In order to build up context for 12th graders before they begin a class reading of Fences by August Wilson, the teacher designed a series of Stations, each on a different topic to help familiarize the students with history and the societal forces at play in  the US in the 1950s, the time and place where the play is set.

Resource List

Songs

“Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?” by Count Basie 

 Living For the City by Stevie Wonder

Folder of Song Lyrics

Movies and Video Clips

Trailer for the movie 42 about Jackie Robinson 

Interview with the artist Jacob Lawrence

Great Migrations: A People on the Move

History of The Hill District

Growing Up in the 1950s in Philadelphia - Robert Woodson oral history

Segregated Education in Philadelphia - Robert Woodson  oral history

Websites

Visualizing the Great Migration from the Museum of Modern Art

Mapping Inequality - Redlining in New Deal America.

Bibliography

Folder of Images