The Lynching South

The Call North

The Black Church

Goin' up Yonder

The Segregated North

Bronzeville is Born

Goin' Back Home

My Story

"I'm Marching to Zion!"

This statute stands in the Gateway to Bronzeville.  It represents the 6,000,000 African American men, women and children that migrated to the south side of Chicago.  This fifteen foot tall statue named "The Monument to The Great Northern Migration" is covered with patches depicting the worn shoe soles of African Americans that migrated from southern states in search of a "Promised Land" in Chicago.  The statute's hand holds a suitcase representing "dreams" of Black folks.

Objective:

Students will learn how metaphors were used to describe a better way of life for African Americans in the twentieth century.

Questions:

1. Where is "Zion" as depicted in this hymn?

2. How is it used to describe the anticipation of a better life?

3. What does the worn patches represent on the statue?

4. What type of dreams were African Americans looking for in the North?

The Great Migration