Wherever you’re heading, take this book with you
Urban love thriller
Caribbean Life, February 14-20, 2020 35
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
Seat belt’s on.
Keys in the ignition, rear
view mirror’s been adjusted,
steering wheel is set for maximum
comfort. You’re ready
to go, ready for this trip to
get started. In “Driving While
Black” by Gretchen Sorin,
you’re heading back in history.
Few things in America have
altered the cultural scene more
than the automobile. Not only
has it changed the way we
move, it affected the way we
dress, talk, and eat. But, says
Sorin, for Black folks, the automobile
has “meant something
different” — mainly, “the automobile
made it more difficult…
to enforce racial apartheid
while cruising along the highways
at 45 miles per hour.”
Once was a time that Black
people couldn’t travel far, if at
all. Moving about from plantation
to plantation allowed
opportunities for slaves to
escape or, at the very least,
to learn the lay of the land,
neither of which was desirable
for a slave’s owner. Even free
Blacks were restricted from too
much movement then.
After the Civil War ended,
former slaves began to head
north for work and to escape
Jim Crow laws, a Great Migration
that didn’t preclude the
occasional trip back South by
rail or by bus to visit friends
and relatives. There was still
segregation in travel but the
bigger fact was that travel itself
was no longer restricted.
Starting around the 1920s,
automobile ownership began
to be a possibility for mobile
(and upwardly-mobile) African
Americans. This meant even
more freedom — a road could
lead almost anywhere — but
it could also mean danger, if
you accidentally went where
you weren’t welcome. On the
other hand, you could sleep in
the car, depending on the kind
you bought; some vehicles
were faster, and could outrun
Book cover of “Driving While Black” by Gretchen Sorin.
violence; others meant fewer
fill-ups. Restroom stops, if you
were Black, were still an issue.
By the 1970s, Sorin says,
this was all mostly a moot
point. The Civil Rights Movement
had changed the country,
and segregation at hotels
and gas stations was a thing
of the past. And yet today,
once again, DWB comes with
a whole different set of dangers…
Here it’s not even spring, and
you already know where you’re
going on vacation this year. If
you haven’t packed a book yet,
“Driving While Black” is the
right one to take.
You won’t be sorry if you
travel with this travel-history
book. Author Gretchen Sorin’s
all-encompassing in her information,
beginning with slavery
and moving at a good clip into
the twentieth century with,
like any decent roadtrip, a few
side-stops along the way. If this
seems like old news, it’s not:
Sorin also shows us things we
don’t often consider, including
tales of Black musicians’ reliance
on freer travel, how sports
were changed by fewer restrictions,
and how Black drivers
accidentally taught white business
owners a lesson or two.
Sorin even adds personal
anecdotes to the openings of
her chapters, making “Driving
While Black” a great vacation
(or anytime) read. If you’re
needing a smart, comprehensive
look at the history of travel,
grab it and buckle up.
“Driving While Black:
African American Travel
and the Road to Civil
Rights” by Gretchen
Sorin
c.2020, Liveright $28.95
/ $38.95
Canada
352 pages
“Driving While Black” author Gretchen Sorin. Richard Walker
the case is not easy.”
Driven said “Love is Blind”
is also directed and conceptualized
by actor-director and
producer Florexile, “who is
showcasing his versatility as a
media guru.
“He is an independent filmmaker
from Brooklyn and in
front of and behind the camera,
which is rare,” she said.
“He is also the creator of the
web series behind the film.”
Driven said “Love is Blind”
is based on a life story of a
modern-day Romeo and Juliet,
“with an urban flavor of
thrilling caliber.”
Continued from Page 33
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