Her stepfather’s stories
helped Taylor understand many things, including why he and
black folks his age preferred to travel at night, on side
roads. At about this same time, Taylor’s white friends began
expressing outrage over white supremacists and she replied
with facts about incarceration of black men. To her, the
three histories were one: black people have always been
denied equality.
In the 20th century, that
inequality largely resulted from Jim Crow laws which, among
other humiliations, allowed restaurants, hotels, and gas
stations to refuse service to black travelers. On the road,
brave or desperate African Americans risked violence or even
death by testing the laws; in years following the
Depression, those laws gave Victor Green an idea.
Green lived in Harlem,
worked as a mailman, and saw a future where black people
owned cars (rare, in the 1930s) they could insure (also
rare). With help from other mailmen, information on
black-owned businesses that black travelers could visit was
gathered and published in a book that was initially
Harlem-centric. Subsequent editions of The Green Book
led African-American travelers to safe restaurants, hotels,
and gas stations across the country.
Says Taylor, Green never
made much money from his project, but “his reward was much
more valuable… for every business he listed, he may have
saved a life.”
As a history of
African-American travel in the 20th Century, Overground
Railroad is incredible, filled with great continuity and
plenty of side-stories to make it come alive. Author Candacy
Taylor makes it exquisitely personal with tales from her
stepfather and her deep appreciation for all he’d endured,
leading to other stories of DWB; how the travel industry
foolishly thwarted African-American travel and its buying
power; how things changed; and the constant reassurance of
The Green Book.
That history makes this
book incredibly fascinating.
It could’ve been even
better, had Taylor stuck with the topic.
Instead, occasionally and
from the beginning, mass incarceration and institutional
racism are inserted into this narrative on travel. One could
perhaps argue that they’re peripherally relevant but, though
it’s not overwhelming, that feels like a discussion for a
different book.
Still, ignore the
distraction. Don’t let it chase you away from this stellar
tale, told with detail and an abundance of photos. If you’re
looking for a lively, well-rounded history book,
Overground Railroad is just the ticket.
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