Community Chat

[Marienkaefer2]

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@Oznell wrote:

Marienkaefer, I saw her interviewed on C-Span, I think it was.  Her account was absolutely riveting and I can well imagine her book to be the same...

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@Oznell

She's a wonderful author, and yes, the book is great.  I lend it out to all of my friends that want to read it.

I can't even begin to describe properly how I feel about this book.  I think part of it is because I had no clue what things were really like for people. 
We don't learn this in school.

For example, when I was about 3, my parents took me with them on a cross country road trip from New Jersey to Arizona.  The trip must have taken about five days, and we stayed in motels along the way, and did some sightseeing, ate in restaurants.  You know, the typical road trip experience.

In the book, there is a story of a young man who actually had recently been awarded his medical degree. 

He lived in the South (I believe it was Alabama), and accepted a job in Los Angeles, so he had to drive from Alabama to California.  This was back in the late 1950s, before major roadways, freeways, etc.

When black people wanted to take a trip like that (and not many did), they had to bring all of their food with them, because chances were slim that they would find a place willing to serve them.

They had to plan their route out very carefully, and make sure they had plans to stop overnight in places where they would be allowed to sleep, (usually homes of friends or friends of friends) because it was very likely that most motels would deny them a room.

They couldn't pull over and sleep by the side of the road, either, because they could be told to move on or even arrested.

Even something like stopping to use a restroom was a questionable thing.

This young man, a doctor, had trouble finding a place to sleep one night and had to drive all night long from just outside of Phoenix to Los Angeles without stopping (after having already been on the road all day) because he could not find a motel willing to give him a room.

Back then, part of the route was winding and it was pitch dark and he had to navigate this and was nearly sick from fatigue and stress by the time he reached his final destination.

Just one example..there are many others, of course some more brutal.  I picked this one out now because it showed how a simple thing..a road trip...was simple for some of us, but not for a lot of us.

And I wonder, of those of us who could freely make a road trip back then, did we understand about the plight of those of us who couldn't?

[Oznell]

Exactly.  Knowing this history is vital.  I think this was one of the anecdotes she related on C-Span, if I'm remembering right, it was a relative of hers, perhaps.  

[jeanlake]

Oznell, thank you for reminding us. We must not forget or take this time in history for granted.

[Marienkaefer2]

@Oznell

Yes, it was.  

[Zernia Rose]

Itiswhatitis: Thank you for posting this wonderful photo! If shared, I hope it sparks conversation, especially among family members. 

[Zernia Rose]

Oznell: I greatly appreciate that you posted this topic.  The discussion has been thoughtful and informative!

[chrystaltree]

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@StraytoStay wrote:

There's still human traffickers unfortunately. Not completely over, wish it was. 😞

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       We're talking about this country; we're talking about Slavery here in the USA.

[esmerelda]

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@Marienkaefer2 wrote:

I used to live in a city that had quite a few celebrations for Juneteenth. 

Where I currently live, there's nothing that I'm aware of.

While the freeing of slaves was certainly a historic event, it didn't even come close to ending discrimination and persecution, also known as Jim Crow, which lasted well into the 1960s.

I highly recommend that anyone who feels they need to expand their knowledge of this part of our history read the following book:

"The Warmth of Other Suns:  The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson.

It's a long book, but so well written and holds your attention, that I guarantee you won't want to put it down.

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@Marienkaefer2 I'll be downloading that book (from audible.com) within the month, I'm sure.  I expect it will be very interesting.

[esmerelda]

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@Marienkaefer2 wrote:

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@Oznell wrote:

Marienkaefer, I saw her interviewed on C-Span, I think it was.  Her account was absolutely riveting and I can well imagine her book to be the same...

---

@Oznell

She's a wonderful author, and yes, the book is great.  I lend it out to all of my friends that want to read it.

I can't even begin to describe properly how I feel about this book.  I think part of it is because I had no clue what things were really like for people. 
We don't learn this in school.

For example, when I was about 3, my parents took me with them on a cross country road trip from New Jersey to Arizona.  The trip must have taken about five days, and we stayed in motels along the way, and did some sightseeing, ate in restaurants.  You know, the typical road trip experience.

In the book, there is a story of a young man who actually had recently been awarded his medical degree. 

He lived in the South (I believe it was Alabama), and accepted a job in Los Angeles, so he had to drive from Alabama to California.  This was back in the late 1950s, before major roadways, freeways, etc.

When black people wanted to take a trip like that (and not many did), they had to bring all of their food with them, because chances were slim that they would find a place willing to serve them.

They had to plan their route out very carefully, and make sure they had plans to stop overnight in places where they would be allowed to sleep, (usually homes of friends or friends of friends) because it was very likely that most motels would deny them a room.

They couldn't pull over and sleep by the side of the road, either, because they could be told to move on or even arrested.

Even something like stopping to use a restroom was a questionable thing.

This young man, a doctor, had trouble finding a place to sleep one night and had to drive all night long from just outside of Phoenix to Los Angeles without stopping (after having already been on the road all day) because he could not find a motel willing to give him a room.

Back then, part of the route was winding and it was pitch dark and he had to navigate this and was nearly sick from fatigue and stress by the time he reached his final destination.

Just one example..there are many others, of course some more brutal.  I picked this one out now because it showed how a simple thing..a road trip...was simple for some of us, but not for a lot of us.

And I wonder, of those of us who could freely make a road trip back then, did we understand about the plight of those of us who couldn't?

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@Marienkaefer2  Along that line...I'd heard of the Freedom Riders; but until I saw a show on PBS about them, I had NO IDEA what they went through.  It was beyond appalling!