Open the Lid on the Suitcase Story

Back in 2014, when we were in the midst of reinterpreting the Crane House to include the history of the YWCA, we wanted something visual that spoke to the many African American women who moved up from the south in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Great Migration. Some women stayed with family or friends. Others found a home — either temporarily or permanently — at the YWCA when it was housed in the home built by Israel Crane at 159 Glenridge Avenue. We chose suitcases to illustrate their travels and we looked on the 1930 census to see who was living there and where they had been born. This video tells the story of one of the women, Miss Lucille Barnwell.