The Negro Motorist Green Book

I was really looking forward to reading this chapter, as I find pointing out the realities of racial inequality in this country is often very challenging for college students. Last summer I took an Education and Cultural Diversity course as part of the MAT program, and it was extremely eye-opening (that and reading "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Lunch Room?" Spring of 2011). I had always considered myself non-racist, tolerant, and understanding of the plight of non-white people in this country. After taking those two classes, I realized my perception of these issues was woefully naive.

While this realization was depressing in some ways, I am fortunate to be in a position where I can hopefully DO something directly to change the racist culture we live in as a teacher. It's my hope that I can work to counteract some of the racist elements of today's culture, especially within the education system.

Anyway, the part of this chapter that caught my attention was the mention of "The Negro Motorist Green Book", a guidebook published in the early/mid 20th century (I'm still getting used to referring to the 20th century as this era in the distant past) that gave advice and guidance to African-American travelers on which places were accepting and accommodating to black travelers. I decided to look up this handbook and sure enough I found a full text PDF of it online. http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Race/R_Casestudy/87_135_1736_GreenBk.pdf

In it, a found a remarkable and touching statement in the introduction:

"There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment. But until that times comes we shall continue to publish this information for your convenience each year." (Green 1)

As I discovered in my diversity class last summer, it's easy to say "Look at how far we've come!" when looking at examples of blatant racism in the past and simply dismiss the insidious racism that still plagues our society. And while today the Green Book isn't published anymore, there are undoubtedly still places in this country where non-white Americans aren't welcomed.