The initial impetus for this unit came from a study of the work of an economic geographer, Walter Christaller. Christaller in his book,
Central Places in Southern Germany (1933)
, developed a theory based on the premise that a certain amount of productive land supports an urban center or central place. The basic requirement of a central place, according to Christaller, is that such a place be a source of goods and services for an area larger than itself. An urban center dominated by one particular industry may be large in relation to its adjacent population. However, this does not necessarily qualify it as a central place. It is the amount and complexity of services rather than the magnitude of a centers population that determine an urban places rank as a central place.
Christaller used seven categories of urban places in his scheme, ranking urban places according to centralized activities which were concerned with administration, culture, health, social services, the organization of economic and social life, finance, trade, service industries, the labor market and traffic. As one follows the ranking from
One
(Market towns) to Seven (Regional capitol city), one notes that each level duplicates all the services of the urban places below it in the ranking. While providing additional services not offered in the urban place below it. The more services offered, the higher a town or city’s rank as a central place.
Christaller makes it quite clear that the movement of people to a central place is related to the number and complexity of services offered.
I found certain elements of Christaller theory attractive, and useful in studying the “Great Migration”. Christaller provides a frame of reference whereby the rationale for movement of people from one urban place to another could be scrutinized. A basic tenet of Christaller’s theory is that people will travel in order to obtain goods and services not available locally. After a review of the work done by Christaller I felt that a similar method could be used to study the places Negroes chose to settle in both the South and North between 1900 and 1920. This method would also be used as a means of encouraging students to develop certain academic skills. For use in the classroom, I propose a modified version of the model developed by Christaller.
The Model
The organizational structure of the model calls for a division of the residential situation of Negroes into three categories:
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1. Rural Communities: areas whose major activity is farming and/or towns whose population does not exceed 2,500 and are supported by one main economic activity.
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2. Towns: those whose population exceeds 2,500 and/or, whose support is realized from one main economic activity.
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3. Cities: those whose population exceeds 25,000 and which provides a variety of services and economic opportunities to the resident population.
Students and teacher will collect information to be channeled through each level of the model. The information collected should relate to the economic, social and demographic dimensions of the North and the South. Attention will be focused on the impact of these dimensions on the availability of services for Negroes at each residential level. The experiences of the urban negro, the small town Negro, and rural Negro can be understood only in the light of the particulars common to each residential level.
As a means of evaluating residential desirability at each of the three levels the class must formulate a series of services that people consider important. The following listing is suggested for usage, however, depending on the skill level of students the teacher should feel free to modify, or expand.
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A. Economic opportunity
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B. Educational opportunity
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C. Opportunity for social contact, and association
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D. Housing
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E. Political Activity
From the various source materials introduced in class the main idea, or relevant experience is recorded on a service chart under the appropriate topic heading. The service chart is constructed from the series of services formulated by the class. When a service chart for a particular residential level has been completed, concluding evaluations for each topic heading are formulated from the information recorded in each column. These concluding evaluations are used to gain an overall view of the experience of Negroes at the residential level under investigation.
In using residential levels as a means of studying the Negroes experience in the South, students are encouraged to consider the extent to which Negroes were tied to the land, (rural communities). What effects the ravages of the boll weevil and droughts had on the southern economy in general, and Negroes in particular. As students investigate the succeeding residential levels they will be able to trace the impact these events had on Negroes in towns and cities. One such example would be the infiltration of whites into traditional Negro occupations such as barbering and food services.
In using the model to study the experiences of Negroes in the North, students can gain insight into the attraction large cities held for Negroes. They will see how the large northern cities courtship of Negroes was related to a need for labor—a labor need that was in part due to the commitment of the North to industrialization, and the loss of a source of labor because of immigration restrictions effected during World War I. Even with the need for labor many Negroes found the ghettos of the northern cities no better than the residential areas available to them in the South. When coupled with the racism also present in the North, and the loss of economic opportunity which accompanied the end of World War I, disillusionment with the North for many Negroes was imminent.
These are only a few of the points concerning the Negroes’ experience in the South and the North that I feel the model proposed in this unit will help to clarify. The approach suggested by the model will offer students an opportunity to understand why many Negroes chose a particular residential level for settlement why many Negroes moved from one level to another, why Negroes moved from one section of the country to another.
The model provides students with a frame of reference with which they can view their own experiences, and compare those experiences to the experiences of the people who were a part of the “Great Migration”. Students will have a chance not only to learn about Afro-American history but to find out about themselves.
Example:
Rural Southern Communities
Daily lessons should be focused on information that gives the student insight into life as lived by Negroes in rural southern communities. Either before the introduction of materials, or at the conclusion of the first lesson, the teacher should aid students in the construction of a service chart. Since it is important that students keep the information collected in front of them it is advisable to use construction paper, or to attach two sheets of paper together.
(figure available in print form)
The teacher should assist students in devising a method of identifying the source from which information placed on the chart originates. The method for identifying the source can be mutually agreed upon by the class, given by the teacher, or devised by the individual student. If students devise their own source labels, then an identifying key must be included on the chart. Students should not necessarily be discouraged from including opinions, or conclusions on the chart, but they must be identified as such. The service chart is a worksheet, and therefore flexibility of documentation is permissible. However when the student is ready for the final written assignment, time should be reserved for teaching the standard form for footnotes and bibliography.