Recent Press about the trip

Check out the article and blog post about our Great Migration written by the Greenville Arts Council by clicking here.

Student Journals from the Trip

My time in Chicago was excellent despite of me being sick some days. I enjoyed being with my friends and teachers. We had fun experiencing many new big buildings and stores down in Chicago. The time we spent experiencing buildings and learning new things was good for me because I never seen or heard of. After we left the trip on our way bake home I thought about the things I learned to share with my friends and family.

-Jameese C.

PHOTO CONTEST: Students Upload Your Photos!

Share with the other trip members the photos you took of our trip. The best 25 pictures will be printed and displayed in a collage documenting our Great Migration experience.

Photo Contest deadline is Sunday April 3, 2011.

Follow these steps to upload your photos:

1. Go to http://www.shutterfly.com/
2. Click the "Sign In" link at the top of the webpage.
3. Log in to My Accounts. Username: gclaus@gville.k12.ms.us   Password: solomon
4. Clik "Upload Photos" to add your pictures to the site.

Students: Share with us what you learned and how we can improve this trip for next year!

Complete the survey below or visit the survey website here.

Please complete the survey below, and press "done" when you are finished to see the group's results.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Student Perspectives: Most Memorable Moments of the Trip

"My most memorable moment was up in the Sky Deck (Sear's Tower).  It started off at 7:30 at night right when the place was closing. Everybody hopes was brought down, but was suddenly rose up when they decided to let us in. Everyone was excited, yet frightened about standing on the glass floor of the Sky Deck. We waited eagerly as we reached the elevator to reach the top floor. Everyone's ears started to pop on the elevator when we was going up. Then there we were on the 103rd floor, 16,000 feet in the air, on the top of the Sky Deck. We gazed around as we were fascinated about the view of Chicago and Illinois. Then we went to the gift shop and looked for merchandise. Some of us bought candy and went to the glass. Some of them were too scared of standing on the glass but the rest of us weren't scared. Mr. Claus and Mr. Abend tried to show off and embarrassed themselves."

3/14/2011 Journal entry from Patrick B.

"My most memorable part of today was when we went to the Museum of Science and Industry. It was so exciting. I really liked it when we first walked in the door and the big model airplanes were sitting there for us to see. I also like all the colors and the wind simulator. The wind simulator was very fun because you could change how fast the wind was going. The avalanche was very cool; I liked how the sand was changing color as it moved. Mr. Abend, our group leader, was like a kid in a candy store. He liked the set ups more than we did. But I really like how he knew everything about what we were doing and explained it in a way that we could understand. As you can see, I really liked going to the Museum and would really wanna go back someday."

3/14/2011 journal entry from Jamessa M.

Day Four: Tired

Day 4:

• 8:30am wake up and check out
• Tour of Columbia College of Art and Design
• Learn about money, futures, and commodities at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
• Lunch at Potbelly's Deli
• Visit the Lincoln Park Zoo.
• Shopping on State Street.
• 8pm Board Amtrak and head for home.

Day Three in Chicago

Day 3:

• Engage with hands on experiments at the Museum of Science and Industry.
• Walking tour of Hyde Park with Mrs. Cook.
• See the world famous Robie House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Lunch and tour at the University of Chicago.
• Scavenger Hunt for "knowledge" at UofC.
• Dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.
• Night time view of Chicago skyline at the Willis Tower Skydeck.

Day Two in Chicago

Day 2:

• See an incredible play at Steppenwolf Theater: Samuel J. and K.
• Learn about the immigrant experience at the Hull House Museum.
• Visit the Art Institute of Chicago.
• Photo op with "the bean"
• Try our first deep dish pizza at Gino's.
• Evening class and reflections.
• Swimming at the hotel.
• Lights out at 10pm

Day One: Arriving in Chicago

Arrived in Chicago at 9:00am

• Visit Chinatown and try new food.
• Skating in Millennium Park. (A first time ice skating for many!)
• Dinner at Navy Pier.
• Interview and meet migrants from Mississippi at the Greenville, Mississippi Club of Chicago.

Follow our travels!

Today is the day! We are leaving in just 3 hours to board a train and head on to new adventures and opportunities. Eighty years ago, many Mississippians, some of them were our ancestors, took a similar journey north to see what new adventures and opportunities awaited them.

Follow our travels north by checking out our trip itinerary.

Oral-History Interviews of the Great Migration

We asked our students to interview a older relative or neighbor to hear their story of the Great Migration. Since most students still have family in Chicago, we knew that we would learn of some impressive migration stories.
Read our familys' Great Migration stories here:

DaShaun J's storiy:
1.) Where did our family originally come from?
Mississippi

2.) When did our family come to Chicago? / When did our family move up North?
2009

3.) How did our family get here?
Drove 2 days

4.) Why did our family come to Chicago? / Why did our family move up North?
Job reasons

5.) Are there any memorable stories about our family coming to Chicago?
Happy and sad, she was sad to leave all of her friends and co-workers but excited to meet new people and see a beautiful city.

6.) Does our family have any special artifacts? /If we were going to donate something to the Chicago History Museum , what would it be?
A statue of the McDonalds that she is regional manager of. (unsure)

7.) What advice would you give someone just moving to Chicago?
Start off by becoming close with your neighbors because you’ll never know when you’ll need them. Explore the city and get use to your neighborhood. Finally, visit every well-known sites nine times out of ten, you will love them.

Read more stories after the jump.

Students Respond: How is our migration similar to the Great Migration that happened 80 years earlier?

Students Respond: How will Chicago be different than Greenville, MS?

Students Respond: What are you most looking forward to in Chicago?

Only $2,000 more to raise! We need your HELP!

HELP! We are inches away from meeting our goal to send a group of 25 on Solomon's Great Migration to Chicago. Help send underprivileged students to Chicago.  In less than a month, students will embark upon the trip of a lifetime.

On our voyage we will visit 3 colleges, tour the Art Institute, Chicago History Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Willis Sky Deck and relive history by visiting Bronzeville and Hyde Park on the South Side of the city.  Between all the different sights and educational experiences, this trip will  inspire students to think of the world in a new way.

Be part of this important project. Help us reach our fundraising goal of $16,000. We are 88% of the way there. Help us get to a 100% fully funded trip.

Donate today!

Jacob Lawrence and his paintings of the Great Migration

Artist Biography

One of the biggest population shifts in the history of the United States occurred during the period around World War I as hundreds of African Americans left their homes and farms in the South and migrated north to industrial cities in search of employment.

Jacob Lawrence grew up knowing people on the move. Indeed, his own family was part of the first big wave of migration between 1916 and 1919. His parents met while they were en route to New York. His mother was from Virginia, while his father was born in South Carolina.

Lawrence was born in 1917 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. When he was 13, the family moved to Harlem in New York City. There Lawrence went to school and attended an after-school arts-and crafts program. It was during this period that he decided to become an artist. At first, he just made designs but later

progressed to painting street scenes.

Inspiration was not far away. Friends and teachers helped him understand how his own experiences fit into the history of all African Americans in the United States. He also spent countless hours at the Schomburg Library, reading books about the great migration.

In 1940, at the age of 22, he began his Migration series. One year later it was completed. The series consisted of 60 numbered panels that told the story of the people who made the choice to move away from their homes. In his own words, “. . . I wanted to show what made the people get on those northbound trains. I also wanted to show what it cost to ride them.” Each panel measured a mere 18" x 12" (45 cm x 30 cm), but altogether they made a powerful and moving statement.

Great Web Resources

Experience Lawrence's "Migration Series"

Click HERE to see the play created by Greenville Renaissance Scholars about the Migration.

The Great Migration by Jacob Lawrence (HarperCollins Publishers, 1993).

Fundraisers Exceed Goals!

As we enter our final month of fund-raising efforts, we have had some great successes!  Thank you to all who made our fund-raising successes possible!

Here is an update by the numbers:

• $878 raised through admissions and refreshments at our school dance
• $1,600 in donations from local Greenvillians and supportive family and friends! THANK YOU DONORS!!!
• 6,000 Krispy Kreme donuts sold
• Our second donut sale starts 2/1, if you are interested in ordering a box for $6 email us here.
• 2,000 Chocolate candy bars sold
• Upcoming Valentine's Day homeroom competition and "Sweets for your Sweetie" sale

Only $3,500 more to raise!
Let's keep up the good work!

Click here to make your tax deductible donation to the Solomon Great Migration 2011!

Delta Democrat Times: Solomon students hope to hit the "Great Migration" trail

Solomon Middle School “Great Migration” students (from left), Ricarsha Mobley, Semoria Doss, Dakayla Allison, Jimmy Barber and Dashaun Johnson discuss their travel plans with teacher Greg Claus. Twenty-five students from Solomon are anticipating making the trip to Chicago in mid-March. The group will leave by train and return by rail similar to the experience made by the Blacks who fled the South 80 years ago.




EVERETT CHINN
everettchinn@ddtonline.com

GREENVILLE – Twenty- five students from H. W. Solomon Middle School have their eyes set on the
school’s second annual passage to The Windy City to trace this country’s Great Migration.
The Great Migration occurred 80 years ago when seven million African Americans left Mississippi and surrounding southern states and moved north. The students need to raise $16,000 by March to go on the field trip. Students began raising money by selling 6,000 Krispy Kreme Donuts, 2,000 chocolate bars and hosting a school dance.
Time is ticking down and the students only have about six weeks left before deadline. “I feel that it is extremely important for students to have educational experiences outside the classroom that challenge and inform their perspective,” said Greg Claus, trip organizer and Solomon Art Teacher. “It is our goal to
have Solomon students to be inspired about other places and cultures after traveling to Chicago and learning about the Great Migration. Education is more than memorizing grammar and facts – it is about inspiring the mind. We hope to inspire the students through this field trip.”
Samuel Evans, principal of Solomon, said he is pleased to have his students exposed to life and various opportunities outside of Greenville and the Delta. Evans said students can only grow from events such as this.
According to Claus, the class will spend four days in Chicago, seeing the neighborhoods where southern migrants settled, and learn about their heritage.

New Trip Logo

Logo was designed by '11 trip participant Jameese Conegie and her brother.

Help support Solomon's Great Migration in 2011

Donate Online!


Last year’s trip gave the students the chance to visit three college campuses, create a bond with peers and gain knowledge of the Great Migration that they were then able to share with friends and family. Not only did Solomon Middle schoolers walk away with an educational experience, but their experience will continue to inspire and encourage them as they continue to move through their education.  In addition, Students awed at the tall buildings, were impressed at the hotel’s indoor pool, tried Greek food for the first time and learned how to travel the city by public transportation.

Building on last year’s achievements, we are improving the program this year to reach even more students.  This year we plan to increase the number of participants to 25 seventh and eighth graders.  In addition, we plan on staying an extra day in Chicago to view these additional sites: Museum of Science and Industry, the University of Chicago, and Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

In order to accomplish this goal, we need to raise $16,000 by March 2011 when we will travel to Chicago and students will experience their own Migration North.  Students are also participating in fundraising, by selling 6,000 Krispy Kreme Donuts, 2,000 chocolate candy bars, and hosting a school dance.

By giving at the following levels, you will allow us to provide:

·         $588    A fully funded Chicago field experience for one student

·         $186    Round trip Amtrak transportation for one student

·         $76      “Go Chicago Card” for one student (Includes admission to Adler Planetarium,

Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Sears Tower)

·         $28      Three day Chicago Transit Authority pass for two students

Please consider donating again to this worthwhile cause to help us reach our fundraising goal of $16,000 so that 25 students can travel the Great Migration to Chicago.  All donations will go directly to trip costs, and will be collected by the Corps Member Education Foundation, a non-for-profit fiscal intermediary that is managing our funds.  You can donate online through our trip’s website:

www.SMSGreatMigration.blogspot.com

If you prefer, you may send a check made payable to CMEF with “Solomon Great Migration” in the memo line to:

Solomon’s Great Migration

Attn: Greg Claus

556 Bowman Blvd.

Greenville, MS 38701

All donations are fully tax deductible. Thank you in advance for your consideration and support of our students.