In most cases, the charges have nothing to do with motor vehicle violations, and everything to do with racial profiling, and how the driver conducts himself. African american travel and the road to civil rights, liverightw. Some stats on driving while black from the book suspect citizens. But for african americans, traveling by car was especially meaningful and challenging, writes historian and professor gretchen sorin in her new book driving while black. Dimitri delivers pizzas for a living but as a young black man he is faced with extra challenges while navigating the city. Driving while black is a very extensive and complex account of the african american experience of transportation in america. Driving while black is a dark comedy, rooted deeply in reality.
Driving while black african american travel and the road to civil rights by gretchen sorin. With dominique purdy, sheila tejada, john mead, joseph ansalvish. African american travel and the road to civil rights, russell contreras writes that the book. A book written to save lives, driving while black is not just for people of color, but for anyone who likes to wear a baseball cap, baggy jeans, sneakers, and a tee shirt and finds they are often treated like a suspect. Overground railroad the green book and the roots of black travel in america by candacy taylor. On february 20, 2020, grand central library is hosting gretchen sorin, director of cooperstown graduate program in museum studies. Driving while black african american travel and the road to civil rights by. Law enforcement officials often confront situations where they know that illegal activity is almost certainly taking place but lack sufficient resources to investigate every possible perpetrator.
Driving while black, a featurelength documentary film, explores the role of the automobile in the lives of african americans in the early twentieth century. Its for travelling while black, explains tony vallelonga to his incredulous wife, dolores. The film explores the role of the automobile in the lives of african americans in the early twentieth century. African american travel and the road to civil rights. The movie green book highlights the problems of driving. Driving while black on the way to a birthday party youtube. Gretchen sorin, the film draws on an extraordinarily rich archive of material from the period including. Enlivened by sorins 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.
When a police officer pulls over a male african american driver, the result is usually an arrest. Of course, media fascination with a social problem does not necessarily make it real, any more than lack of media coverage makes it nonexistent. Meeks, the managing editor of black enterprise magazine, has written a practical guide for victims of racial profiling by police, security guards, and stores. Driving while black opens road to civil rights alabama. African american travel and the road to civil rights is an interesting book but not a great book. Driving while black has been around as long as cars have. Driving while black book pima county public library.
Like other historical films, green book uses the past to speak to the present. In a time of driving while black, the negro motorist. Driving while black watch this exclusive clip from the upcoming ric burns documentary about the green book 5. Suny oneonta history professor gretchen sorin joins marty to talk about her book, driving while black. Driving while black opens road to civil rights ap news. The author professor gretchen sorin does an adequate job advancing her thesis about the interplay between mobility and african american vehicle ownership and the impact of that ownership on jim crow laws and practices. How the automobile fundamentally changed african american lifethe true history beyond the best picturewinning movie. Dimitri delivers pizzas for a living, but he is offered a job driving a hollywood tour bus this film explores, with love, the black experience in everyday interactions with the police. Driving while black dwb is a sardonic description of racial profiling of african american car drivers.
Driving while black has been around as long as cars have existed documentarian ric burns talks about his forthcoming film about the green book and other travel guides for africanamericans. Green book highlights the problems of driving while black. From the famous green book to black run lakeside resorts, sorin offers a powerful revision of the romance of roadside americana. Driving while black by gretchen sorin is a multilayered book, where they author relates much of her own familys experience with jim crow and the automobile, but also the important history about mobility and race. Driving while black book south san francisco public. Its known as racial profiling, pulling motorists over for driving while black or brown. The negro motorist green book was a series of annual guides for africanamerican drivers and holidaymakers who wanted to know where they could find gasstations, restaurants and hotels that would. In the spring of 1998, new jersey state police pulled over a van on the state turnpike carrying four young black men on their way to basketball tryouts at. Driving while black african american travel and the road to civil rights book. Driving while black coming soon steeplechase films. Sorin will discuss her new book, driving while black. A comedy about the extra layer of police hassle that the young black man faces while driving. Driving while black book chapel hill public library.
Police departments vehemently deny that its their practice or their policy. A report on racial profiling in metro nashville police department traffic stops may be downloaded here. Today, the disproportionate numbers of nonwhite, particularly black citizens in the us stopped by police for traffic violations has led to the satirical charge of widespread racial profiling driving while black. At the heart of sorins story is victor and alma greens famous green book, a travel guide begun in 1936, which helped grant black americans. A black mans guide to law enforcement in america by. The phrase driving while black, used with bitter familiarity for years in magazines and newspapers targeted for african americans, can now be found in the pages of esquire, newsweek and time. Driving while black is word play on driving while intoxicated, or dwi, a crime in some us jurisdictions.
A a black mans guide to law enforcement in americaa tells you everything you need to know about dealing with racial bias among those bound. The ultimate symbol of independence and possibility, the automobile has shaped this country from the moment the first model t rolled. The forgotten struggle for civil rights in the north driving while black is painful, poignant, and powerful. Driving while black by gretchen sorin is a multilayered book, where they author relates much of her own familys experience with jim crow and the automobile. Sorin, a professor at state university of new york at albany, dazzles with plain language. A book written to save lives, driving while black is not just for people of color, but for anyone who likes to wear a baseball cap, baggy jeans, sneakers, and a. At the heart of this story is victor and alma greens famous green book. Gloria gardner, 77, remembers driving with her family from muskegon, mich. Her years of research have also been used by ric burns in an upcoming pbs documentary. You really can get pulled over for driving while black.
Echoing a satirical jibe in circulation today the crime of driving while black the film immediately draws a continuum between the racial divisions. The story of living while black isnt just about black people. Driving while black is not a hallucination of the africanamerican mind. The ultimate symbol of independence and possibility, the automobile has shaped this country from the moment the first model t rolled off henry fords. Driving while black, is a featurelength documentary film directed by ric burns and slated for broadcast on pbs during the 2020 season. Dwb driving while black know your rights, always record these pigs indiana hobart police duration. The author provides an indepth look at the significance of victor greens literally lifesaving the green book inspired by jewish travel guidesfirst published in 1936 and expanded over the decades, which became the bible for african american. African american travel and the road to civil rights, russell contreras writes that the book is a riveting. This 360 degree video explores its complicated legacy. African american travel and the road to civil rights, by gretchen sorin, is a riveting story on how the automobile opened up opportunities for blacks in the u.
Traveling while black the green book was a critical guide for africanamericans struggling to travel safely in the jim crow era. A practical handbook for people who want to be safe and do somet. It is the work of a brilliant mind and a beautiful heart. Driving while black is more focused on the importance of the rise of car ownership among africanamericans as well as the various predecessors of the green book the overground railroad focuses more on the actual guide and on the businesses included in the green book, as well as current crisis. It implies that a motorist may be stopped by a police officer largely because of racial bias rather than any visible violation of traffic law. While speeding is the most common reason for a traffic stop among all races, white people 50. The car allowed african americans to avoid segregated trains and buses throughout the american south and gave blacks a chance to travel across the country.