 Stevie Wonder’s upbeat song “Living for the City,” is a pulsating 70s track that soulfully paints a picture of the struggles faced by African-Americans who moved from the south to Northern Cities. Filled with memorable lyrics, a thumping bass groove and sound effects this song is ideal for classroom study on its own or with books like: A Raisin in the Sun, The Watson’s Go to Birmingham, Invisible Man, The Jungle and House on Mango Street.
Mindblue’s differentiated lesson plan is filled with multi-disciplinary activities linking the song to the artwork of Faith Ringgold, the sociology of the persevering family, and movies like the Spike Lee drama Crooklyn.
THEMES/SUBJECTS Political Disenfranchisement Poverty Racism The Great Black Migration Voting
LIT TERMS Personification
LITERATURE LINKS The Watson's Go to Birmingham - Christopher Paul Curtis Monster - Walter Dean Myers Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Mildred Taylor House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry Slaves of New York - Tama Janowitz Crossing California – Adam Langer The Jungle - Upton Sinclair Bodega Dreams – Ernesto Quinonez Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan Dragonwings - Lawrence Yep Nickel and Dimed - Barbara Ehrenreich The Autobiography of Malcolm X – Alex Haley and Malcolm X Young, Black and Gifted (Young, Gifted and Black) - Lorraine Hansberry Harvard Works Because We Do - Greg Halpern Letter from Birmingham Jail – Martin Luther King Jr. Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A. - Luis Rodriguez Down These Mean Streets - Piri Thomas Black Boy - Richard Wright Native Son – Richard Wright
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