{"id":12927,"date":"2018-07-21T21:55:09","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T21:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=12927"},"modified":"2018-07-21T21:55:09","modified_gmt":"2018-07-21T21:55:09","slug":"traveling-while-black-guidebooks-may-be-out-of-print-but-still-resonate-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/traveling-while-black-guidebooks-may-be-out-of-print-but-still-resonate-today\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Traveling while black’ guidebooks may be out of print, but still resonate today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cotten Seiler<\/a>, Dickinson College<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In the summer of 2017, the NAACP issued a travel advisory<\/a> for the state of Missouri. <\/p>\n

Modeled after the international advisories issued by the U.S. State Department, the NAACP statement cautioned travelers of color about the \u201clooming danger\u201d of discrimination, harassment and violence at the hands of Missouri law enforcement, businesses and citizens. <\/p>\n

The civil rights organization\u2019s action had been partly prompted by the state legislature\u2019s passage of what the NAACP called a \u201cJim Crow bill,\u201d which increased the burden of proof on those bringing lawsuits alleging racial or other forms of discrimination.<\/p>\n

But they were also startled by a 2017 report<\/a> from the Missouri attorney general\u2019s office showing that black drivers were stopped by police at a rate 85 percent higher than their white counterparts. The report also found that they were more likely to be searched and arrested.<\/p>\n

When I first read about this news, I thought of the motoring guidebooks published for African-American travelers from the 1930s to the 1960s \u2013 a story I explore in my book \u201cRepublic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although they ceased publication some 50 years ago, the guidebooks are worth reflecting on in light of the fact that for drivers of color, the road remains anything but open.<\/p>\n

The half-open road<\/h2>\n

In American popular culture, movies (1983\u2019s \u201cNational Lampoon\u2019s “Vacation\u201d<\/a>), literature (\u201cOn the Road<\/a>\u201d), music (the 1946 hit \u201cRoute 66\u201d) and advertising<\/a> have long celebrated the open road. It\u2019s a symbol of freedom, a rite of passage, an economic conduit \u2013 all made possible by the car and the Interstate Highway System.<\/p>\n

\n