The Black and Brown Project

How can teachers of African American and Latino students help students make connections between immigration of Latinos and migration of African Americans to Chicago? Dr. Irma Olmedo, associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction, decided to explore this issue with a group of elementary school teachers in Chicago Public Schools and graduate students from UIC. What she discovered was that, although many connections can be made between the social-political and economic reality of both groups and their migratory experiences, teachers were not showing their students how these experiences were parallel.

Irma Olmedo

Olmedo’s research project drew from multiple research sources for support including an extensive body of literature that addresses immigration into the United States and the challenges posed to immigrant families, children, and schools. They also looked at the considerable literature around the Great Migration, a term used to identify the historical movement of African Americans north from the South in the post-WWI era, and resources to help teachers develop thematic units about this period. The teachers found many thematic connections between the causes the Great Migration and Mexican immigration to el Norte, as well as the consequences for the development of Chicago neighborhoods and industry. One of the more compelling parallels was the fact that since both groups function at the unskilled employment level in many cities, they end up competing with each other for employment, housing, and social services, whether the immigrants are documented or not.

Olmedo decided to spend a significant part of her project examining with CPS teachers how to help students make these connections though the use of children's literature and the arts. She brought together graduate teacher candidates and teachers of Latino and African American students, who have taught topics related to immigration and black migration, to explore these connections. The participants examined how these topics were related to each other and how they could help both Mexican and African American children develop a better understanding of both experiences. Both groups discovered that children’s literature was an excellent resource for thematic units on related topics.

A major goal of inquiry-based teaching is to help children make connections between content areas, academic learning, and the reality of their community lives. Given the significant segregation that exists in many of our urban areas, especially Chicago, teachers are challenged to provide instruction that helps children understand and perhaps empathize with the reality faced by other ethnic and racial groups with whom they may have a great deal in common. If children learn in their elementary education about these connections, they may become advocates for needed political reforms that would affect groups that are generally disadvantaged in our society.

This project addressed these issues head-on and as a result the teachers have developed a resource guide that can be used for conferences, teacher in-services, and professional development.

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education, (MC 147) 1040 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607-7133.