Borrow it
Coverart for item
The Resource Driving while Black : African American travel and the road to civil rights, Gretchen Sorin

Driving while Black : African American travel and the road to civil rights, Gretchen Sorin

Creator
Author
Summary
It's hardly a secret that mobility has always been limited, if not impossible, for African Americans. Before the Civil War, masters confined their slaves to their property, while free Black people found themselves regularly stopped, questioned, and even kidnapped. Restrictions on movement before emancipation carried over, in different forms, into Reconstruction and beyond; for most of the twentieth century, many white Americans felt blithely comfortable denying their Black countrymen the right to travel freely on trains and buses. Yet it became more difficult to shackle someone who was cruising along a highway at forty-five miles per hour. In Driving While Black, acclaimed historian Gretchen Sorin reveals how the car--the ultimate symbol of independence and possibility--has always held particular importance for African Americans, allowing Black families to evade the many dangers presented by an entrenched racist society and to enjoy, in some measure, the freedom of the open road. She recounts the creation of a parallel, unseen world of Black motorists, who relied on travel guides, Black-only businesses, and informal communication networks to keep them safe. From coast to coast, mom-and-pop guesthouses, beauty parlors, large hotels--including New York's Hotel Theresa, the Hampton House in Miami, and the Dunbar Hotel in Los Angeles--and nightclubs and restaurants like New Orleans' Dooky Chase and Atlanta's Paschal's fed travelers and provided places to stay the night. At the heart of Sorin's story is Victor and Alma Green's famous Green Book, a travel guide begun in 1936 that allowed Black Americans to join in that most basic American rite, the family vacation. As Sorin demonstrates, Black travel guides and Black-only businesses encouraged a new way of resisting oppression. Black Americans could be confident of finding welcoming establishments as they traveled for vacation or for work. Civil rights activists learned where to stay and where to eat in the South between marches and protests. As Driving While Black reminds us, the civil rights movement was just that--a movement of Black people and their allies in defiance of local law and custom. At the same time, Sorin shows that the car, despite the freedoms it offered, brought Black people up against new challenges, from segregated ambulance services to unwarranted traffic stops and the racist violence that too often followed. Interwoven with Sorin's own family history and enhanced by dozens of little-known images, Driving While Black charts how the automobile fundamentally reshaped African American life, and opens up an entirely new view onto one of the most important issues of our time. --
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xviii, 332 pages
Contents
  • The journey
  • "Humiliation stalks them"
  • African Americans and the automobile
  • "Through the windshield"
  • Driving while black
  • Travel guides for everyone
  • Victor and Alma Green's The Negro motorist green book
  • "Where will you stay tonight?"
  • "Vacation without aggravation."
Isbn
9781631495700
Instance
Label
Driving while Black : African American travel and the road to civil rights
Title
Driving while Black
Title remainder
African American travel and the road to civil rights
Statement of responsibility
Gretchen Sorin
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
It's hardly a secret that mobility has always been limited, if not impossible, for African Americans. Before the Civil War, masters confined their slaves to their property, while free Black people found themselves regularly stopped, questioned, and even kidnapped. Restrictions on movement before emancipation carried over, in different forms, into Reconstruction and beyond; for most of the twentieth century, many white Americans felt blithely comfortable denying their Black countrymen the right to travel freely on trains and buses. Yet it became more difficult to shackle someone who was cruising along a highway at forty-five miles per hour. In Driving While Black, acclaimed historian Gretchen Sorin reveals how the car--the ultimate symbol of independence and possibility--has always held particular importance for African Americans, allowing Black families to evade the many dangers presented by an entrenched racist society and to enjoy, in some measure, the freedom of the open road. She recounts the creation of a parallel, unseen world of Black motorists, who relied on travel guides, Black-only businesses, and informal communication networks to keep them safe. From coast to coast, mom-and-pop guesthouses, beauty parlors, large hotels--including New York's Hotel Theresa, the Hampton House in Miami, and the Dunbar Hotel in Los Angeles--and nightclubs and restaurants like New Orleans' Dooky Chase and Atlanta's Paschal's fed travelers and provided places to stay the night. At the heart of Sorin's story is Victor and Alma Green's famous Green Book, a travel guide begun in 1936 that allowed Black Americans to join in that most basic American rite, the family vacation. As Sorin demonstrates, Black travel guides and Black-only businesses encouraged a new way of resisting oppression. Black Americans could be confident of finding welcoming establishments as they traveled for vacation or for work. Civil rights activists learned where to stay and where to eat in the South between marches and protests. As Driving While Black reminds us, the civil rights movement was just that--a movement of Black people and their allies in defiance of local law and custom. At the same time, Sorin shows that the car, despite the freedoms it offered, brought Black people up against new challenges, from segregated ambulance services to unwarranted traffic stops and the racist violence that too often followed. Interwoven with Sorin's own family history and enhanced by dozens of little-known images, Driving While Black charts how the automobile fundamentally reshaped African American life, and opens up an entirely new view onto one of the most important issues of our time. --
Assigning source
From dust jacket
Cataloging source
LBSOR/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Sorin, Gretchen Sullivan
Dewey number
323.1196/073
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
  • E185.61
  • E185.61.S667
LC item number
  • .S667 2020
  • D75 2020
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • African Americans
  • African American automobile drivers
  • Automobile travel
  • Segregation in transportation
  • African Americans
  • African Americans
  • Civil rights
  • United States
  • HISTORY / United States / General
  • African American automobile drivers
  • African Americans
  • African Americans
  • African Americans
  • Automobile travel
  • Civil rights
  • Race relations
  • Segregation in transportation
  • United States
  • Automobile travel
  • Discrimination in transportation
  • African Americans
  • African Americans
  • Civil rights
  • United States
  • Familienurlaub
  • Kraftfahrer
  • Kraftwagen
  • Schwarze
  • Tourismus
  • USA
Label
Driving while Black : African American travel and the road to civil rights, Gretchen Sorin
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-318) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The journey -- "Humiliation stalks them" -- African Americans and the automobile -- "Through the windshield" -- Driving while black -- Travel guides for everyone -- Victor and Alma Green's The Negro motorist green book -- "Where will you stay tonight?" -- "Vacation without aggravation."
Control code
1102468064
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xviii, 332 pages
Isbn
9781631495700
Lccn
2019036574
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40029814374
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1102468064
Label
Driving while Black : African American travel and the road to civil rights, Gretchen Sorin
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-318) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
The journey -- "Humiliation stalks them" -- African Americans and the automobile -- "Through the windshield" -- Driving while black -- Travel guides for everyone -- Victor and Alma Green's The Negro motorist green book -- "Where will you stay tonight?" -- "Vacation without aggravation."
Control code
1102468064
Dimensions
24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Extent
xviii, 332 pages
Isbn
9781631495700
Lccn
2019036574
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other control number
40029814374
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1102468064

Subject

Genre

Library Locations

    • Leon E. Bloch Law LibraryBorrow it
      500 E. 52nd Street, Kansas City, MO, 64110, US
      39.032488 -94.581967

Library Links

Structured data from the Bibframe namespace is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License by University of Missouri-Kansas City Libraries. Additional terms may apply to data associated with third party namespaces.
Processing Feedback ...