Students will improve their understanding of the Great Migration and how music can be used as a historical source.

I am currently a New York City public school teacher and have taught at both the middle school and high school levels.  I have a BA in History from Pennsylvania State University and a MA in Social Studies Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, as well as a New York State professional teaching certification.  I've completed the Level 3 certification from the Center For Racial Justice in Education and have led professional developments on discussing race in the classroom through the New York City Mastery Collaborative.  I have a strong passion for music and have taught multiple music history classes, including History of the Blues, Rock n' Roll & Teenage Rebellion, and Hip-Hop History.

In this course we will make use of a variety of primary and secondary sources that offer differing viewpoints on the relationship between the Great Migration and Muddy Waters' life.  Students will read lyrics by Waters himself, a letter written by a sharecropper  on Waters' childhood plantation in Mississippi, and an excerpt from a Chicago Public Library article on the new life African-Americans experienced in Northern cities.