South Side Girls: Growing Up in the Great Migration

261 Pages·2015·1.328 MB·English

by  Marcia Chatelain

south side girls

SOUTH SIDE
GIRLS
growing up in the
great migration
marcia chatelain
duke university press Durham & London 2015
© 2015 Duke University Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States
of America on acid- free paper ∞
Text designed by Amy Ruth Buchanan
Cover designed by Natalie F. Smith
Typeset in Garamond Premier Pro by
Graphic Composition, Inc., Athens, GA
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Chatelain, Marcia, 1979–
South side girls : growing up in the great
migration / Marcia Chatelain.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8223-5848-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8223-5854-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. African American girls—Illinois—Chicago—
History—20th century. 2. African American girls—
Illinois—Chicago—Social conditions—20th century.
3. African American girls—Migrations—History—
20th century. 4. Chicago (Ill.)—History—1875–
5. Chicago (Ill.)—Social conditions—20th century.
6. Chicago (Ill.)—Race relations—History—
20th century. I. Title.
f548.9.n4c438 2015
305.23089'96073077311– dc23
2014040374
isbn 978-0-8223-7570-8 (e- book)
Cover image: Girl with newspaper fashion supplement,
Chicago’s Southside, 1947. Photograph by
Wayne Miller. Magnum Photos.
Duke University Press gratefully acknowledges the
support of Georgetown University, which provided
funds toward the publication of this book.
For my mother, Mecthilde Boyer,
her sisters, and their mother.
For Valerie Yapelli
and her incredible legacy.

CONTENTS
Preface . ix
Acknowledgments . xiii
introduction
“I Will Thank You All with All My Heart”
Black Girls and the Great Migration . 1
1. “Do You See That Girl?”
The Dependent, the Destitute, and the
Delinquent Black Girl . 19
2. “Modesty on Her Cheek”
Black Girls and Great Migration Marketplaces . 59
3. “The Possibilities of the Negro Girl”
Black Girls and the Great Depression . 96
4. “Did I Do Right?”
The Black Girl Citizen . 130
conclusion
“She Was Fighting for Her Father’s Freedom”
Black Girls after the Great Migration . 167
Notes . 175 Bibliography . 215 Index . 233

PREFACE
For one glorious year, while an assistant professor at the University of
Oklahoma (ou), each Friday afternoon I ceased being a scholar and be-
came a Girl Scout. As a Girl Scouts Pathways volunteer, I brought the
Girl Scouts curriculum to third and fourth graders at a predominately
black elementary school on Oklahoma City’s northwest side. Each week,
equipped with worksheets on self- esteem and the words of the “Girl Scout
Promise” carefully memorized, I listened to the girls articulate their varied
interests and whisper secrets about each other, and I accepted their invita-
tions into learning about their dreams for the future. “Dr. Marcia, I went
to the ou girls’ basketball game.” “I’m going to be a veterinarian and take
care of puppies.” “I’m going to be a teacher, like you.”
Of all the moments I shared with the girls, among the songs celebrat-
ing friendships, the games designed to instill confidence in them, and the
skits directed by me and the co-leader that filled the hour- long meetings,
I was most struck by one gathering in the winter of 2009. I often led the
Scouts through a quick current events lesson, and on the tail of a presiden-
tial inauguration I had a few questions for them. First question: “Who
are the new president and first lady?” “Barack Obama and Michelle,” they
answered with such enthusiasm I feared the librarian would ban us from
the library indefinitely. I had no idea what was in store when I asked the
second question. “And who are their daughters?” In a burst of energy that
can only be described as ecstatic and never appeared again even on Girl
Scout Cookie Day, the girls jumped up and down and cheered: “Sasha
and Malia!” The mere mention of the first daughters led to a flurry of facts
and anecdotes they had undoubtedly gleaned from months of watching