June 2022 Newsletter Revisited
I featured information about The Negro Motorist Green Book or the Green Book in my June 2022 newsletter. Many people don’t know that the Green Book was more than a 2018 movie with the same title. The movie, Green Book, starred Mahershala Ali as an African American pianist who hired a white New Yorker, Viggo Mortensen, to be his driver and bodyguard. The pianist was touring the Deep South. His record label gave a copy of The Negro Motorist Green Book to the driver prior to the road trip. They recognized that the pianist could not patronize certain establishments because of racism and segregation. I loved the movie however, I knew that many did not understand the significance of the movie title and what that little book meant to a whole race of people.
Driving While Black
When I was a kid, we visited my family in Cape Cod, Massachusetts for summer vacation. My dad was BIG on education (he was an electrical engineer) so a road trip consisted of visiting educational places like museums and points of interest on the 5+ hour drive north. My dad and I would go to the Triple A store (American Automobile Association) to pick up pamphlets and maps for our summer adventure. The pre-Google/GPS days meant maps and atlases were the only navigational tools. I would study those maps, plotting interesting points along the way.
I was intrigued with driving and couldn’t wait until I turned 17 to get my license. It always bothered me that my grandmother never learned to drive. When I asked her why, she explained that it was “too much trouble.” Duke (my grandfather Jonas Davis) would drive her anywhere she wanted to go. She said driving in the South was difficult for Black people. She never explained why and I didn’t dig deeper, which I regret. I could tell she experienced something that she didn’t want to talk about.
Southern Hostility
Fast forward to 2014. I planned to drive to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, fulfilling a bucket list item for my 45th birthday. I told a teacher friend of my plans to drive. She was born and raised in the South so she had legitimate concerns for my solo trip. Her specific instructions included warning me about driving through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. She told me to be off the roads and in secure locations before the sun went down (she referenced “sundown town”). She told me which cities were safe and where to gas up along my route. It was through her that I got my history lesson of “driving while black.”
I have personally experienced racism. As a history major, I know about African American history. As a Northerner, I did not know about sundown towns or The Green Book. I asked my dad about them after I returned from my trip. He told me about his experience in Valdosta, Georgia when he was in the Air Force. He and some other airmen went out on liberty on a Saturday might and they had a guide book that told them the safe places they could go, free from harassment by whites. Jim Crow laws were in effect, enforcing racial segregation, unfair treatment and restrictions of Blacks. My dad never said the words, “Green Book,” but I believe that is what he had to guide him.
The Green Book – Created Out of Necessity
It’s a shame that The Green Book existed for the reasons it did. The truth of the matter is that African Americans weren’t safe anywhere – North, South, East or West – from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement. Sometimes I wonder if we are safe now. The Green Book provided spaces for Blacks to feel safe – restaurants, hotels, barber shops, beauty parlors, nightclubs, entertainment.
As cars became affordable, African Americans began to travel more. Cars provided a sense of freedom to African Americans. They didn’t have to sit or stand in the back of buses or trains. There was no fear of being run off the run while walking on the sidewalk or dirt road. They could visit family “down South” and feel protected inside an automobile. But once they stepped out the car, they would be exposed again, unless they were in a place that welcomed them. The Green Book provided that security, to be welcomed to places with people that looked like them, were happy to see them, and didn’t judge or harass them.
Sidebar
North Carolina African American Heritage Commission had a great program about the Green Book for Black History Month. If you’re interested, go to the link to learn more.
African America Museum in Philadelphia had a great exhibit on the Green Book that was mixed with multimedia artwork including a great online exhibit.
If you are interested in researching your family’s history, there are several packages that could help you determine the information you’re looking for. Contact me at any time!