? How might it be deferred?” Use at least one specific visual detail from the photograph and one specific detail from the poem to support your opinion.

Turn-and-Talk

Which image best shows dreaming, and what details lead to that inference?

Inferring Meaning using Context Clues

Based on the opening line of “Harlem,” what do you predict this poem will explore?

Whole-Class Discussion

Poetry Close Read

Read the poem silently once. Then write 2–3 sentences answering the question: What is this poem about?

Directions: Now listen to the audio recording. Pay attention to the reader’s pauses, emphasis, and tone.

What did you notice in the audio version that you did not notice on the page?
What did the reader's voice do that the punctuation or line breaks could not do by themselves?

Choral Reading

Directions: Circle every punctuation mark you see in the poem. Then we will stand and read the poem aloud sentence by sentence, paying attention to how the punctuation changes our pace.

What pattern do you notice in the punctuation?
Why might Hughes end with the shortest question, "Or does it explode?"

Comparing Poetic Mediums

What does the page show you that the audio cannot?
How does seeing those choices on the page affect your experience of the poem?
Why do you think Hughes asks a series of questions instead of giving one final answer?

Pulse Check
Which feature of the printed poem most strongly builds tension in a way the audio alone cannot fully show?
A. The poem includes the word dream. B. The final line stands alone after white space. C. The reader pauses between questions. D. The poem is short and compact.

Pulse Check

Which feature of the printed poem most strongly builds tension in a way the audio alone cannot fully show?

A. The poem includes the word dream.

B. The final line stands alone after white space.

C. The reader pauses between questions.

D. The poem is short and compact.

Quick Write

Directions: Look back at the class-selected photograph and at the poem “Harlem.” Write a short response that answers both parts of this question:

“What dream might this person have? How might it be deferred?” Use at least one specific visual detail from the photograph and one specific detail from the poem to support your opinion.

Pulse Check

Which feature of the printed poem most strongly builds tension in a way the audio alone cannot fully show?

A. The poem includes the word dream.

B. The final line stands alone after white space.

C. The reader pauses between questions.

D. The poem is short and compact.

Pulse Check
Which feature of the printed poem most strongly builds tension in a way the audio alone cannot fully show?
A. The poem includes the word dream. B. The final line stands alone after white space. C. The reader pauses between questions. D. The poem is short and compact.

Pulse Check

Which feature of the printed poem most strongly builds tension in a way the audio alone cannot fully show?

A. The poem includes the word dream.

B. The final line stands alone after white space.

C. The reader pauses between questions.

D. The poem is short and compact.