New book celebrates how Black Midwesterners persevered during Great Migration

A College of Education post-doctoral research associate is celebrating her new book published earlier this month.

The University of Illinois Press published Jennifer Sdunzik’s book, The Geography of Hate: The Great Migration through Small-Town America (Nov. 7). The book takes a new look at the Great Migration –  the relocation of more than six million Black Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest and West from about 1916 to 1970 – by considering small-town America in the conversation.

The book uncovers mechanisms, practices and attitudes of exclusion prevalent in the Midwest that actively prevented a more dispersed Black population across the region. It breaks down these mechanisms and uncovers logics and legacies of white desires in small-town America that support and perpetuate racial hierarchies in the United States.

Sdunzik says the book is for everyone who appreciates intellectual rigor and innovative methodologies while daring to unlearn conventional wisdoms about Black and white Midwestern landscapes that are the immediate result of white supremacy.

“Beyond the academic audience, this book will be useful for public and regional institutions dedicated to preserving local histories, such as local museums, public libraries, county and state societies,” she said. “It would be a great addition to any course that addresses aspects of diversity, Black education, as well as Indiana  and Midwestern history.”

The book resonated with Sdunzik’s own experiences. “My personal immigration experiences helped attune me to the experiences of migrants who moved to Indiana and had to navigate the racial and ethnic landmarks that have been rigidly established under white supremacy in the Midwest,” she said. “While I unpack how white-dominant racial hierarchies controlled access to space and opportunities in the Midwest, I am also celebrating how Black Midwesterners persevered against these pressures.”

Sdunzik hopes readers will appreciate the evidence-based approach she used. “By unearthing and naming these practices and attitudes, I invite reflection and acknowledgments of an exclusive past and encourage their discontinuation and active change for a more honest and inclusive society,” she said.

Sdunzik is a postdoctoral research associate in Purdue’s Evaluation and Learning Research Center and earned her doctorate in American Studies from Purdue University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of race, social justice, (im)migration, and community engagement. Her scholarly contributions in the fields of race and ethnic studies, activism and education, partnerships and organizational theory have been published in a variety of interdisciplinary and education journals, including Women, Gender, and Families of Color, Social Education, Professional Development in Education and Business Strategy and Development. Sdunzik is the lead of the qualitative research and analysis efforts for a large international evaluation project that examines the impacts of accelerated basic and formal education on diverse student populations in Somalia. She also collaborates with  Dr. Chrystal S. Johnson on a variety of projects, including the Department of Education-funded Project RISE, which develops and implements culturally relevant digital education modules for middle and high schools.

Source: Jennifer Sdunzik, jsdunzik@purdue.edu