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Driving while black : African American travel and the road to civil rights  Cover Image Book Book

Driving while black : African American travel and the road to civil rights / Gretchen Sorin.

Summary:

"How the automobile fundamentally changed African American life-the true history beyond the Best Picture-winning movie. The ultimate symbol of independence and possibility, the automobile has shaped this country from the moment the first Model T rolled off Henry Ford's assembly line. Yet cars have always held distinct 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. Gretchen Sorin recovers a forgotten history of black motorists, and recounts their creation of a parallel, unseen world of travel guides, black only hotels, and informal communications networks that kept black drivers safe. At the heart of this story is Victor and Alma Green's famous Green Book, begun in 1936, which made possible that most basic American right, the family vacation, and encouraged a new method of resisting oppression. Enlivened by Sorin's personal history, Driving While Black opens an entirely new view onto the African American experience, and shows why travel was so central to the Civil Rights movement"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781631495694
  • ISBN: 1631495690
  • Physical Description: xviii, 332 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
  • Edition: First edition.
  • Publisher: New York : Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company, [2020]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-318) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
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."
Subject: African Americans > Travel > History > 20th century.
African American automobile drivers > History > 20th century.
Automobile travel > United States > History > 20th century.
Segregation in transportation > United States > History > 20th century.
African Americans > Segregation > History > 20th century.
African Americans > Social conditions > 20th century.
Civil rights > United States > History > 20th century.
United States > Race relations > History > 20th century.

Available copies

  • 3 of 3 copies available at Lehigh Valley Library System.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
Show All Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Allentown Public Library 323.1196 SORI (Text) 34455006676403 Adult Nonfiction 2nd FL Available -
Bethlehem Main Library 323.119 (Text) 33062009262693 Adult Nonfiction Available -
Easton Main Library 323.119 S713d (Text) 31901004420511 Adult Nonfiction Available -


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