I never, ever knew about where they got the title from.

Can you imagine being an African American back in the 40's, 50's 60's when cars started to become available to the public and you bought one and wanted to take a roadtrip? Having to carry a special book that would list the places that would be willing to sell you gas? A place to get a bite to eat? A place to sleep? Being in "sundown" towns that required all blacks to leave by sundown or else?

Damn.

The Negro Motorist Green Book

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I never, ever knew about where they got the title from.

Can you imagine being an African American back in the 40's, 50's 60's when cars started to become available to the public and you bought one and wanted to take a roadtrip? Having to carry a special book that would list the places that would be willing to sell you gas? A place to get a bite to eat? A place to sleep? Being in "sundown" towns that required all blacks to leave by sundown or else?

Damn.

The Negro Motorist Green Book

The pamplet:
African Americans suffered discrimination in America for sure. Mr. Green started the pamphlet after a relative or friend wanted advice to drive from New York to visit family in Virginia. Mr. Green saw a need to advise the many Negros who had migrated to the North and wanted to visit family still in the south. Hotels and restaurants were listed, as the south was segregated in the 1960's. Gas stations? I have never heard of a merchant refusing to sell gasoline. Most towns in Mississippi had 20-40% black residents and no black-owned branded gas stations, so why would they refuse black business? Maybe they wouldn't pump the gas or wash the windshield? I saw many a black person's car serviced by our local Gulf station and none refused. In Mississippi there was one so-called "sundown" town and it was very infamous. The civil rights act killed the need for the Green Book, but racism exists everywhere.

The film:
The son of Vallelonga wrote the screenplay and made his father the "White Savior" of an inept Shirley. Estranged from his family, not understanding other blacks, black music, or even how to eat fried chicken. Dr. Shirley's family hotly disputes the film's portrayal of him and of his relationship with Vallelonga. He was close to his family and marched at Selma. Did the Academy even mention Dr. Shirley? No.

If you like wonderful piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc61C8ji1yk

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I never, ever knew about where they got the title from.

Can you imagine being an African American back in the 40's, 50's 60's when cars started to become available to the public and you bought one and wanted to take a roadtrip? Having to carry a special book that would list the places that would be willing to sell you gas? A place to get a bite to eat? A place to sleep? Being in "sundown" towns that required all blacks to leave by sundown or else?

Damn.

The Negro Motorist Green Book

I agree that would have been rough.

I must have been pretty naïve as a kid.
Born in the fifties and grew up in the Midwest aka Iowa.
Living in an almost all white but not entirely area I didn't even know there were race problems until the 68 Olympics when John Carlos and the black glove shit.
Pissed me off then as unnecessary.
{sigh}

f.y.i.
I watched a special on p.b.s. and gay people , in the same time period ,
had a similar book .

i liked the music. i like that they didn't gloss over cigarette smoking, like they usually do, you know, no lungs were harmed in the making... i liked all the zippo lighters - just like my dad used. i liked tony's wife. viggo was great in this. i could have waited until noon and seen it for $5, but another luxury theater had a 9:30am showing, so I coughed up four more bucks to get in and out sooner.

I watched it on the plane today and was pleasantly surprised. If you haven't seen it, see it!

JP