Once Upon a Racist History: California's Children of the Great Migration

• In Event: Manifesting Destiny: Race, Place, and the Disruption of the American West

Abstract

There has been an increased focus on African Americans who left the south to escape the dehumanization of Jim Crow during the Great Migration. In alignment with the theme, Interrogating Consequential Education Research in Pursuit of Truth, this paper contributes to the historical record by illuminating the educational experiences of African American migrant children. Using interviews and surveys with migrant children, this paper interrogates our assumptions about California as a progressive utopia for Blacks escaping Jim Crow, Black California, and the state’s educational history. Through video and text, the children describe their relationship with teachers, peers, access to the school’s educational resources and what school was really like during one of the most consequential times in migration and national history.

Author

• Mariama Gray, California State University - East Bay
  Presenting Author