Grand Rapids
Black History Lessons
During the Great Migration in the early 20th century, millions of Black Americans fled the Jim Crow South hoping to find freedom and economic opportunity in the North. Thousands of Black Americans landed in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Unfortunately, the city did not always provide the escape from racial oppression that many hoped. This lesson series explores the experiences and resilience of Black residents of Grand Rapids, and how the community responded to injustice over the course of the 20th century.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE: This resource provides a summary of the historical narrative and context for each lesson in the series. It is intended to provide educators with a meaningful understanding of the key events and context.
FRAMING QUESTIONS: These framing questions are designed to be introduced before Lesson 1, revisited after Lesson 2, and then used as an essay prompt after the completion of Lesson 3.
STUDENT PRE-TEST: Consider using this pre-test before diving into the lesson series. It is designed to engage students in reflecting on their current knowledge about local Black history, encouraging them to recognize gaps in understanding and sparking curiosity about how their city and country came to be the way it is. Additionally, the pre-test provides teachers with insights into students’ existing knowledge and perspectives.
In lesson one, students take a virtual tour of Grand Rapids by following a map linked to artifacts and newspaper stories from the GRPM Collections. Students use Grand Rapids as a case study of the experiences of participants of the Great Migration and explore the strategies employed by the local Black community in conjunction with the NAACP to press the Michigan Supreme Court to outlaw Jim Crow practices in the state.
In lesson two, students learn that–despite the Michigan Supreme Court’s 1927 decision–discrimination against Black residents continued in our community. Students take another ‘virtual tour’ of Grand Rapids by following a map linked to artifacts and newspaper stories from the GRPM Collection to explore the experiences of Grand Rapids’ Black residents in the post-war era, culminating with the uprising in the city in July 1967. The lesson leaves students with a deeper understanding of what Dr. Martin Luther King meant when he said “a riot is the language of the unheard” and why American cities continue to see civil disturbances that revolve around issues of racial injustice in the United States.
In this final lesson of the series, students take on the perspective of a Grand Rapids School Board member in the wake of the 1967 “riot.” They will review the context and details of the inequities of education in the city and attempt to use the Kerner Commission’s suggestions to create a new plan for Grand Rapids’ students. After discussion, students will learn about the actual decision made by the school board in 1968 and explore the consequences of the decision. The lesson will give students a valuable perspective on the consequences of ignoring calls for equality and of silencing the voices of Black community members.
About These History Lessons
Grand Rapids Black History Lessons were developed by Kentwood AP US History teacher and 2023 National History Teacher of the Year Matt Vriesman in collaboration with the GRPM’s curatorial and education staff. Vriesman also pulled in the expertise and work of authors Dr. Randall Jelks and Dr. Todd Robinson. Learn more about this collaboration by watching the video below.