Ben Chaney, center, in the car on the way to his brother's funeral, August 1964. Mississippi
Smart Talk: Author Gretchen Sorin and her book Driving While Black — African-American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights
Cars gave blacks more freedom in the mid-20th Century, but also created more hurdles
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Scott LaMar
Ben Chaney, center, in the car on the way to his brother's funeral, August 1964. Mississippi
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This interview is an encore broadcast that originally aired in March 2020
Millions of Americans learned about The Negro Motorist Green Book when the motion picture Green Book played in theaters and went on to win the Best Picture Oscar last year. What the film depicted and what many white audiences saw for the first time is how African-Americans were discriminated against, segregated and treated poorly — sometimes violently — while traveling in Jim Crow America.
In her new book Driving While Black — African-American Travel and the Road to Civil Rights, author Gretchen Sorin writes about how automobiles gave blacks more freedom to travel than ever before and even provided them with more physical protection when they were traveling. African-Americans who often traveled on segregated trains and buses were able to go places in their cars in the mid-20th Century.
However, black travelers often were turned away at hotels, restaurants and gas stations, were not allowed in so-called “sundown” towns after dark and even were prohibited from using public rest rooms.
The Green Book provided information to African-American travelers on businesses that were open to black motorists.
Gretchen Sorin covers all this history in her book. She appeared earlier this year at Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg and we hear that conversation on Smart Talk.
WITF in partnership with Sankofa African American Theatre Company is proud to present a special virtual screening of the PBS documentary “Driving While Black,” December 15, at 7 pm as part of the 2020 Sankofa REEL2REAL Virtual Film Festival. Featuring a post-screening live discussion with guest panelist Gretchen Sorin. Registration and information at https://www.sankofatheatrehbg.com/sankofa-reel2real-film-festival-202.
