Newman’s Poetry
“Untitled,” “Jim Crow Car of Tennessee,” and “The ‘Jim Crow’ Car”: Lesson Plans
George A. Newman Sr. (seated, left) pictured with his family in 1903
Celebrating Simms Collection, 1867–2016, James Madison University Libraries, Harrisonburg, VA. Photo courtesy of Ruth M. Toliver
Introduction
In addition to writing a novel, George Newman also wrote poetry that spoke to both his politics and his relationship to his community. The poems below are accompanied by discussion questions and supplemental resources to help students and teachers engage with Newman’s poetry. Educators will also find a suggested guide for teaching each poem. The Teaching Black History page offers context for topics covered in the featured poems, as well as some background on the importance of teaching Black history in K-12 classrooms.
Credit: Mary Guckian and Camryn Rollins
Works Cited
2024 Standards of Learning for English | Virginia Department of Education. www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/english-reading-literacy/standards-of-learning.
“Brooks, Walter H.: Notable Black American Men, Book II.” Encyclopedia.com, www.encyclopedia.com/african-american-focus/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/brooks-walter-h. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Duignan, and Brian. “Plessy V. Ferguson (1896) | Summary, Decision, Background, and Impact.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Apr. 2025, www.britannica.com/event/Plessy-v-Ferguson-1896.
“Effinger School 1882,” Celebrating Simms, accessed April 24, 2025, omeka.lib.jmu.edu/simms/items/show/1539.
Harper, Billo. “JimCrow.DorisHarperAllen.Final.” Vimeo, 25 Apr. 2025, vimeo.com/1079080337. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
King, LaGarrett J. and National Council for the Social Studies Research & Practice. “Black History is Not American History: Toward a Framework of Black Historical Consciousness.” Social Education, edited by Patricia G. Avery, vol. 84, no. 6, 2020, pp. 335–41. www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/view-article-2020-12/se8406335.pdf.
Newark Trust. “Why All Students Benefit From Learning Black History.” Newark Trust for Education, 27 Feb. 2023, www.newarktrust.org/why_all_students_benefit_from_learning_black_history. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
“Newman Family,” Celebrating Simms, accessed April 24, 2025, omeka.lib.jmu.edu/simms/items/show/1406.
Newman, George A., Sr. “Jim Crow Car of Tennessee (1891).” A Miserable Revenge: A Story of Life in Virginia, edited by Mollie Godfrey, Brooks Hefner, Jeslyn Pool, and Evan Sizemore, James Madison University Libraries, pp. 313–15.
—. “Untitled Poem (1887).” A Miserable Revenge: A Story of Life in Virginia, edited by Mollie Godfrey, Brooks Hefner, Jeslyn Pool, and Evan Sizemore, James Madison University Libraries, p. 305.
Pilgrim, David. “What Was Jim Crow.” Jim Crow Museum, jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/what.htm. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
Planet Pub. Co. Richmond Planet. [Volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, September 15, 1900, Image 8. 15 Sept. 1900, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84025841/1900-09-15/ed-1/seq-8.
Richards, Leonard L., Jr. “Desegregating Our Curriculum: Integrating A Miserable Revenge Into Virginia’s Classrooms.” A Miserable Revenge: A Story of Life in Virginia, by George A. Newman Sr., edited by Mollie Godfrey, Brooks Hefner, Jeslyn Pool, and Evan Sizemore, James Madison University Libraries, 2025, pp. 389–410.
Standards of Learning for History and Social Science | Virginia Department of Education. www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/k-12-standards-instruction/history-and-social-science/standards-of-learning.