Why did black southern migrants during the Great
Migration not get off the train along the migratory corridor that connected the
points of departure and arrival, i.e. the Jim Crow South and the urban North?
How did midwestern small-towns and black America come to be understood as polar
opposites? Based on archival and ethnographic research, this project answers
these questions by disrupting grand narratives about the Great Migration and
the Midwest: 1) it disrupts the idea of predefined destinations of southern black
migrants by illustrating that not all wanted to settle in big cities; 2) it
disrupts the midwestern whiteness by displaying resilience and resistance of
minorities in the same landscape; and 3) it disrupts stereotypes of midwestern friendliness by
uncovering the self-perceived understanding of midwestern hospitality of
Hoosier communities that stands in stark contrast with the unwelcoming
environment as experienced by outsiders. Together, the chapters in this
dissertation record the racialized geographies of Indiana and provide a nuanced
understanding of identity and belonging in the Midwest. Analysis of the data
identifies cultures of exclusion prevalent in midwestern small towns.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/8307080 |
| Date | 15 August 2019 |
| Creators | Jennifer Sdunzik (6865529) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/Mapping_Whiteness_Uncovering_the_Legacy_of_All-White_Towns_in_Indiana/8307080 |
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