Preserving Chicago’s Great Migration Legacy through Archaeology and Public Engagement

ABSTRACT

Chicago’s Great Migration history constitutes a critical chapter in the narrative of African-American post-emancipation diaspora in the United States. Excavations demonstrate that substantial amounts of material culture from household contexts are preserved within Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Artifacts from three residences, in combination with archival sources, prove useful in exploring the often contradictory forces that shaped the daily experiences of working-class migrants arriving from the South. These data add material dimensions to those experiences and provide tangible evocations of a landscape that is under threats of erasure. Fieldwork and outreach are organized to amplify the work being done by heritage specialists and community stakeholders to preserve Bronzeville’s Great Migration legacy while improving the conditions for today’s residents as well.

KEYWORDS:

• Chicago
• great migration
• twentieth century
• households
• public archaeology
• sanitation
• personal appearance

Acknowledgements

This project could not have been possible without the cooperation and assistance of a number of organizations, institutions, and individuals. First, we deeply appreciate the welcoming and collaborative spirit of community members who became excited about how archaeology could contribute to shared political, preservation, and educational goals. Their persistence and vision continues to motivate and energize this work. The archaeological fieldwork was made possible by the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation, Inc. and its Board of Directors who invited us to participate in this project and secured permission from the Chicago Public Schools to allow excavations on its property. The District is thanked for its cooperation, as is Principal Safurat Anike Giwa of the John J. Pershing Elementary Humanities Magnet School, who accommodated our needs when we investigated her school’s playground. Similarly, we thank the private homeowners who let us excavate their backyards while feeding us and giving us bathroom privileges. DePaul and Marquette Universities are acknowledged for their support of excavation and lab activities, respectively. To facilitate our fieldwork, Ms. Paula Porubcan, former Coordinator for the Northern Illinois Field Station of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey, kindly provided needed field equipment. The volunteers who showed up to dig in all kinds of weather and scrubbed seemingly endless artifacts in the lab supplied the many-handed labor that archaeological investigations require. We are thankful for their comraderie and generosity.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Fieldwork was carried out on an entirely volunteer basis at both the John J. Pershing School and Calumet Avenue locations. The Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation provided insurance coverage and administrative support. Processing and preliminary analysis of the finds were supported by Marquette University’s Department of Social and Cultural Sciences and DePaul University’s Department of Anthropology.

Notes on contributors

Jane Peterson

Jane Peterson is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences at Marquette University. Her research and teaching interests include public archaeology, household archaeology, and historical archaeology.

Michael M. Gregory

Michael Gregory is employed as a Lead Archaeologist for American Veterans Archaeological Recovery participating in recovery missions for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation, Inc. as well. His research interests include historical archaeology and the rise of capitalism.