CHRISTMAS IN NEWARK’S GREAT MIGRATION ERA could, of course, be merry and bright just like anywhere else. Military Park, downtown, for years had a huge, decorated tree, replete with a life-size nativity scene. And the famous Public Service building was lit up dramatically each year. But Christmas also could have a more somber side. ForContinue reading “The Most Wonderful Time?”
Author Archives: katesinger4
The Labor of Working
“All other sources of labor having been exhausted, the migrants were the last resource.” This is how artist Jacob Lawrence captions his fourth panel in the Migration Series, a collection of 60 paintings telling the story of the Great Migration. He is referring to war-time work in this country, a time when factories were churningContinue reading “The Labor of Working”
Memory and Fire
FIRE GETS SEARED INTO PEOPLE’S MINDS. The vision of fire, the smell, the heat… And even just the stories that include fire can often make deep inroads into the imagination. So much so, in fact, that some people even remember fires where there were none. This is the case around the narratives of urban rebellionContinue reading “Memory and Fire”
Hoping to Learn & Learning to Hope
“OVERHAULING THE AMERICAN PRISON INDUSTRY: A View From 20 Years of Incarceration” is the name of the seminar that my co-author Maurice Tyree and I appeared on this morning. Hosted by our publisher, Lived Places Publishing, it was an opportunity for people to learn about our book, hear Maurice’s thinking, and simply understand why weContinue reading “Hoping to Learn & Learning to Hope”
World on the Move
WORLD ON THE MOVE: 250,000 YEARS OF HUMAN MIGRATION is a traveling exhibition made possible through the partnership of the American Anthropological Association and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. So believe me when I say I was thrilled when the principal librarian of Piscataway Public Library, Joy Robinson, contacted me to speak about my newContinue reading “World on the Move”
Not On Her Watch
BLACK WOMEN ACTIVISTS still don’t get enough play in our country’s historiography. But slowly their stories are being foregrounded, such as in my colleague Hettie Williams’ new book, The Georgia of the North: Black Women and the Civil Rights Movement in New Jersey. My recent book, Alien Soil: Oral Histories of Great Migration Newark alsoContinue reading “Not On Her Watch”
Book Me
BOOKCLUB MAVENS! (A gender-neutral term, I’ll have you know). This week I am here to suggest that my book would be superperfect for your next gathering. I’ve done some major research in my day when it comes to book clubs, let me tell you. And it occurs to me that my new book, Alien Soil:Continue reading “Book Me”
Southern Ways
“SOUTHERN TOWN.” The term can evoke images of racism and violence. And this was the case quite often, through the 20th century – and of course still occurring even today. But, as oral histories are so wonderful in reminding us, nothing and no one is all one thing. And the interviews from the Krueger-Scott African-AmericanContinue reading “Southern Ways”
War, What is it Good For?
WAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD FOR OUR ECONOMY. (And politicians know it, by the way). When WWI began — and again in WWII — some immigrants went back to their countries of origin to fight in those armies. This departure greatly affected urban centers like Newark, as they had been the sites of so muchContinue reading “War, What is it Good For?”
Painting History
JACOB LAWRENCE WAS A JERSEY KID, and an artist whose work many of us are familiar with – even if we don’t know his name. Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, his parents a part of the Great Migration. But he moved to Harlem as a teenager and spent most of life there. And whileContinue reading “Painting History”