When Art Conveys Political and Social Conflict

State Content Standards

History/Social Science:
12.2.4 – Understand the obligations of civic-mindedness, including voting, being informed on civic issues, volunteering and performing public service, and serving in the military or alternative service.

12.5.4 – Explain the controversies that have resulted over changing interpretations of civil rights, including those in Plessy v. Ferguson

Visual Arts:
3.4 (Advanced) – Research the methods art historians use to determine the time, place, context, value, and culture that produced a given work of art.

4.1 (Proficient) – Articulate how personal beliefs, cultural traditions, and current social, economic, and political contexts influence the interpretation of the meaning or in a work of art

5.2 (Proficient) - Create a work of art that communicates a cross-cultural or universal theme taken from literature or history.

Materials/Resources/Equipment

For the Teacher:

• An overhead or computer projected image of the painting, The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots
• Tool titled “Art Analysis Questions”
• Information titled “About The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots , 1974.”
• Tool titled “Key Terms to Understanding Voting and Civil Rights”
• Tool titled “Civic Service and Civil Rights.”

For the Student:

• Enough copies of the painting The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots for groups of 2 or 3 students to study. These copies should not have the title of the artwork displayed anywhere.
• Enough copies of the information titled “About Voting and the Great Migration” and “About the Artist: Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000) for groups of 2 or 3
• Writing paper
• Pens or pencils
• Paper, either 8 ½ x 11 or 17 x 11.
• Paints
• Paintbrushes

1. Start by putting the students into pairs or small groups of three. Give each group or pair a copy of the art piece titled The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots . Make sure the title is NOT on the piece. The artwork should also be projected via computer or overhead projector to refer to throughout the lesson.
2. Ask each pair or group to study the piece, give it a title and be prepared to explain why they gave it that title.
3. After giving students time to study and title the piece, bring the class together as a whole and ask for volunteers to share their title. Make sure they justify why they gave the piece the title they chose.
4. Before giving the students the actual title, tell students that art historians have to ask questions to determine the time, place, context, value and culture that produce a given work of art. Use the following questions to engage the students in an analysis of Jacob Lawrence's art. If necessary, use the tool titled “Art Analysis Questions” as a handout or overhead to guide the students.
   • How would you describe the people in this scene?
   • In general, what are most of the people doing?
   • What item is the central focus of this piece of art?
   • How has the artist drawn your eyes toward this item?
   • What item and activity is the most unusual and difficult to understand it this piece of art?
   • How many basic colors does the artist use is this piece of art?
   • Why do you think the artist chose these colors?
   • What year do you think it is in this painting and why?
   • If you had to describe the sounds taking place in this scene, what words would you use?
   • Overall, what image or impression does this piece of art give you?
5. Reveal the title of the painting to the students and the name of the artist. Explain the painting using the information titled “About The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots , 1974.”
6. Distribute to each group either a copy of the information titled “About Voting and the Great Migration” or “About the Artist: Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000). Have them read it in their groups and be prepared to share details from their reading with the rest of the class.
7. After groups have read their information, start with the groups that read “About Voting and the Great Migration” and have them share what they learned about the historical context of this piece. As they describe what they learned, make sure the class as a whole understands the following terms and concepts. If necessary, use the tool titled “Key Terms to Understanding Voting and Civil Rights” as a handout or overhead to guide the students.
   • 15th Amendment
   • Jim Crowism
   • Disfranchise
   • Plessy v. Ferguson
   • Literacy test
   • Poll tax
   • Grandfather clause
   • Great Migration of WWI
   • Harlem renaissance
8. Ask the groups that read “About the Artist: Jacob Lawrence (1917 – 2000)” to share what they learned about the artist.
9. Assign each pair or group one of the characters from the painting, The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots . Distribute or display the assignment titled “Bringing Voice to The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots . Tell them that you want them to write a brief paragraph that explains exactly what each person is thinking at that moment in the painting. Paragraphs should be written in the first person voice and address two things: life in the south before migration and life in the north now that they have migrated. Paragraphs should also take into account the actions, activities, posture and expressions of the person in the painting. Students should try to incorporate as many of the vocabulary words as possible into the paragraphs. Explain that these paragraphs will be read aloud in a dramatic reading to give life to the painting.
10. After each group has finished writing their paragraphs, select one member of the group to read the paragraph. As each group reads, spotlight the person in the painting. This should give dramatic voice to the painting and reinforce the concept of civic duty and civic pride in voting.
11. Distribute or display the assignment titled “Civic Service and Civil Rights… A Panel Project.” Explain to students that Jacob Lawrence's painting “The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots” is a unique look at both Civic Service and Civil Rights. Civic Service is any voluntary effort that citizens do to participate in government or the political process, such as voting. A Civil Right is a guarantee that is supposed to be protected by the government, such as the right to vote. Ask students to brainstorm as many Civic Services or Civil Rights as they can think of. Record these on the white board or overhead.
12. When you finish with the list of Civic Services and Civil Rights, remind the students that Lawrence was inspired to do his piece by a piece that he had done 34 years earlier titled “Migration of the Negro.” “Migration of the Negro” was part of a series of panels that told a story about Civil Rights for African Americans. Explain to students that their assignment is to create their own painting that will be part of a class series of panels that tell a story about Civic Issues. Their painting can be about the obligations of civic-mindedness, including voting, volunteering, performing public service, serving in the military or any of the other ideas listed on the “Civic Service Civil Rights” Chart. Their piece can also be about any Civil Rights issue listed on the chart. Hand out the assignment and give students an appropriate amount of time to complete it.
13. When students are finished with their pieces, display them together as part of a paneled series. This final activity can be assigned as homework or completed in class. It can also be extended when the class turns their pieces in as a group decision about the order of the panels to best tell the story or Civic Service and Civil Rights.

TOOL: Art Analysis Questions

1. How would you describe the people in this scene?
2. In general, what are most of the people doing?
3. What item is the central focus of this piece of art?
4. How has the artist drawn your eyes toward this item?
5. What item and activity is the most unusual and difficult to understand it this piece of art?
6. How many basic colors does the artist use is this piece of art?
7. Why do you think the artist chose these colors?
8. What year do you think it is in this painting and why?
9. If you had to describe the sounds taking place in this scene, what words would you use?
10. Overall, what image or impression does this piece of art give you?

TOOL: Key Terms to Understanding Voting and Civil Rights

15th Amendment - Section. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.*

Jim Crowism - Discriminating against and segregating Black people, especially as practiced in the American South from 1860's to 1960's. #

Disfranchise - To deprive of a privilege or a right of citizenship, especially the right to vote. #

Plessy v. Ferguson - (1896) landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision… approving [legal] racial segregation in public facilities; ruling that states could prohibit the use of public facilities by African Americans. Overturned by Brown v. Board of Ed. (1954). *

Literacy test - used by ruling class to prohibit the poor, racial and ethnic minorities, and other groups that it wished to see disenfranchised, from voting. It was prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1965. *

Poll tax - A tax levied on people… often as a requirement for voting. *

Grandfather clause - allowed Southern whites to vote by waiving literacy requirements and poll taxes if a potential voter's grandfather had been a qualified voter, a virtual impossibility for blacks of that era. *

Great Migration of WWI - mass movement of African Americans from the southern U.S. to industrial centers of the North; World War I put a halt to the flow of European immigrants to the emerging industrial centers, causing shortages of workers in the factories *

Harlem Renaissance - cultural movement in 1920s America during which black art, literature, and music experienced renewal and growth, originating in New York City 's Harlem district. #

* Wikipedia.com Online Encyclopedia
# American Heritage Dictionary





Bringing Voice to “The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots”

1. With your partner, select one of the characters from the painting “The 1920's… The Migrants Arrive and Cast Their Ballots”
2. Write a brief paragraph that explains exactly what your assigned person is thinking at that moment in the painting.
3. Paragraphs should be written in the first person voice and address two things: life in the south before migration and life in the north now that they have migrated.
4. Paragraphs should also take into account the actions, activities, posture and expressions of the person in the painting.
5. Try to incorporate as many of the “Key Terms to Understanding Voting and Civil Rights” as possible into the paragraphs.
6. Paragraphs will be read aloud in a dramatic reading to give voice to the painting.

Civic Service and Civil Rights… a Panel Project


Using this list, you will create your own panel artwork for a larger class piece on Civic Service and Civil Rights.

1. Select one of the Civic Service or Civil Rights Themes from the list or feel free to use one not on the list.
2. In the spirit of Jacob Lawrence, try to tell a story with your panel, using characters, simple colors and basic shapes.