The Green Book
Sorry, only a short blog today. Just back from a road trip to Cincinnati—visiting good friends and seeing the opening of The Negro Motorist Green Book, an inspiring and transformative exhibit at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Based on the book, Overground Railroad by Candacy Taylor, it’s personal, historical and incredibly researched. It’s a recalibration of a fake nostalgia we have for road travel in a simpler time. A time that never really existed in our messy history. While it doesn’t shy away from the perils of traveling while black in America, it’s far more a celebration of the purveyors listed in The Green Book who helped travelers safely find gas, food, lodging and so much more. Like the author said in her lecture, this isn’t a black story. This is an American story, a history that isn’t static, a road trip filled with potholes and promise.