1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:05,933 --> 00:00:06,900 {\an1}- [Allyson] what it means to beAmerican, 3 00:00:06,933 --> 00:00:08,666 {\an1}is to take to the road. 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:08,700 --> 00:00:10,566 {\an1}- Mobility is essential freedom. 6 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:12,233 {\an1}- [Man] Discovery, freedom. 7 00:00:12,266 --> 00:00:14,700 {\an1}- That notion of driving while black reminds us 8 00:00:14,733 --> 00:00:17,966 {\an1}that that's not available to all Americans. 9 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:20,400 {\an1}- [Carolyn] To be able to move freely, 10 00:00:20,433 --> 00:00:21,333 {\an1}we live in a country 11 00:00:21,366 --> 00:00:23,566 {\an1}where it's never been everybody's right. 12 00:00:24,733 --> 00:00:27,233 {\an7}- There are still so many dangers. 13 00:00:27,266 --> 00:00:29,066 {\an7}- [Man] Officer, I'm locking my car. 14 00:00:29,100 --> 00:00:33,233 {\an1}- We have to engage history with a kind of brutal honesty. 15 00:00:33,266 --> 00:00:34,466 [music] 16 00:00:50,266 --> 00:00:53,133 {\an1}- - [Narrator] "Good roadsle beckon to you and me, 17 00:00:53,166 --> 00:00:56,200 {\an1}daily we grow more motor-wise. 18 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,733 {\an1}The nomad in the poorest and the mightiest of us, 19 00:01:02,766 --> 00:01:04,400 {\an1}sends us behind the wheel - 20 00:01:05,866 --> 00:01:09,366 {\an1}north, south, east, and west - 21 00:01:10,466 --> 00:01:12,300 {\an1}in answer to the call of the road. 22 00:01:16,133 --> 00:01:19,233 {\an1}It's mighty good to be the skipper of a change, 23 00:01:19,266 --> 00:01:22,133 {\an1}and pilot our craft whither and when we will. 24 00:01:23,833 --> 00:01:25,266 {\an1}We feel like Vikings. 25 00:01:27,666 --> 00:01:30,433 {\an1}What if our craft is blunt of nose, 26 00:01:30,466 --> 00:01:34,700 {\an1}and limited of power, and our sea is macadamized; 27 00:01:35,666 --> 00:01:36,933 {\an1}it's food for the spirit 28 00:01:36,966 --> 00:01:38,200 [soft music] 29 00:01:38,233 --> 00:01:41,066 {\an1}to just give the old railroad Jim Crow the laugh. 30 00:01:41,300 --> 00:01:42,766 {\an1}[soft music continues] 31 00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:49,766 {\an1}Nevertheless, there is still a small cloud 32 00:01:50,433 --> 00:01:54,300 {\an1}that stands between us and complete motor-travel freedom. 33 00:01:55,300 --> 00:01:59,766 {\an1}On the trail, this cloud rarely troubles us in the mornings, 34 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:03,233 {\an1}but as the afternoon wears on 35 00:02:04,433 --> 00:02:07,533 {\an1}it casts a shadow of apprehension to our hearts. 36 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:09,166 {\an1}[low music and singing] 37 00:02:10,233 --> 00:02:13,700 {\an1}'Where, ' it asks us, 'will you stay tonight?' 38 00:02:13,733 --> 00:02:15,633 {\an1}[low music and singing continues] 39 00:02:15,666 --> 00:02:17,033 {\an1}An innocent enough question; 40 00:02:18,566 --> 00:02:20,900 {\an1}to our Nordic friends, of no consequence. 41 00:02:22,233 --> 00:02:23,566 {\an1}But to you and me, 42 00:02:25,100 --> 00:02:29,333 {\an1}what a peace-destroying world of potentiality." 43 00:02:29,566 --> 00:02:31,566 {\an1}[low music and singing continues] 44 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,433 {\an1}Alfred Edgar Smith 1933. 45 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:38,600 {\an1}[low music and singing continues] 46 00:02:45,233 --> 00:02:46,733 [upbeat music] 47 00:02:51,466 --> 00:02:53,500 {\an1}- Mobility is essential to freedom. 48 00:02:54,133 --> 00:02:56,600 {\an1}I think the automobile is emblematic 49 00:02:56,633 --> 00:02:59,533 {\an1}of the importance and the value 50 00:02:59,566 --> 00:03:01,533 {\an7}of mobility in a free society. 51 00:03:01,566 --> 00:03:04,266 {\an7}But, it also goes beyond mobility 52 00:03:04,300 --> 00:03:07,300 {\an7}and it allows us to understand 53 00:03:07,933 --> 00:03:10,266 {\an7}the way that African Americans 54 00:03:10,300 --> 00:03:12,333 {\an1}have moved forward in this country 55 00:03:12,366 --> 00:03:15,200 {\an1}and the way that AfricanAmericans have been pushed back. 56 00:03:16,933 --> 00:03:19,300 {\an1}[siren] 57 00:03:23,733 --> 00:03:25,409 {\an1}- [Officer] Could I uh see some ID please, sir? 58 00:03:25,433 --> 00:03:26,700 {\an1}- [Driver] For what? 59 00:03:26,733 --> 00:03:27,976 {\an1}- [Officer] I need to see your driver's license 60 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:28,800 {\an1}and registration. 61 00:03:28,833 --> 00:03:30,000 {\an1}- [Driver] For what? 62 00:03:31,133 --> 00:03:33,400 {\an1}- Let me start out by saying: 63 00:03:33,433 --> 00:03:36,266 {\an1}driving while Black was always unsafe. 64 00:03:36,300 --> 00:03:37,900 {\an1}Yet, by the same token, 65 00:03:37,933 --> 00:03:39,800 {\an1}millions of African Americans did it. 66 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:44,300 {\an1}- I think the idea of driving while Black 67 00:03:44,333 --> 00:03:48,133 {\an1}is a really helpful way to understand 68 00:03:48,166 --> 00:03:55,533 {\an1}that this form of mobility that Americans have revered, 69 00:03:55,566 --> 00:04:00,233 {\an7}and have enjoyed, and have romanticized, you know, 70 00:04:00,266 --> 00:04:04,833 {\an7}it's sort of part of, kind of, American iconography, 71 00:04:04,866 --> 00:04:06,500 {\an1}and what it means to be American, 72 00:04:06,533 --> 00:04:08,433 {\an1}is to take to the road, 73 00:04:08,466 --> 00:04:12,000 {\an1}to have this great expanse of the highway, 74 00:04:12,033 --> 00:04:14,833 {\an7}and to make memories with your family. 75 00:04:17,100 --> 00:04:19,800 {\an1}And I think that the notion of driving while Black 76 00:04:19,833 --> 00:04:24,266 {\an1}reminds us that that's not available to all Americans. 77 00:04:24,533 --> 00:04:27,666 {\an1}- For me, the term Driving While Black 78 00:04:27,700 --> 00:04:29,866 {\an7}isn't just a slogan, 79 00:04:29,900 --> 00:04:32,800 {\an7}it's not just part of our political rhetoric, 80 00:04:32,833 --> 00:04:37,366 {\an1}it's not just something we say to remind ourselves 81 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:41,200 {\an1}of the persistence of racism in the United States. 82 00:04:41,233 --> 00:04:46,233 {\an1}It's a very personal experience of remembering, in fact, 83 00:04:46,266 --> 00:04:49,500 {\an1}the anxiety, the fear. 84 00:04:53,633 --> 00:04:56,400 {\an7}- I think it's really, really tough 85 00:04:56,433 --> 00:05:02,733 {\an7}for the majority of Americans to begin to even understand 86 00:05:02,766 --> 00:05:05,533 {\an1}the gut wrenching horror 87 00:05:05,566 --> 00:05:08,833 {\an1}that is driving in a racist society. 88 00:05:09,500 --> 00:05:10,900 [music] 89 00:05:16,433 --> 00:05:18,500 {\an7}- Well you know Driving While Black 90 00:05:18,533 --> 00:05:20,300 {\an7}is a very interesting concept 91 00:05:20,333 --> 00:05:22,366 {\an1}and it entails so much more 92 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,133 {\an1}than the actual driving while Black. 93 00:05:25,166 --> 00:05:28,833 {\an1}It's living while Black. Sleeping while Black. 94 00:05:28,866 --> 00:05:31,533 {\an1}Eating while Black. Moving while Black. 95 00:05:31,566 --> 00:05:34,500 {\an4}And so when we start talking about the brutal restrictions 96 00:05:34,533 --> 00:05:36,733 {\an4}on black movement in this country, 97 00:05:38,066 --> 00:05:39,166 {\an1}well that's a long history. 98 00:05:39,200 --> 00:05:41,300 {\an1}That goes all the way back to day one. 99 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:44,033 {\an1}You have to get to the root of it. 100 00:05:44,066 --> 00:05:45,733 {\an1}You know, where's the root of it? 101 00:05:46,033 --> 00:05:47,466 [drums beating] 102 00:05:51,500 --> 00:05:53,366 - I think for African Americans, 103 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:58,366 {\an1}any story about mobility really begins 400 years ago. 104 00:06:00,066 --> 00:06:01,666 {\an1}- I think it's really important 105 00:06:01,700 --> 00:06:06,466 {\an1}to look at the longer history of race, space, and mobility, 106 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:08,366 {\an1}because if we look to the past, 107 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:13,066 {\an1}we can really see how travel or mobility 108 00:06:13,100 --> 00:06:18,066 {\an1}for African Americans has really been circumscribed. 109 00:06:18,466 --> 00:06:21,600 {\an1}So if we think about, you know, the first Africans 110 00:06:21,633 --> 00:06:26,366 {\an1}who came to the colonies through the Middle Passage 111 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,633 {\an1}and on slave ships, 112 00:06:28,666 --> 00:06:30,400 [tense music] 113 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:35,933 {\an1}think about the trauma and the terror and the violence 114 00:06:35,966 --> 00:06:40,100 {\an1}of that form of forced mobility. 115 00:06:40,766 --> 00:06:42,233 {\an1}[tense music continues] 116 00:06:43,900 --> 00:06:45,433 {\an1}- If you just go back to those roots - 117 00:06:45,466 --> 00:06:47,166 {\an1}back to the era of slavery - 118 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:48,333 {\an7}a chance to move around 119 00:06:48,366 --> 00:06:50,500 {\an7}was very much regulated and controlled 120 00:06:50,533 --> 00:06:51,676 {\an7}by those who were slave owners 121 00:06:51,700 --> 00:06:53,366 {\an7}over people who were enslaved. 122 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,266 {\an1}- I think the extraction of black people's labor, 123 00:06:57,300 --> 00:07:00,433 {\an1}the use of black people's bodies, 124 00:07:00,466 --> 00:07:03,900 {\an1}their capacity to produce and to generate wealth 125 00:07:03,933 --> 00:07:07,433 {\an1}required, in fact, restrictions upon their ability to move. 126 00:07:08,333 --> 00:07:11,500 {\an1}And so much of American history, so much of American law, 127 00:07:11,533 --> 00:07:14,700 {\an1}is actually focused on policing that movement, 128 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:16,100 {\an1}policing that mobility. 129 00:07:16,133 --> 00:07:20,666 {\an1}- Many enslaved Africans, never left a one-mile area 130 00:07:20,700 --> 00:07:24,300 {\an1}in their entire life, because they were constrained 131 00:07:24,333 --> 00:07:26,133 {\an1}to that plantation or that farm. 132 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,500 {\an4}- [Fountain] We were slaves. We belonged to people. 133 00:07:29,533 --> 00:07:31,033 {\an4}[music, strings strumming] 134 00:07:31,066 --> 00:07:33,800 {\an4}Now I couldn't go from here across the street 135 00:07:33,833 --> 00:07:38,100 {\an4}without I have a note, or something from my master. 136 00:07:38,133 --> 00:07:42,300 {\an7}And if I had that pass, I could go wherever he sent me. 137 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,000 {\an7}- The fact that you had to get a pass 138 00:07:45,033 --> 00:07:46,966 {\an1}to go from one plantation to another. 139 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:47,966 {\an1}And if you didn't have that pass 140 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,500 {\an1}you were likely to be stopped by slave patrols 141 00:07:50,533 --> 00:07:53,066 {\an1}and they were given permission to beat you 142 00:07:53,100 --> 00:07:55,766 {\an1}and to mistreat you, for having the audacity 143 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,966 {\an1}to think that you could travel on your own. 144 00:07:58,333 --> 00:07:59,766 [blues music] 145 00:08:01,966 --> 00:08:04,833 ♪ get ready 146 00:08:04,866 --> 00:08:07,833 {\an1}♪ You gotta move 147 00:08:07,866 --> 00:08:11,466 {\an1}- So we can talk about very, very early on, 148 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:13,400 {\an1}you know, the imposition. 149 00:08:13,433 --> 00:08:17,900 {\an1}You know, the limitations that's imposed on Black life. 150 00:08:17,933 --> 00:08:20,766 {\an1}"You're not allowed to go beyond this point." 151 00:08:21,633 --> 00:08:25,000 {\an1}So right away you have some elements of racial profiling 152 00:08:25,033 --> 00:08:29,033 {\an1}from the very beginning of the Black experience in America. 153 00:08:29,866 --> 00:08:30,866 {\an1}[blues music continues] 154 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:36,533 {\an1}- One of the things that I think is so interesting 155 00:08:36,566 --> 00:08:40,000 {\an1}is how policing developed in the south. 156 00:08:40,033 --> 00:08:42,933 {\an1}Policing starts with slave catchers. 157 00:08:42,966 --> 00:08:46,033 {\an1}These are men who are part of the community 158 00:08:46,066 --> 00:08:50,433 {\an1}who go around at night to make sure that enslaved people 159 00:08:50,466 --> 00:08:52,500 {\an1}are not leaving their plantations, 160 00:08:52,533 --> 00:08:56,700 {\an1}but they're also there to terrorize and to intimidate. 161 00:08:56,733 --> 00:08:58,266 {\an1}[blues music continues] 162 00:09:02,833 --> 00:09:05,000 {\an1}- The slave patrols of the old south 163 00:09:05,033 --> 00:09:08,300 {\an1}are there to control Black people's movements, 164 00:09:13,300 --> 00:09:16,600 {\an1}to keep slaves from moving off plantations, 165 00:09:16,633 --> 00:09:20,066 {\an1}to limit their ability to seek and find freedom 166 00:09:20,100 --> 00:09:21,933 {\an1}by crossing boundaries and borders 167 00:09:21,966 --> 00:09:24,433 {\an1}that they're not intended to cross. 168 00:09:24,466 --> 00:09:26,366 {\an1}♪ You got to move 169 00:09:26,633 --> 00:09:28,433 {\an1}And it's not a regional problem. 170 00:09:28,466 --> 00:09:31,633 {\an1}In the Northern states, in places like New York City, 171 00:09:31,666 --> 00:09:32,633 {\an1}there were regulations 172 00:09:32,666 --> 00:09:35,133 {\an1}on black people moving about in the nighttime. 173 00:09:35,166 --> 00:09:38,266 {\an1}And colonial New York, and 18th century, 174 00:09:38,300 --> 00:09:41,500 {\an1}19th century New York went to, in fact, great lengths 175 00:09:41,533 --> 00:09:44,233 {\an1}to police the movement of black people. 176 00:09:44,266 --> 00:09:45,800 {\an1}♪ You got to move 177 00:09:47,500 --> 00:09:49,500 {\an1}- [Narrator] "I am unable to travel 178 00:09:49,533 --> 00:09:50,966 {\an1}in any part of this country 179 00:09:52,133 --> 00:09:54,466 {\an1}without calling forth illustrations 180 00:09:54,500 --> 00:09:58,133 {\an1}of the dark spirit of slavery at every step." 181 00:09:59,566 --> 00:10:01,233 {\an7}Frederick Douglass, 1852. 182 00:10:03,300 --> 00:10:04,733 {\an7}[blues continues] 183 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:09,042 {\an1}- [Gretchen] Many enslaved Africans, 184 00:10:09,066 --> 00:10:12,200 {\an1}like Frederick Douglass, stole themselves from slavery, 185 00:10:12,233 --> 00:10:16,366 and from there, walked to a free state. 186 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,800 {\an1}The Underground Railroad was a very loose network 187 00:10:19,833 --> 00:10:23,400 {\an1}of African Americans and white Americans 188 00:10:24,166 --> 00:10:28,266 {\an1}who helped fugitive slaves escape, where they could 189 00:10:28,300 --> 00:10:30,200 {\an1}disappear into a Black neighborhood 190 00:10:30,233 --> 00:10:32,466 {\an1}or perhaps working their way to Canada. 191 00:10:32,833 --> 00:10:34,166 {\an4}[blues continues] 192 00:10:37,333 --> 00:10:41,200 {\an1}- The repercussions for the lack of success are terrible. 193 00:10:41,233 --> 00:10:44,000 {\an1}Deciding to run away could mean you might be beaten, 194 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:48,700 {\an1}you might be sent further South, separated from family. 195 00:10:49,700 --> 00:10:52,100 {\an1}All for the belief that freedom of movement - 196 00:10:52,133 --> 00:10:54,600 {\an1}a chance to get to a better place - is worth the risk; 197 00:10:54,633 --> 00:10:58,033 {\an1}is worth all the issues that come with that. 198 00:10:59,933 --> 00:11:03,633 {\an1}- The Fugitive Slave Act was passed in 1850. 199 00:11:03,666 --> 00:11:05,733 {\an1}And it criminalized those people 200 00:11:05,766 --> 00:11:07,766 {\an1}who were supporting African Americans 201 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:10,900 {\an1}on the Underground Railroad, because the law of the land 202 00:11:10,933 --> 00:11:14,733 {\an4}was that a slave had to be returned to their master. 203 00:11:15,766 --> 00:11:18,733 {\an4}- [Billy] Now you see, that, that was in slavery time. 204 00:11:18,766 --> 00:11:21,066 {\an4}I recollect just as well, and he'd bring back 205 00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:23,266 {\an4}whole lot the colored people. 206 00:11:23,300 --> 00:11:26,066 {\an4}And they brought them hound in and brought three niggas 207 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:28,742 {\an4}with them hound, runaway niggas, 208 00:11:28,766 --> 00:11:30,433 {\an4}you know, caught in the wood. 209 00:11:30,466 --> 00:11:33,866 {\an4}And they, right, right across, right at the creek there, 210 00:11:33,900 --> 00:11:35,500 {\an4}they take them niggas and put them on, 211 00:11:35,533 --> 00:11:38,400 {\an4}and put them on a log lay them down and fasten them. 212 00:11:38,433 --> 00:11:40,400 {\an5}And whup them. 213 00:11:40,433 --> 00:11:43,966 {\an4}You hear them niggas hollering and praying on them logs. 214 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:45,466 {\an4}And there was a nigga bring them in. 215 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:47,833 {\an4}Then they take them out down there and put them in jail. 216 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,666 {\an1}- The Fugitive Slave Act was designed as an act 217 00:11:53,700 --> 00:11:56,800 {\an1}that would appease the southern states 218 00:11:56,833 --> 00:11:59,300 {\an1}and keep them from leaving the Union. 219 00:11:59,333 --> 00:12:02,300 {\an1}But instead of appeasing the southern states, 220 00:12:02,333 --> 00:12:05,400 {\an1}it really demonstrated to many people in the North, 221 00:12:05,433 --> 00:12:07,400 {\an1}how they were complicit in slavery. 222 00:12:08,333 --> 00:12:11,433 {\an1}They watched, as African Americans 223 00:12:11,466 --> 00:12:14,900 {\an1}were dragged from homes, 224 00:12:14,933 --> 00:12:17,133 {\an1}were put into jails, 225 00:12:17,166 --> 00:12:19,266 {\an1}they were being taken back into slavery. 226 00:12:19,300 --> 00:12:21,800 They saw the suffering of these people. 227 00:12:21,833 --> 00:12:25,466 {\an1}The Fugitive Slave Act really lit the fuse 228 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,200 {\an1}that brought about the Civil War. 229 00:12:29,033 --> 00:12:30,400 [music] 230 00:12:30,433 --> 00:12:34,333 {\an1}In 1861, the Union falls apart 231 00:12:34,366 --> 00:12:37,900 {\an1}and 11 southern States secede from the Union 232 00:12:37,933 --> 00:12:40,833 {\an1}and become part of the Confederate States of America. 233 00:12:41,733 --> 00:12:45,366 {\an1}And immediately many enslaved African Americans 234 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:49,566 {\an1}seize the opportunity to escape their plantations. 235 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,400 {\an1}And the Union army had to decide, 236 00:12:51,433 --> 00:12:53,466 {\an1}what are we going to do with all of these people? 237 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:56,800 {\an1}And so they give them work behind Union lines 238 00:12:56,833 --> 00:12:58,100 {\an1}[music continues] 239 00:12:58,733 --> 00:13:02,300 {\an1}and it's really the beginning of Emancipation. 240 00:13:02,333 --> 00:13:05,800 {\an1}And that shows how important mobility really was 241 00:13:05,833 --> 00:13:06,833 {\an1}for these people. 242 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:11,033 {\an1}Finally in 1863, President Lincoln 243 00:13:11,066 --> 00:13:13,233 {\an1}issues the Emancipation Proclamation. 244 00:13:14,700 --> 00:13:17,000 {\an1}We think that immediately everyone was free. 245 00:13:17,033 --> 00:13:18,400 {\an1}And that wasn't the case. 246 00:13:18,433 --> 00:13:19,733 {\an1}[emotional music] 247 00:13:19,766 --> 00:13:22,466 {\an4}- [Fountain] When we found out that we were free, 248 00:13:22,500 --> 00:13:24,533 {\an4}we didn't have nowhere to go. 249 00:13:24,566 --> 00:13:27,666 {\an4}We didn't have no property. We didn't have no home. 250 00:13:27,700 --> 00:13:30,566 {\an4}Like cattle we were just turned out. 251 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:32,233 {\an4}Well, we been slaves all our lives. 252 00:13:32,266 --> 00:13:34,700 {\an4}My mother was a slave, my sisters was slaves, 253 00:13:34,733 --> 00:13:36,166 {\an4}father was a slave. 254 00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:37,309 {\an4}Well after freedom, you know, 255 00:13:37,333 --> 00:13:40,200 {\an4}colored people didn't have nothing. 256 00:13:44,966 --> 00:13:46,609 {\an1}- Well, I think in the post-Civil War period 257 00:13:46,633 --> 00:13:49,733 {\an1}you do have a great excitement 258 00:13:49,766 --> 00:13:52,666 {\an1}about having the shackles of slavery released, 259 00:13:52,700 --> 00:13:54,966 {\an1}and the fact that people can make choices 260 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,733 {\an1}that aren't dependent upon the okay of the slave owner. 261 00:13:58,233 --> 00:13:59,566 [soft music] 262 00:14:03,466 --> 00:14:04,433 {\an1}And one of the things we found 263 00:14:04,466 --> 00:14:06,333 {\an1}is that there's a lot of movement 264 00:14:06,366 --> 00:14:08,233 {\an1}among African Americans during this period: 265 00:14:08,266 --> 00:14:10,500 {\an1}searches for family members who were lost, 266 00:14:10,533 --> 00:14:12,500 that you're trying to reconnect to; 267 00:14:12,533 --> 00:14:14,500 {\an1}a decision just to leave the plantation 268 00:14:14,533 --> 00:14:16,900 {\an1}on which you lived for so many years; 269 00:14:16,933 --> 00:14:18,900 {\an1}and to have the choice to do what you want to do, 270 00:14:18,933 --> 00:14:20,766 {\an1}and to move where you want to go. 271 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:23,500 {\an1}And that happens I think for a period of time. 272 00:14:23,533 --> 00:14:25,933 {\an1}- The Civil War comes and after the Civil War, 273 00:14:25,966 --> 00:14:27,466 {\an1}everything is disrupted, 274 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:29,966 {\an1}no one knows exactly what's going to happen 275 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,466 {\an1}in this era historians call Reconstruction, 276 00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:37,533 {\an1}in which there's an effort to remake the South. 277 00:14:37,566 --> 00:14:39,933 {\an1}- Reconstruction is really an opportunity 278 00:14:39,966 --> 00:14:42,800 {\an1}for the rebirth of the democracy. 279 00:14:42,833 --> 00:14:45,966 {\an1}And it was an extremely hopefully time; 280 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,700 {\an1}the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments 281 00:14:48,733 --> 00:14:50,800 {\an1}to the Constitution are passed. 282 00:14:50,833 --> 00:14:53,166 {\an1}First abolishing slavery, 283 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:56,500 {\an1}giving African Americans birthright citizenship, 284 00:14:56,533 --> 00:14:58,066 {\an1}and then the right to vote. 285 00:14:59,566 --> 00:15:01,100 {\an1}For a very brief time, 286 00:15:01,133 --> 00:15:03,566 {\an1}African-Americans had the opportunity during 287 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,900 {\an1}reconstruction to be a part of the government. 288 00:15:06,933 --> 00:15:12,400 {\an1}There were about 2,000 men who were in government positions, 289 00:15:12,433 --> 00:15:14,833 {\an1}local state, and federal. 290 00:15:14,866 --> 00:15:17,500 {\an1}There were even two African American senators. 291 00:15:19,133 --> 00:15:21,466 {\an1}- [Narrator] "It was the Golden Dawn, 292 00:15:21,500 --> 00:15:23,533 {\an1}after chains of a thousand years, 293 00:15:24,700 --> 00:15:28,166 {\an1}For the first time in their life, they could travel; 294 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:30,800 they could see; 295 00:15:30,833 --> 00:15:33,233 {\an1}they could change the dead level of their labor; 296 00:15:34,700 --> 00:15:37,733 {\an1}they could talk to friends and sit at sundown 297 00:15:38,633 --> 00:15:43,566 {\an1}and in moonlight, listening and imparting wonder-tales. 298 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:48,800 {\an1}They could hunt in the swamps, and fish in the rivers. 299 00:15:50,266 --> 00:15:54,800 {\an1}And above all, they couldstand up and assert themselves. 300 00:15:56,100 --> 00:15:57,600 {\an1}They need not fear the patrol; 301 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:02,466 {\an1}they need not even cringe before a white face 302 00:16:03,333 --> 00:16:04,666 {\an1}and touch their hats." 303 00:16:06,233 --> 00:16:07,833 W.E.B. DuBois. 304 00:16:09,866 --> 00:16:12,000 {\an1}- The Civil War doesn't accomplish 305 00:16:12,033 --> 00:16:14,900 {\an1}freedom for Africann Americans in a fell swoop overnight. 306 00:16:14,933 --> 00:16:18,366 {\an1}Whites are contesting every degree of freedom 307 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,300 {\an1}that African Americans are asserting 308 00:16:20,333 --> 00:16:23,700 {\an1}in the aftermath ofEmancipation and the Civil War. 309 00:16:24,566 --> 00:16:26,076 {\an1}- One of the things that always strikes me 310 00:16:26,100 --> 00:16:28,000 {\an1}about the post-Civil War moment 311 00:16:28,033 --> 00:16:29,900 {\an1}is the extraordinary conflict 312 00:16:29,933 --> 00:16:34,933 {\an1}between the desire of African Americans 313 00:16:35,500 --> 00:16:39,766 {\an1}for full three-dimensional freedom and citizenship, 314 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,300 {\an1}and the extraordinary backlash that happens 315 00:16:43,333 --> 00:16:47,166 {\an1}as white Americans attempt to police their movement, 316 00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:48,800 {\an1}return them to the conditions 317 00:16:48,833 --> 00:16:51,300 {\an1}in which they had previously worked. 318 00:16:51,333 --> 00:16:53,100 {\an1}- There was continuous pushback 319 00:16:53,133 --> 00:16:57,466 {\an1}against African American freedom but it got much worse. 320 00:16:57,500 --> 00:17:00,533 {\an1}Whites in the South were very clear 321 00:17:00,566 --> 00:17:04,466 {\an1}that they were not going to permit Black people 322 00:17:04,500 --> 00:17:06,933 {\an1}to have an equal stake in the society. 323 00:17:06,966 --> 00:17:09,966 {\an1}And they reasserted their white supremacy. 324 00:17:10,933 --> 00:17:15,566 And by 1877, Reconstruction was over. 325 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:20,666 {\an1}Many of the positive changesthat were made are rolled back. 326 00:17:21,233 --> 00:17:24,266 {\an1}and they, re-institute adifferent kind of slavery. 327 00:17:25,233 --> 00:17:27,466 {\an1}- One of the fundamental unresolved problems 328 00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:30,600 {\an1}of the Civil War is the problem of the centrality 329 00:17:30,633 --> 00:17:33,400 {\an1}of Black people's labor to the American economy. 330 00:17:33,433 --> 00:17:35,100 {\an1}If the resumption of the cotton economy 331 00:17:35,133 --> 00:17:37,933 {\an1}is, in fact, critical to the reestablishment 332 00:17:37,966 --> 00:17:40,866 {\an1}of the United States then in fact Black people's labor 333 00:17:40,900 --> 00:17:42,466 {\an1}is going to play a central role 334 00:17:42,500 --> 00:17:46,166 {\an1}in redefining what the United States will look like. 335 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:48,209 {\an1}- [Gretchen] Cotton and tobacco are still the major crops 336 00:17:48,233 --> 00:17:50,833 {\an1}in the South, and they have to be harvested 337 00:17:50,866 --> 00:17:52,833 {\an1}and they have to be planted and tilled, 338 00:17:52,866 --> 00:17:56,333 {\an1}and African Americans are still doing that work 339 00:17:56,366 --> 00:18:00,766 {\an1}for very, very low wages, which is the sharecropping system. 340 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:02,533 {\an1}- It was often a cycle of indebtedness, 341 00:18:02,566 --> 00:18:08,066 {\an1}where freed Blacks had to go through planters and merchants 342 00:18:08,100 --> 00:18:12,166 {\an1}to get access to the tools that they needed to plow, 343 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,266 {\an7}to plant seeds, to harvest. 344 00:18:15,300 --> 00:18:18,833 {\an7}Folks got trapped in kind of an unending cycle of debt, 345 00:18:18,866 --> 00:18:20,800 {\an1}that really rooted them in place, 346 00:18:20,833 --> 00:18:22,266 {\an1}and allowed white planters 347 00:18:22,300 --> 00:18:24,400 {\an1}to continue to exploit their labor. 348 00:18:25,700 --> 00:18:28,000 {\an1}- And very quickly that sense of mobility, 349 00:18:28,033 --> 00:18:29,933 {\an1}that chance to make your own decisions, 350 00:18:29,966 --> 00:18:32,633 {\an1}begins to be constricted and controlled. 351 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,100 {\an1}- And land isn't just about land. 352 00:18:37,133 --> 00:18:39,133 {\an1}It's about political and economic power. 353 00:18:39,900 --> 00:18:44,866 {\an7}The power to choose to be able to move freely in space. 354 00:18:44,900 --> 00:18:48,200 {\an1}So when I think about mobility I know we live in a country 355 00:18:48,233 --> 00:18:50,066 {\an1}where it's not been everybody's right 356 00:18:51,100 --> 00:18:53,933 {\an7}or it's never been everybody's right. 357 00:18:53,966 --> 00:18:56,266 {\an7}- It was important to owners 358 00:18:56,300 --> 00:18:59,100 {\an7}to keep these people on the land. 359 00:19:00,166 --> 00:19:02,166 {\an1}- And they had all sorts of means of doing that, 360 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,566 {\an1}from crop liens, to the policing of roads. 361 00:19:08,100 --> 00:19:11,666 {\an1}An African-descended American walking along a road 362 00:19:11,700 --> 00:19:14,133 {\an1}could be stopped, investigated, 363 00:19:14,166 --> 00:19:17,033 {\an1}asked why he or she was going where they were going. 364 00:19:17,066 --> 00:19:21,000 {\an1}One common place for this confrontation over freedom 365 00:19:21,033 --> 00:19:23,700 {\an1}would be around transit systems 366 00:19:23,733 --> 00:19:25,700 {\an1}and train stations in particular. 367 00:19:25,733 --> 00:19:28,400 {\an1}Train stations were policed places. 368 00:19:28,433 --> 00:19:31,166 {\an1}An African American going to a train station, 369 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:32,933 {\an1}buying a ticket, would be viewed 370 00:19:32,966 --> 00:19:36,466 {\an1}with a great deal of suspicion by the authorities. 371 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,700 {\an1}- After Reconstruction, many states pass vagrant laws. 372 00:19:43,433 --> 00:19:46,233 {\an1}- [Eric] You had to follow all these rules. 373 00:19:46,266 --> 00:19:49,433 {\an1}And if you failed to obey the rules, 374 00:19:49,466 --> 00:19:54,333 {\an1}you could be imprisoned or face certain degrees of violence. 375 00:19:54,366 --> 00:19:56,666 {\an7}- You can think about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan 376 00:19:56,700 --> 00:19:59,433 {\an1}and the extraordinary racial terrorism 377 00:19:59,466 --> 00:20:01,266 {\an1}of the post-Civil War south. 378 00:20:01,300 --> 00:20:06,366 {\an1}That whole regime of racial restriction and racial law, 379 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:10,100 {\an1}is intended actually to reverse the progress 380 00:20:10,133 --> 00:20:13,433 {\an1}of the Civil War in the early years of reconstruction. 381 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,033 {\an1}- After the Civil War, slave patrols become vigilantes. 382 00:20:22,066 --> 00:20:25,266 {\an1}And they become groups like the Ku Klux Klan 383 00:20:25,300 --> 00:20:27,933 {\an1}that are still going around to black communities, 384 00:20:27,966 --> 00:20:30,800 {\an1}and that are still looking for African Americans 385 00:20:30,833 --> 00:20:34,266 {\an1}who are out and who they can control, 386 00:20:34,300 --> 00:20:38,300 {\an1}but now, they're extra-legal and they're using terror. 387 00:20:39,666 --> 00:20:41,100 {\an1}[emotional music] 388 00:20:42,633 --> 00:20:45,733 {\an1}- Well I think the most powerful instrument 389 00:20:45,766 --> 00:20:49,700 {\an1}to restrict the mobility of African Americans 390 00:20:49,733 --> 00:20:51,766 {\an1}in the aftermath of the Civil War 391 00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,566 {\an1}was Jim Crow segregation. 392 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:58,366 {\an1}Designating white space from black space 393 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:02,233 {\an1}to prevent the interaction of white and black 394 00:21:02,266 --> 00:21:07,300 {\an1}and to restrict the mobility of African Americans. 395 00:21:07,333 --> 00:21:10,966 {\an1}♪ Weel about and turn about and do jis so ♪ 396 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,833 {\an1}♪ Eb'ry time I weel about I jump Jim Crow." ♪ 397 00:21:15,866 --> 00:21:18,466 {\an1}- Jim Crow, first of all, is a nickname. 398 00:21:18,500 --> 00:21:21,366 {\an1}Because Jim Crow was a character 399 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:23,833 {\an1}in the earliest minstrel shows, 400 00:21:23,866 --> 00:21:26,300 {\an1}always played by a white man in blackface. 401 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,700 {\an1}[whimsical music] 402 00:21:37,033 --> 00:21:40,733 {\an4}So Jim Crow was the nickname that people gave 403 00:21:40,766 --> 00:21:44,966 {\an4}to all of these laws, and all of these customs, 404 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,133 {\an1}that governed how people interacted. 405 00:21:47,966 --> 00:21:50,166 {\an1}Both publicly and privately. 406 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,633 {\an1}Jim Crow wasn't completely rigid. 407 00:21:52,666 --> 00:21:57,666 {\an1}But what it did say was that in all kinds of environments, 408 00:21:58,766 --> 00:22:01,500 {\an1}that white people were in one group, 409 00:22:01,533 --> 00:22:03,533 {\an1}and everybody else was in a lower group. 410 00:22:04,766 --> 00:22:07,733 {\an1}- The way the Jim Crows worked was that it was, in fact, 411 00:22:07,766 --> 00:22:10,533 {\an1}a way of creating separation between the races, 412 00:22:10,566 --> 00:22:12,033 {\an1}and to remind individuals 413 00:22:12,066 --> 00:22:15,900 {\an1}that you are not of the same equality, of the same ilk, 414 00:22:15,933 --> 00:22:17,533 {\an1}as others in that circumstance. 415 00:22:34,566 --> 00:22:36,500 {\an1}- Jim Crow serves another purpose, 416 00:22:36,533 --> 00:22:41,133 {\an1}which is it takes away the dignity of African Americans. 417 00:22:41,566 --> 00:22:44,133 {\an1}And it takes away the trappings of respect 418 00:22:44,166 --> 00:22:46,333 and of human dignity from people 419 00:22:46,366 --> 00:22:49,700 {\an1}when they're in public places, when they're traveling. 420 00:22:54,766 --> 00:22:57,666 {\an1}- [Allyson] African Americans were really met 421 00:22:57,700 --> 00:23:00,033 {\an1}with tremendous resistance 422 00:23:00,066 --> 00:23:02,533 {\an1}about where they would sit on trains. 423 00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:08,400 {\an1}They had to sit in what was known as the Jim Crow car. 424 00:23:08,733 --> 00:23:10,833 [sad music] 425 00:23:14,500 --> 00:23:15,900 {\an1}- So, for example, in trains 426 00:23:15,933 --> 00:23:19,433 {\an1}what you have would be a Black car, or a colored car, 427 00:23:19,466 --> 00:23:22,233 {\an1}where you would have to, as that person of color, 428 00:23:22,266 --> 00:23:25,800 {\an1}sit in that car, as opposed to other places in the train. 429 00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:34,700 {\an7}- We had to ride in the first car behind the engine. 430 00:23:34,966 --> 00:23:36,900 {\an8}That was smoky. 431 00:23:36,933 --> 00:23:39,833 {\an1}And the fumes and things were really in that one. 432 00:23:41,333 --> 00:23:43,176 {\an1}- [Spencer] Either you traveled with the windows 433 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,333 {\an1}pulled down tightly, or, if you opened it, 434 00:23:45,366 --> 00:23:48,866 {\an1}the whole car was filled with soot. 435 00:23:48,900 --> 00:23:52,766 {\an1}- African Americans, regardless of their class status, 436 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:55,866 {\an1}regardless of their educational level, 437 00:23:55,900 --> 00:23:58,266 {\an1}had to sit in the smoking car. 438 00:23:58,300 --> 00:24:04,333 {\an1}Even when they had purchased a first class ticket. 439 00:24:05,266 --> 00:24:08,366 {\an7}- If you're a Black traveler, you don't just buy your ticket 440 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:12,466 {\an7}and get on a train and enjoyit and go where you want to go. 441 00:24:13,366 --> 00:24:16,166 {\an1}Or get on a bus and go where you want to go. 442 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:21,600 {\an1}It is fraught at every turn: Will you be safe? 443 00:24:21,633 --> 00:24:23,200 {\an1}Will you be harassed? 444 00:24:24,233 --> 00:24:26,366 {\an1}And people just get tired of it. 445 00:24:27,333 --> 00:24:29,000 {\an1}[sad emotional music] 446 00:24:53,133 --> 00:24:58,966 {\an1}- W. E. B. Du Bois talked about the wages of whiteness. 447 00:24:59,566 --> 00:25:04,200 {\an1}And by that he meant that white identity, historically, 448 00:25:04,233 --> 00:25:07,733 {\an1}in the United States, was constructed in such a way 449 00:25:07,766 --> 00:25:12,066 {\an1}to claim or to monopolize access to certain resources 450 00:25:12,100 --> 00:25:15,566 {\an1}and opportunities and spaces in American history. 451 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:23,700 {\an7}And By creating that hierarchy and by creating policies 452 00:25:23,733 --> 00:25:26,266 {\an7}of exclusion and segregation, 453 00:25:26,300 --> 00:25:30,900 {\an1}it did affect a kind of psychic wage 454 00:25:30,933 --> 00:25:35,433 {\an1}to be white and to know that you did enjoy certain freedoms 455 00:25:35,466 --> 00:25:38,233 {\an1}and certain access that other groups of people did not. 456 00:25:41,666 --> 00:25:45,533 {\an1}- White supremacy defines a level of white privilege, 457 00:25:45,566 --> 00:25:47,533 {\an1}that, on some level, is pretty low. 458 00:25:47,566 --> 00:25:50,400 {\an1}I mean, just think: You're a poor person. 459 00:25:50,433 --> 00:25:52,466 {\an1}You can drink from the white water fountain, 460 00:25:52,500 --> 00:25:55,566 {\an1}but I have to drink, a black person has to drink 461 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,066 {\an1}from the colored water fountain. 462 00:25:57,100 --> 00:25:58,333 {\an1}That doesn't really seem 463 00:25:58,366 --> 00:26:00,866 {\an1}like a tremendous privilege, does it? 464 00:26:03,233 --> 00:26:08,800 {\an1}But it is a small difference in ordinary life 465 00:26:09,766 --> 00:26:12,533 {\an1}that allows you to say: I'm White. 466 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,766 {\an1}I might be poor, I might not own any land. 467 00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,766 {\an1}I, too, might be a sharecropper, but I'm white. 468 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,866 {\an1}And these other people are not white. 469 00:26:24,633 --> 00:26:26,000 {\an1}And that is the line. 470 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:30,966 {\an1}- Segregation was incredibly painful. 471 00:26:31,866 --> 00:26:34,100 {\an1}It wasn't just about not being able 472 00:26:34,133 --> 00:26:37,633 {\an1}to use certain public accommodations, 473 00:26:37,666 --> 00:26:39,766 {\an1}but it was also about deference. 474 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,566 {\an1}It was about saying: "You are not worthy. 475 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:44,966 {\an1}[emotional music] 476 00:26:45,333 --> 00:26:49,100 {\an1}You are less than other people. 477 00:26:49,133 --> 00:26:50,600 {\an1}You are inferior." 478 00:26:52,100 --> 00:26:54,633 {\an1}It had a powerful effect on adults 479 00:26:54,666 --> 00:26:57,166 {\an1}and children psychologically. 480 00:26:58,966 --> 00:27:04,000 {\an1}- The story of Jim Crow is a story of everyday violence, 481 00:27:04,766 --> 00:27:08,300 {\an1}and the threat of violence, which can be just as potent 482 00:27:08,333 --> 00:27:11,066 {\an1}as the acts of violence, themselves. 483 00:27:11,100 --> 00:27:13,900 {\an1}The sense of bodily insecurity 484 00:27:13,933 --> 00:27:16,533 {\an1}that you, as an African American, have 485 00:27:16,566 --> 00:27:19,733 {\an1}in large parts of the American landscape. 486 00:27:19,766 --> 00:27:22,533 {\an1}That you might be at threat 487 00:27:22,566 --> 00:27:25,066 {\an1}because of what you look like at any given moment. 488 00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:27,333 {\an1}[emotional music continues] 489 00:27:30,433 --> 00:27:33,966 {\an1}- [Narrator] "A white man came up beside me in plain clothes 490 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,366 {\an1}with a great big pistol on his hip. 491 00:27:38,166 --> 00:27:42,233 {\an1}And he said, 'Nigger boy, what are you doing here?' 492 00:27:44,533 --> 00:27:48,566 {\an1}And I said, 'Well I'm waiting for the train to Shreveport.' 493 00:27:51,833 --> 00:27:54,433 {\an1}And he said, 'There's only one more train 494 00:27:54,466 --> 00:27:57,733 {\an1}comes through here, and that's at four o'clock, 495 00:27:59,633 --> 00:28:00,866 {\an1}and you'd better be on it, 496 00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:03,000 {\an1}because the sun is never going down 497 00:28:03,033 --> 00:28:04,966 {\an1}on a live nigger in this town.'" 498 00:28:08,766 --> 00:28:11,133 {\an7}Thurgood Marshall, 1938. 499 00:28:17,400 --> 00:28:21,266 {\an4}- [Crosby] They used to treat colored people terribly bad 500 00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,233 {\an4}in Mississippi and Alabama. 501 00:28:24,633 --> 00:28:27,566 {\an4}You know, they used topractically lynch colored people 502 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,433 {\an4}you might well say for looking at a white woman. 503 00:28:30,466 --> 00:28:33,700 {\an4}You know, they didn't seem to have too much of a chance. No. 504 00:28:33,733 --> 00:28:35,466 {\an5}[gloomy music] 505 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,166 {\an4}- [Walter] I heard my mother state this. 506 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,633 {\an4}She realized that if I stayed in the South, 507 00:29:23,666 --> 00:29:25,033 {\an4}I would get killed. 508 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,466 {\an4}And I think this is the background 509 00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:32,733 {\an4}which motivated them to leave. 510 00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,000 {\an1}- When there was a lynching in the South, 511 00:29:41,133 --> 00:29:44,333 {\an1}all the research shows that there was a spike 512 00:29:44,366 --> 00:29:48,333 {\an1}in the number of people leaving that town heading North. 513 00:29:48,366 --> 00:29:49,633 [soft music] 514 00:29:52,566 --> 00:29:53,600 {\an1}People would pack 515 00:29:53,633 --> 00:29:56,300 {\an1}as much as they could into boxes, into suitcases, 516 00:29:56,333 --> 00:29:57,342 {\an1}and whatever they could and get 517 00:29:57,366 --> 00:29:59,600 {\an1}on that transportation and leave. 518 00:30:02,833 --> 00:30:04,209 {\an1}- [Fath] Particularly, as a sharecropper 519 00:30:04,233 --> 00:30:08,833 {\an1}where you own nothing, you've angered a local white person 520 00:30:08,866 --> 00:30:11,000 {\an1}and you fear that there might be a lynch mob 521 00:30:11,033 --> 00:30:13,533 {\an1}or posse after you. 522 00:30:13,566 --> 00:30:15,166 {\an1}That part of what the Great Migration 523 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:17,200 {\an1}is about is getting away. 524 00:30:17,233 --> 00:30:18,600 {\an1}[soft brooding music] 525 00:30:20,266 --> 00:30:24,466 {\an1}- The Great Migration is the largest migration of people 526 00:30:24,500 --> 00:30:26,233 {\an1}within the United States. 527 00:30:26,266 --> 00:30:29,666 {\an1}I mean, it really starts in the early 20th century 528 00:30:29,700 --> 00:30:33,233 {\an1}and African Americans are leaving their homes 529 00:30:33,266 --> 00:30:35,666 {\an1}in the Southern States, and they're moving to the North, 530 00:30:35,700 --> 00:30:36,776 {\an1}they're moving to the West, 531 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:39,200 {\an1}and they're moving to cities like L.A., New York, 532 00:30:39,233 --> 00:30:42,333 {\an1}and Chicago, and Detroit, and Philadelphia. 533 00:30:42,366 --> 00:30:44,833 {\an1}And they are fleeing segregation, 534 00:30:44,866 --> 00:30:47,533 {\an1}they are fleeing terrorism, and lynching, 535 00:30:47,566 --> 00:30:50,533 {\an1}and they are fleeing economic inequality. 536 00:30:52,700 --> 00:30:55,866 {\an1}- [Male Narrator] "I pick up my life and take it with me. 537 00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:00,533 {\an1}"And I put it down in Chicago, 538 00:31:00,566 --> 00:31:02,100 {\an1}[uplifting music] 539 00:31:02,133 --> 00:31:03,133 "Detroit, 540 00:31:04,166 --> 00:31:05,166 "Buffalo, 541 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:07,000 "Scranton. 542 00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:12,633 {\an1}"I pick up my life and take it on the train 543 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:15,100 "to Los Angeles, 544 00:31:16,466 --> 00:31:17,600 "Bakersfield, 545 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:19,600 "Seattle, 546 00:31:20,666 --> 00:31:21,866 "Oakland, 547 00:31:21,900 --> 00:31:22,900 "Salt Lake. 548 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:27,933 {\an1}"Any place that is North and West 549 00:31:29,733 --> 00:31:30,733 "and not South." 550 00:31:33,066 --> 00:31:36,000 {\an1}Langston Hughes, 1949 551 00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:40,433 {\an1}- [Alvin] From 1916 to 1970, 552 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,833 {\an1}over six million African Americans migrated 553 00:31:45,866 --> 00:31:47,566 {\an1}from the South, North. 554 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,000 {\an1}These people eventually got tired of sharecropping, 555 00:31:54,033 --> 00:31:55,133 {\an1}tired of the lynchings, 556 00:31:56,466 --> 00:31:58,666 {\an1}tired of the brutality, 557 00:31:58,700 --> 00:32:00,633 {\an1}tired of the subservience. 558 00:32:01,566 --> 00:32:04,366 {\an1}A lot of black people saw this as an opportunity 559 00:32:04,400 --> 00:32:06,433 {\an1}to head North, where there were jobs, 560 00:32:06,466 --> 00:32:08,833 {\an1}where they could make much better money 561 00:32:08,866 --> 00:32:10,666 {\an1}than they could in the South. 562 00:32:10,700 --> 00:32:11,833 [music] 563 00:32:12,533 --> 00:32:14,533 {\an1}- [Male Narrator] "With ever watchful eyes 564 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:19,066 {\an1}"and bearing scars, visible and invisible, 565 00:32:20,133 --> 00:32:21,200 "I headed North, 566 00:32:22,700 --> 00:32:25,833 "full of a hazy notion that life 567 00:32:25,866 --> 00:32:27,400 {\an1}"could be lived with dignity." 568 00:32:28,966 --> 00:32:31,566 {\an1}Richard Wright, 1945. 569 00:32:35,500 --> 00:32:37,000 {\an7}- Let's look at a place like Detroit. 570 00:32:37,033 --> 00:32:39,166 {\an7}Before The Great Migration, 571 00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,933 {\an1}around three to four percent of the population 572 00:32:41,966 --> 00:32:43,233 {\an1}was African American. 573 00:32:43,266 --> 00:32:46,933 {\an1}After The Great Migration, over 40% was African American. 574 00:32:47,633 --> 00:32:49,166 {\an8}[slow music] 575 00:32:52,300 --> 00:32:56,000 {\an7}- Some people didn't have any idea where Detroit was. 576 00:32:56,033 --> 00:32:56,866 {\an1}I mean, some of the letters 577 00:32:56,900 --> 00:32:58,633 {\an1}that was coming from some of the people, 578 00:32:58,666 --> 00:33:00,833 {\an1}they couldn't even spell Detroit. 579 00:33:00,866 --> 00:33:05,933 {\an1}But it represented a certain kind of a Shangri-La paradise, 580 00:33:06,333 --> 00:33:09,166 {\an1}an opportunity to get away from the Ku Klux Klan, 581 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:11,566 {\an1}the Jim Crow system, the boll weevil, 582 00:33:11,600 --> 00:33:12,666 {\an1}and what have you. 583 00:33:12,700 --> 00:33:14,633 {\an1}But you're not gonna have a heavy influx 584 00:33:14,666 --> 00:33:19,666 {\an1}of African Americans until Henry Ford makes his offer. 585 00:33:20,266 --> 00:33:22,366 {\an1}Five dollars a day. 586 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:23,366 {\an1}Makes it sound like, 587 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:25,966 {\an1}"My goodness, this is a hell of a windfall." 588 00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:27,700 {\an1}[music continues] 589 00:33:30,266 --> 00:33:32,233 {\an1}So if you're a sharecropper and you're hearing 590 00:33:32,266 --> 00:33:35,566 {\an1}about that, that means that you dispense with the hoe, 591 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,800 {\an7}you dispense with the plow, you shoot the mule. 592 00:33:40,433 --> 00:33:41,609 {\an7}And get the next thing smokin' 593 00:33:41,633 --> 00:33:45,266 {\an1}out of there and get there as fast as you can to one 594 00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:46,300 of those jobs. 595 00:33:46,533 --> 00:33:48,300 {\an1}[rock and roll/blues music] 596 00:33:50,533 --> 00:33:52,533 {\an1}- [Gretchen] Looking back, Jim Crow laws really 597 00:33:52,566 --> 00:33:55,366 {\an1}came to a legal climax in 1896, 598 00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,666 {\an1}when the Supreme Court made separation 599 00:33:57,700 --> 00:34:00,233 {\an1}of the races legal all across the country 600 00:34:00,266 --> 00:34:02,566 {\an1}in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. 601 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,566 {\an1}And from then on, segregation had the force of law. 602 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:10,100 {\an1}Segregation laws existed all over the country. 603 00:34:10,133 --> 00:34:13,266 {\an7}But 1896 was a major turning point in another way. 604 00:34:13,300 --> 00:34:16,233 {\an7}Because by 1896, the automobile had been invented. 605 00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,733 {\an7}- It's difficult to overstate the importance of the road 606 00:34:20,766 --> 00:34:22,766 {\an7}and the car on American life. 607 00:34:22,800 --> 00:34:26,100 {\an1}The most distinctive aspect of American culture 608 00:34:26,133 --> 00:34:28,066 {\an1}is probably its mobility. 609 00:34:28,100 --> 00:34:32,000 {\an1}We did not invent the automobile or the road. 610 00:34:32,033 --> 00:34:34,300 {\an1}But, in fact, it was here that they reached 611 00:34:34,333 --> 00:34:35,633 {\an1}their fullest expression. 612 00:34:36,366 --> 00:34:39,633 {\an1}The Model T, of course, revolutionized American life. 613 00:34:41,366 --> 00:34:42,300 {\an1}- The automobile opens 614 00:34:42,333 --> 00:34:45,366 {\an1}up an incredible new world of industry. 615 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,833 {\an1}When you have cars, you have to have people 616 00:34:47,866 --> 00:34:49,900 {\an1}who manufacture automobiles. 617 00:34:50,866 --> 00:34:53,900 {\an1}- Ford Motor Company, amazingly, 618 00:34:53,933 --> 00:34:58,266 {\an1}was sort of progressive on the issue of African Americans, 619 00:34:58,300 --> 00:35:01,733 {\an1}much earlier than some of the other automobile companies. 620 00:35:01,766 --> 00:35:04,233 {\an1}Of course, Henry Ford is himself, 621 00:35:04,266 --> 00:35:07,833 {\an1}a highly prejudiced man, deeply anti-Semitic. 622 00:35:07,866 --> 00:35:09,800 {\an1}So it's a good way of understanding 623 00:35:09,833 --> 00:35:12,000 {\an1}that people are very complex. 624 00:35:12,033 --> 00:35:14,833 {\an7}- Most Black workers were stuck in the most unpleasant, 625 00:35:14,866 --> 00:35:17,200 {\an7}most dangerous jobs in the auto industry. 626 00:35:17,233 --> 00:35:18,800 {\an1}One was working in the foundries, 627 00:35:18,833 --> 00:35:22,133 {\an1}which were these huge furnaces, where steel was forged. 628 00:35:22,166 --> 00:35:25,033 {\an1}Hot, unpleasant, and dangerous. 629 00:35:25,366 --> 00:35:26,700 {\an1}[music continues] 630 00:35:26,733 --> 00:35:30,266 {\an1}Second, was African American workers were often involved 631 00:35:30,300 --> 00:35:31,566 {\an1}in lifting engines. 632 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:32,733 {\an1}Backbreaking work. 633 00:35:32,766 --> 00:35:34,533 {\an1}It was sometimes called man-killing, 634 00:35:34,566 --> 00:35:36,700 {\an1}because it was so dangerous. 635 00:35:36,733 --> 00:35:38,000 {\an1}Those were the kind of jobs 636 00:35:38,033 --> 00:35:38,966 {\an1}that African Americans 637 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:41,300 {\an1}mostly found themselves in, if they were lucky 638 00:35:41,333 --> 00:35:43,300 {\an1}enough to get a job in the auto industry. 639 00:35:45,766 --> 00:35:49,166 {\an1}- Things were not perfect when African Americans moved 640 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:50,166 to the North. 641 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,466 {\an1}They found themselves in segregated communities, 642 00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:54,100 {\an1}they found discrimination, 643 00:35:54,133 --> 00:35:57,300 {\an1}but they still were able to have a better life 644 00:35:57,333 --> 00:35:59,333 {\an1}than they had on the farms in the South. 645 00:36:02,433 --> 00:36:04,766 {\an1}- [Allyson] African American men sometimes made 646 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:09,166 {\an1}as much as 90 cents on a white man's dollar. 647 00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:12,533 {\an1}Ford and GM employed 648 00:36:13,566 --> 00:36:16,266 {\an1}numerous African Americans 649 00:36:16,300 --> 00:36:18,033 and they offered 650 00:36:18,066 --> 00:36:23,066 {\an1}a real pathway to middle class life 651 00:36:23,700 --> 00:36:27,100 {\an1}that had previously been unattainable 652 00:36:27,133 --> 00:36:28,733 {\an1}for many African Americans. 653 00:36:30,566 --> 00:36:31,533 {\an1}- [Kathleen] I mean, the car really 654 00:36:31,566 --> 00:36:33,100 {\an1}does break everything up. 655 00:36:33,133 --> 00:36:36,233 {\an1}It takes a while for certain groups to be able to adopt it. 656 00:36:38,166 --> 00:36:41,800 {\an1}But once mass production hits in 1913, 657 00:36:41,833 --> 00:36:44,533 {\an1}and the price of a Model T drops dramatically, 658 00:36:44,566 --> 00:36:46,733 {\an1}it becomes like three or $400, 659 00:36:46,766 --> 00:36:48,733 {\an1}so it's a lot more affordable. 660 00:36:48,766 --> 00:36:51,066 {\an1}And then it's just a snowball effect. 661 00:36:51,100 --> 00:36:55,200 {\an1}By 1925, people start to buy used cars, 662 00:36:55,233 --> 00:36:57,666 {\an1}and that becomes a new market as well. 663 00:36:57,700 --> 00:37:00,733 People can now buy not a new car for $300, 664 00:37:00,766 --> 00:37:03,866 {\an1}but a used car for something in a $100 range. 665 00:37:03,900 --> 00:37:06,800 {\an1}- So that by the late 1920s, 666 00:37:06,833 --> 00:37:09,833 {\an1}there was one automobile for every five Americans. 667 00:37:11,433 --> 00:37:14,666 {\an1}In 1929, almost every American, including lots 668 00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:17,333 {\an1}of African Americans, North and South, 669 00:37:17,366 --> 00:37:20,733 {\an1}could have gotten in an automobile and driven away. 670 00:37:20,766 --> 00:37:22,309 {\an1}- [Thomas] If you're an African American 671 00:37:22,333 --> 00:37:26,400 {\an1}and you can afford a car, even if it's a used car, 672 00:37:26,433 --> 00:37:29,466 {\an1}it provides a powerful alternative 673 00:37:29,500 --> 00:37:31,433 {\an1}to the daily indignities 674 00:37:31,833 --> 00:37:34,566 {\an1}of riding the rails, of riding a streetcar, 675 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:35,666 of riding a bus. 676 00:37:38,100 --> 00:37:40,500 {\an1}- [Allyson] What happens is African Americans 677 00:37:40,533 --> 00:37:44,400 {\an1}see purchasing cars 678 00:37:44,433 --> 00:37:46,266 {\an1}or driving in cars 679 00:37:46,300 --> 00:37:49,133 {\an1}as a way of getting 680 00:37:49,166 --> 00:37:54,400 {\an1}out of the segregated, dehumanizing, 681 00:37:54,433 --> 00:37:57,266 {\an1}humiliating experiences 682 00:37:57,300 --> 00:37:59,133 of train travel. 683 00:38:00,966 --> 00:38:03,800 {\an1}And so there's a real sense of relief, 684 00:38:03,833 --> 00:38:07,333 {\an1}and a sense of pride, and a sense of freedom, 685 00:38:07,366 --> 00:38:10,933 {\an1}a kind of final attainment of freedom 686 00:38:10,966 --> 00:38:14,433 {\an1}after all of this effort 687 00:38:14,466 --> 00:38:16,466 {\an1}and all of this struggle 688 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:19,866 {\an1}to be able to take a trip 689 00:38:20,266 --> 00:38:25,366 {\an1}and still enjoy one's own humanity while traveling. 690 00:38:27,733 --> 00:38:29,800 {\an1}- What the automobile allows 691 00:38:29,833 --> 00:38:31,833 {\an1}is personal freedom. 692 00:38:31,866 --> 00:38:34,866 {\an1}Once someone in a family could buy an automobile, 693 00:38:34,900 --> 00:38:36,900 {\an1}then it's possible to leave. 694 00:38:36,933 --> 00:38:39,300 {\an1}And you see these photographs of people 695 00:38:39,333 --> 00:38:41,800 with all their belongings packed 696 00:38:41,833 --> 00:38:44,933 on the car and they're leaving. 697 00:38:44,966 --> 00:38:46,933 {\an1}They're getting out. 698 00:38:46,966 --> 00:38:51,366 {\an1}The car gives you this personal freedom, 699 00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:53,833 {\an1}but you're still African American 700 00:38:54,966 --> 00:38:57,833 {\an1}in a society based on white supremacy. 701 00:38:59,566 --> 00:39:01,133 {\an1}- As the roadways open 702 00:39:01,166 --> 00:39:05,766 {\an1}up, you have a parallel movement occurring. 703 00:39:07,066 --> 00:39:09,433 {\an1}For white Americans, they're discovering the joys 704 00:39:09,466 --> 00:39:10,633 {\an1}of the open road. 705 00:39:11,566 --> 00:39:15,033 {\an7}They see this as a place where they can maybe drive 706 00:39:15,066 --> 00:39:18,233 {\an7}to California, see the Grand Canyon, 707 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:21,866 {\an1}go to Death Valley, or something like that. 708 00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:23,100 See a big city. 709 00:39:24,566 --> 00:39:28,700 For African Americans, this movement on the open road 710 00:39:28,733 --> 00:39:32,466 {\an1}is about seeking an opportunity for a better life. 711 00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:33,466 {\an1}White people don't have to think 712 00:39:33,500 --> 00:39:37,066 {\an1}about it because the myth of the open road 713 00:39:37,100 --> 00:39:38,666 {\an1}was created for them. 714 00:39:39,266 --> 00:39:40,766 {\an1}[whimsical music] 715 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:46,133 ♪ See the USA 716 00:39:46,166 --> 00:39:48,033 {\an1}♪ In your Chevrolet 717 00:39:48,066 --> 00:39:51,033 {\an1}♪ America is asking you to call ♪ 718 00:39:51,066 --> 00:39:53,733 {\an1}Think about all of those commercials. 719 00:39:53,766 --> 00:39:57,433 {\an1}♪ See the USA in your Chevrolet ♪ 720 00:39:57,466 --> 00:39:59,266 {\an1}All of those commercials. 721 00:39:59,300 --> 00:40:01,900 {\an1}Did you see black people in those commercials? 722 00:40:01,933 --> 00:40:02,800 No. 723 00:40:02,833 --> 00:40:05,233 - [Male Narrator] The open road at last. 724 00:40:05,266 --> 00:40:07,600 {\an1}When you're going places, knowing how to get ready 725 00:40:07,633 --> 00:40:11,500 {\an1}to go and how to get where you're going are important. 726 00:40:11,533 --> 00:40:13,300 {\an1}But knowing how to relax 727 00:40:13,333 --> 00:40:16,866 {\an1}and have fun while you'regoing is most important of all. 728 00:40:17,933 --> 00:40:18,976 {\an1}- They never really thought 729 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:20,900 {\an1}about black people driving the road. 730 00:40:20,933 --> 00:40:23,966 {\an1}And when they did, it was always a curiosity. 731 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,766 {\an1}- [Male Narrator] No passenger car has ever made this trip, 732 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:28,166 {\an1}where there is no road. 733 00:40:29,833 --> 00:40:32,366 {\an1}Don't blame for getting excited, 734 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,833 {\an1}an automobile is news in this part of the world. 735 00:40:34,866 --> 00:40:37,333 {\an1}- So while many white Americans 736 00:40:37,366 --> 00:40:39,666 {\an7}are using their vacation time 737 00:40:39,700 --> 00:40:42,333 {\an1}to go to national parks or travel elsewhere 738 00:40:42,366 --> 00:40:44,700 {\an1}in the country, many African Americans 739 00:40:44,733 --> 00:40:47,933 {\an1}who have moved to the North are now driving 740 00:40:47,966 --> 00:40:50,566 {\an1}back to the South to visit relatives 741 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,100 {\an1}who did not leave. 742 00:40:53,133 --> 00:40:55,066 {\an1}This is a really important part of the story, 743 00:40:55,100 --> 00:40:59,433 {\an1}that there was a kind of constant movement 744 00:40:59,466 --> 00:41:01,733 {\an1}to come back to the South, 745 00:41:01,766 --> 00:41:04,466 {\an1}there's kind of a culture of visiting, 746 00:41:04,500 --> 00:41:08,866 {\an1}for funerals, for weddings, for family reunions, 747 00:41:08,900 --> 00:41:10,233 {\an1}and other occasions. 748 00:41:10,266 --> 00:41:12,633 {\an1}- It wasn't only about seeing the relatives, 749 00:41:12,666 --> 00:41:14,866 {\an1}it was paying respect. 750 00:41:14,900 --> 00:41:17,166 {\an1}You went back to share whatever money you had saved, 751 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:20,033 {\an1}you went back to the church so that people could see 752 00:41:20,066 --> 00:41:21,800 {\an1}how well you were doing. 753 00:41:21,833 --> 00:41:25,200 {\an1}You went back to have mama'sfood or your grandmother's food 754 00:41:25,233 --> 00:41:26,800 {\an1}that you couldn't get up North. 755 00:41:26,833 --> 00:41:31,200 {\an1}All of those were really great bonds in people. 756 00:41:31,233 --> 00:41:35,366 {\an1}So despite knowing the risk of going back to the South, 757 00:41:36,366 --> 00:41:38,733 {\an1}you still wanted to go back. 758 00:41:38,766 --> 00:41:41,400 {\an1}- It also becomes a way that African Americans 759 00:41:41,433 --> 00:41:45,300 {\an1}who had moved to the North kind of use their cars 760 00:41:45,333 --> 00:41:49,533 {\an1}to sort of show off or showboat, as it was often called. 761 00:41:49,566 --> 00:41:53,600 {\an1}To sort of show how great life in the North was. 762 00:41:53,633 --> 00:41:54,900 [gentle music] 763 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:09,000 {\an1}♪ Swing low, sweet Cadillac 764 00:42:09,033 --> 00:42:12,066 {\an1}♪ Coming for to carry me home 765 00:42:12,100 --> 00:42:15,566 {\an1}♪ Swing low, sweet Cadillac 766 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:18,066 {\an1}♪ Coming for to carry me home 767 00:42:18,100 --> 00:42:22,066 {\an1}- There is a way in which some African Americans, prevented 768 00:42:22,100 --> 00:42:25,533 {\an1}from actually owning other forms of property, forms 769 00:42:25,566 --> 00:42:29,700 {\an1}of real estate, okay, develop 770 00:42:29,733 --> 00:42:34,466 {\an1}this idea that you can put your personhood, 771 00:42:34,966 --> 00:42:37,533 {\an1}the evidence of how well you're doing, in a car. 772 00:42:37,566 --> 00:42:39,066 {\an1}- And to have a Cadillac parked 773 00:42:39,100 --> 00:42:40,633 {\an1}out in front of your house, 774 00:42:40,666 --> 00:42:43,133 {\an1}in your driveway, was a sign 775 00:42:43,166 --> 00:42:44,600 {\an1}that you had kind of broke through. 776 00:42:44,633 --> 00:42:46,166 You had made it. 777 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:50,433 - A car is consistently a status symbol. 778 00:42:50,466 --> 00:42:54,266 What you drive reflects who you are. 779 00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:56,166 {\an1}Whether you're a family 780 00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:58,866 {\an1}and you're driving a Ford station wagon, 781 00:42:58,900 --> 00:43:00,500 {\an1}or you're Adam Clayton Powell, 782 00:43:00,533 --> 00:43:02,733 {\an1}and you're driving a Cadillac. 783 00:43:02,766 --> 00:43:05,366 {\an1}The automobile reflects who you are. 784 00:43:05,666 --> 00:43:07,033 [bright music] 785 00:43:10,633 --> 00:43:14,433 {\an1}- [Fath] The car comes to represent what many historians 786 00:43:14,466 --> 00:43:17,833 {\an1}would call a notion of democratic person-hood. 787 00:43:18,833 --> 00:43:22,433 {\an1}That you, as an individual, 788 00:43:22,466 --> 00:43:27,433 {\an1}can pilot your car to do whatever it is you want to do. 789 00:43:27,466 --> 00:43:31,033 {\an1}And it becomes a symbol of American freedom. 790 00:43:31,066 --> 00:43:32,300 [jazz music] 791 00:43:32,333 --> 00:43:39,300 {\an1}In film, in songs, in poems, in stories, cars represent 792 00:43:39,533 --> 00:43:42,700 {\an1}the open road, the ability to leave, 793 00:43:42,733 --> 00:43:44,833 {\an1}the ability to control your own destiny. 794 00:43:45,300 --> 00:43:47,233 {\an1}[upbeat jazz music continues] 795 00:43:54,133 --> 00:43:57,966 {\an1}- There is a long standing infatuation 796 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,766 {\an1}with the road in American culture. 797 00:44:01,800 --> 00:44:07,166 {\an1}The road symbolizes freedom, opportunity, discovery. 798 00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:11,800 {\an1}And that's a big part of American cultural history, 799 00:44:11,833 --> 00:44:13,966 {\an1}but it leaves out other perspectives 800 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,066 {\an1}of other communities. 801 00:44:18,066 --> 00:44:20,176 {\an1}- [Gretchen] Geographically, we were completely separated 802 00:44:20,200 --> 00:44:22,866 {\an1}into spaces that were divided by race. 803 00:44:22,900 --> 00:44:25,333 {\an4}So black people didn't venture 804 00:44:25,366 --> 00:44:29,033 {\an4}into white spaces, whitepeople generally didn't venture 805 00:44:29,066 --> 00:44:30,666 {\an1}into black spaces. 806 00:44:30,700 --> 00:44:32,900 {\an1}But the automobile changes that, right? 807 00:44:33,933 --> 00:44:37,333 Highways intersect all of these spaces, 808 00:44:37,366 --> 00:44:40,766 {\an1}and now people are out on the road moving between spaces. 809 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:43,566 {\an1}And it changes interactions, it changes etiquette, 810 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,366 {\an1}it changes the way we think about one another 811 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:48,466 {\an1}and the way we interact with one another. 812 00:44:48,500 --> 00:44:50,500 {\an1}And it really starts to open up the country 813 00:44:50,533 --> 00:44:52,900 {\an1}in ways that it had never been opened up before. 814 00:44:53,900 --> 00:44:55,633 {\an1}- I think the myth of mobility 815 00:44:55,666 --> 00:44:57,533 {\an1}in the United States, rests heavily 816 00:44:57,566 --> 00:45:00,533 {\an1}upon white people's experience with cars. 817 00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:04,666 {\an1}For African Americans, trips across country 818 00:45:04,700 --> 00:45:06,566 {\an1}are not adventures. 819 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:08,433 {\an1}They can often be trials. 820 00:45:08,466 --> 00:45:10,966 {\an1}- Black Americans had a very different experience 821 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:12,400 {\an1}from white Americans. 822 00:45:13,833 --> 00:45:15,600 {\an1}White Americans took for granted 823 00:45:15,633 --> 00:45:18,533 {\an1}that if you move your Buick, Oldsmobile or Ford 824 00:45:18,566 --> 00:45:20,600 {\an1}onto a highway, first of all, 825 00:45:20,633 --> 00:45:23,200 {\an1}there will be a gas station somewhere. 826 00:45:23,233 --> 00:45:25,833 {\an1}If something happens to it, you can get it repaired. 827 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:28,076 {\an1}But, secondly, somewhere along that road, 828 00:45:28,100 --> 00:45:30,933 {\an1}there's a place to stay. 829 00:45:30,966 --> 00:45:33,233 {\an1}It's hard for the rest of us to imagine 830 00:45:33,266 --> 00:45:34,500 {\an1}what it must have been like 831 00:45:34,533 --> 00:45:37,500 {\an1}with a car full of your family, whom you love, 832 00:45:37,533 --> 00:45:38,809 {\an1}and the kids are crying and saying 833 00:45:38,833 --> 00:45:40,600 {\an1}they want something to eat 834 00:45:40,633 --> 00:45:43,366 {\an1}and your wife is saying, "We gotta stop for the night." 835 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:46,866 {\an1}And what do you do? 836 00:45:49,200 --> 00:45:51,166 {\an1}- Well, in the South you knew where you could go 837 00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:53,333 {\an7}and where you couldn't go. 838 00:45:53,366 --> 00:45:55,666 {\an7}You knew you couldn't go into white restaurants, 839 00:45:55,700 --> 00:45:56,800 you knew that. 840 00:45:58,133 --> 00:46:01,266 {\an1}- Well, you adjust to the situation. 841 00:46:02,066 --> 00:46:05,366 {\an1}You know what you gotta do, 842 00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:06,966 {\an1}where you gotta go. 843 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:11,266 {\an1}You couldn't go in a restaurant, sit down and eat. 844 00:46:11,300 --> 00:46:14,366 {\an1}They'd sell you something at the side window. 845 00:46:17,066 --> 00:46:18,500 {\an1}- African Americans have to develop 846 00:46:18,533 --> 00:46:21,666 {\an1}this instinct he calls travel-craft, 847 00:46:21,700 --> 00:46:22,633 {\an1}and that is an ability 848 00:46:22,666 --> 00:46:25,133 {\an1}to figure out where they're comfortable, 849 00:46:25,166 --> 00:46:25,966 {\an1}where they're allowed 850 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:27,209 {\an1}and where if they go their things 851 00:46:27,233 --> 00:46:28,900 {\an1}might not work out so well. 852 00:46:29,733 --> 00:46:30,700 {\an1}Because you understand 853 00:46:30,733 --> 00:46:33,966 {\an1}that you're not welcome everywhere that you go. 854 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:35,966 {\an1}- No Jim Crow in your own car. 855 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:39,166 {\an1}Your car was your own personal private space. 856 00:46:39,200 --> 00:46:41,800 {\an1}African-Americans would carry everything they needed 857 00:46:41,833 --> 00:46:43,333 in their cars. 858 00:46:43,366 --> 00:46:44,900 {\an1}My parents would always carry one 859 00:46:44,933 --> 00:46:47,100 {\an1}of those big green Coleman coolers, 860 00:46:47,133 --> 00:46:50,100 {\an1}those big, heavy metal coolers and it would be full 861 00:46:50,133 --> 00:46:52,600 {\an1}of fried chicken and potato salad 862 00:46:52,633 --> 00:46:55,000 {\an1}and you would always carry everything 863 00:46:55,033 --> 00:46:56,133 that you needed. 864 00:46:56,166 --> 00:47:00,066 {\an1}And it never dawned on me at the time why that was. 865 00:47:00,100 --> 00:47:01,309 {\an1}I guess I thought it was peculiar 866 00:47:01,333 --> 00:47:04,166 {\an1}that we always had all the blankets and all the pillows 867 00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:04,966 in the car, 868 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:08,100 {\an1}but we never stopped. 869 00:47:10,533 --> 00:47:13,066 {\an1}- [Nancelia] And it seemed like we always left at night, 870 00:47:13,100 --> 00:47:15,766 {\an1}because it was safer at night. 871 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:18,700 {\an1}We didn't run into anybody that would give us trouble. 872 00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:22,000 {\an1}- [Walter] You slept in the car you slept 873 00:47:22,033 --> 00:47:24,366 {\an1}at a family friend's. 874 00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:26,366 {\an1}And you're always afraid sleeping in the car, 875 00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:28,100 {\an1}somebody stay awake, 876 00:47:28,133 --> 00:47:30,566 {\an1}because you don't know what's gonna happen. 877 00:47:31,233 --> 00:47:35,400 {\an1}White folks pull up on you and do whatever they want to you, 878 00:47:35,433 --> 00:47:36,433 you know. 879 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:38,900 And that was always the danger. 880 00:47:38,933 --> 00:47:42,533 {\an7}You'd try to pull back in the woods, off the highway, 881 00:47:42,566 --> 00:47:44,633 {\an7}where you might not be observed. 882 00:47:46,233 --> 00:47:47,233 [laughter] 883 00:47:47,266 --> 00:47:48,666 {\an1}That was the condition. 884 00:47:50,500 --> 00:47:52,400 {\an1}- [Herb] So one of the hazards of driving 885 00:47:52,433 --> 00:47:56,966 {\an1}was encountering people who were less interested 886 00:47:57,000 --> 00:47:59,333 {\an1}in you being in that particular neck in the woods. 887 00:47:59,366 --> 00:48:00,966 {\an1}And I say, neck in the woods, 888 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:05,566 {\an1}a neck in the woods, watch out for being lynched, 889 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:09,600 {\an1}or being harassed or terrified by these night riders 890 00:48:09,633 --> 00:48:12,566 {\an1}and people who absolutely, the most brutal aspects 891 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:15,600 {\an1}of racism were exercised on these drivers. 892 00:48:18,033 --> 00:48:20,600 {\an1}- That's part of what Jim Crow was about. 893 00:48:20,633 --> 00:48:24,633 {\an1}Is the anxiety that African Americans felt 894 00:48:24,666 --> 00:48:27,833 {\an1}whenever they were in a place that they didn't know well, 895 00:48:27,866 --> 00:48:30,800 {\an1}because they didn't know what the lines were. 896 00:48:30,833 --> 00:48:32,266 {\an1}But I think it is very difficult 897 00:48:32,300 --> 00:48:34,233 {\an1}to understand for young people, 898 00:48:34,266 --> 00:48:37,233 {\an1}because it had these kind of invisible rules, 899 00:48:37,266 --> 00:48:39,066 {\an1}that everyone knew were there. 900 00:48:39,100 --> 00:48:42,000 {\an1}And to cross them could result in your death. 901 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:43,966 [tense music] 902 00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:53,733 {\an1}- You really didn't know where you were stopping 903 00:48:53,766 --> 00:48:56,300 {\an1}and who might be unfriendly. 904 00:48:56,333 --> 00:49:01,633 {\an1}And even if people were not physically violent, 905 00:49:02,166 --> 00:49:05,500 {\an1}they might say things thatwere upsetting and humiliating. 906 00:49:06,833 --> 00:49:09,000 {\an1}And so, it was better not to stop. 907 00:49:09,033 --> 00:49:10,673 {\an1}- [Vernell] So that's why people had cars. 908 00:49:10,700 --> 00:49:14,066 {\an1}It was safer to have one, to get around in. 909 00:49:14,700 --> 00:49:18,866 {\an7}And as long as you knew where to get some gas, 910 00:49:18,900 --> 00:49:21,300 {\an1}and you never knew who would sell gas to you. 911 00:49:21,333 --> 00:49:23,366 {\an1}And so we knew about that anyway. 912 00:49:27,233 --> 00:49:30,866 {\an1}- I got up to Chattanooga, Tennessee. 913 00:49:32,033 --> 00:49:37,000 {\an1}And the odd thing, we're hungry, we're tired. 914 00:49:37,033 --> 00:49:38,800 {\an1}And I stopped the black guy, 915 00:49:38,833 --> 00:49:39,766 and I asked him, 916 00:49:39,800 --> 00:49:43,066 {\an1}"Where could I go to find something to eat?" 917 00:49:43,100 --> 00:49:46,666 {\an1}And he told us that there was a restaurant called 918 00:49:46,700 --> 00:49:48,700 {\an1}a Yellow Front Restaurant. 919 00:49:48,733 --> 00:49:51,166 {\an1}And my partner jumped out the car fast 920 00:49:52,400 --> 00:49:54,076 {\an1}and he wasn't paying attention, he was hungry. 921 00:49:54,100 --> 00:49:55,333 {\an1}He was running in. 922 00:49:55,366 --> 00:49:57,433 {\an1}And I'm calling to him, saying, "No, look out. 923 00:49:57,466 --> 00:49:58,266 "Wait, wait." 924 00:49:58,300 --> 00:50:00,700 'Cause they still had the signs up. 925 00:50:00,733 --> 00:50:03,533 {\an1}Black and white had the two different entrance. 926 00:50:03,566 --> 00:50:04,766 {\an1}The counter was in between, 927 00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:08,666 {\an1}so they could serve the white and the blacks on each side. 928 00:50:08,700 --> 00:50:11,600 {\an1}The jukebox was on our side. 929 00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:15,033 {\an1}And we ordered food. 930 00:50:16,466 --> 00:50:18,100 It never came. 931 00:50:18,133 --> 00:50:23,133 {\an1}And then a guy came out andcame around to play the jukebox. 932 00:50:26,566 --> 00:50:28,500 {\an1}And I never will forget this. 933 00:50:28,533 --> 00:50:29,600 {\an1}He played the song, 934 00:50:29,633 --> 00:50:32,133 {\an1}"Don't You Be Here When The Morning Come." 935 00:50:36,633 --> 00:50:38,266 [laughters] 936 00:50:38,733 --> 00:50:42,733 {\an1}So I told my partner, I said, "You don't have to worry. 937 00:50:42,766 --> 00:50:44,833 {\an1}"We'll be outta here and we'll be in another state 938 00:50:44,866 --> 00:50:46,066 {\an1}"when the morning come." 939 00:50:49,333 --> 00:50:52,000 {\an1}- Driving gives African Americans incredible freedom, 940 00:50:52,900 --> 00:50:54,900 {\an1}but it also was dangerous. 941 00:50:54,933 --> 00:50:57,300 {\an7}- It was a very different time driving through the country, 942 00:50:57,333 --> 00:51:00,233 {\an7}because you went through a lot of small towns, 943 00:51:00,266 --> 00:51:01,666 {\an1}you had to go through a main street, 944 00:51:01,700 --> 00:51:04,066 {\an1}you had to go in and out of sundown towns. 945 00:51:04,100 --> 00:51:05,133 {\an1}There were so many things 946 00:51:05,166 --> 00:51:08,433 {\an1}that you couldn't possibly prepare for. 947 00:51:10,633 --> 00:51:14,833 {\an1}- [Female Narrator] "I grew up in Texas in the 50s and 60s 948 00:51:14,866 --> 00:51:15,866 {\an1}"during Jim Crow. 949 00:51:17,466 --> 00:51:21,100 {\an1}"During that time, long distance road trips 950 00:51:21,133 --> 00:51:23,766 {\an1}"had a distinct flavor for Blacks 951 00:51:24,700 --> 00:51:26,666 {\an1}"and I remember it vividly. 952 00:51:28,200 --> 00:51:31,266 {\an1}"Packing enough food for the entire trip. 953 00:51:31,300 --> 00:51:34,066 {\an1}"No restaurants, 954 00:51:34,100 --> 00:51:36,300 {\an1}using the bathroom on the side of the road, 955 00:51:37,000 --> 00:51:39,133 {\an1}"no gas station bathrooms. 956 00:51:40,333 --> 00:51:44,900 {\an1}"Sleeping in the car on the side of the road, no motels. 957 00:51:46,166 --> 00:51:51,433 {\an1}"My most vivid memory was the sign I read every time 958 00:51:51,466 --> 00:51:53,233 {\an1}"we went through Greenville. 959 00:51:55,966 --> 00:52:00,966 {\an1}"Greenville The Blackest Land, The Whitest People." 960 00:52:02,600 --> 00:52:04,100 {\an1}Vernellia Randall. 961 00:52:06,533 --> 00:52:11,466 {\an1}- So the car sort of at all points 962 00:52:11,500 --> 00:52:16,300 {\an1}in history, it has this very conflicted role. 963 00:52:16,333 --> 00:52:20,900 {\an1}On the one hand, it often is offering opportunity, 964 00:52:20,933 --> 00:52:25,233 {\an1}it's offering the ability to feel a sense of freedom. 965 00:52:25,266 --> 00:52:30,233 {\an1}But then, on the other hand, it also exposes people 966 00:52:30,933 --> 00:52:34,200 {\an1}to more forms of violence, 967 00:52:34,233 --> 00:52:39,700 to more forms of indignity and humiliation. 968 00:52:40,933 --> 00:52:43,500 {\an1}- It's extraordinarily important to remember 969 00:52:43,533 --> 00:52:45,933 {\an1}that the road map might well be enough 970 00:52:45,966 --> 00:52:48,700 {\an1}for a white family moving across the United States. 971 00:52:48,733 --> 00:52:50,633 {\an1}For a Black family, the roadmap 972 00:52:50,666 --> 00:52:54,800 {\an1}was in fact, instrumental, but not complete. 973 00:52:54,833 --> 00:52:57,466 {\an1}It wasn't the body of information that they needed 974 00:52:57,500 --> 00:52:59,166 {\an1}to make that journey safely. 975 00:53:03,733 --> 00:53:05,000 [soft music] 976 00:53:06,800 --> 00:53:08,609 {\an1}- [Gretchen] African Americans wanted to travel, 977 00:53:08,633 --> 00:53:10,566 {\an1}just as white Americans wanted to travel. 978 00:53:10,600 --> 00:53:12,233 {\an1}They wanted to see the country. 979 00:53:12,266 --> 00:53:14,666 {\an1}They wanted their children to see museums, 980 00:53:14,700 --> 00:53:16,433 {\an1}and to see the national parks, 981 00:53:16,466 --> 00:53:19,033 {\an1}and know and love the country. 982 00:53:21,600 --> 00:53:23,800 {\an1}The problem with going out in a car, 983 00:53:23,833 --> 00:53:26,100 you're traversing white spaces. 984 00:53:26,133 --> 00:53:28,300 And it could be quite dangerous. 985 00:53:32,100 --> 00:53:34,800 {\an1}You had to take precautions, knowing the routes 986 00:53:34,833 --> 00:53:37,366 {\an1}that you were going to travel, what communities 987 00:53:37,400 --> 00:53:41,100 {\an1}you'd be going through, where you might stop for the night, 988 00:53:41,133 --> 00:53:43,000 {\an1}because you could encounter a mob. 989 00:53:44,733 --> 00:53:47,333 {\an1}You could make the wrong turn and end up in a community 990 00:53:47,366 --> 00:53:48,700 {\an1}that was not very welcoming, 991 00:53:48,733 --> 00:53:50,866 {\an1}that was not very friendly. 992 00:53:50,900 --> 00:53:52,733 {\an1}And many, many African Americans 993 00:53:52,766 --> 00:53:55,700 {\an1}during Jim Crow accidentally ventured 994 00:53:55,733 --> 00:53:57,133 {\an1}into the wrong spaces. 995 00:53:59,866 --> 00:54:02,200 {\an1}- There was this concept that you had to go 996 00:54:02,233 --> 00:54:06,833 {\an7}from known people to known people to be safe. 997 00:54:06,866 --> 00:54:10,433 {\an7}So it is a kind of word-of-mouth network 998 00:54:10,466 --> 00:54:12,166 {\an1}that gets bigger and bigger, 999 00:54:12,200 --> 00:54:17,233 {\an1}because local knowledge, knowing people along the route 1000 00:54:17,266 --> 00:54:18,833 {\an1}was enormously important. 1001 00:54:19,766 --> 00:54:23,500 {\an1}So these guides come in to fill in this gap. 1002 00:54:23,533 --> 00:54:25,800 {\an4}Because everybody doesn't know someone in all parts 1003 00:54:25,833 --> 00:54:27,033 of the country. 1004 00:54:27,066 --> 00:54:28,376 - [Jennifer] So here is a travel guide, 1005 00:54:28,400 --> 00:54:30,966 {\an4}it's just a pamphlet you could have gotten 1006 00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:33,666 {\an4}that lists all of these hotels, and motels, 1007 00:54:33,700 --> 00:54:35,133 {\an4}and guest houses. 1008 00:54:35,166 --> 00:54:37,300 {\an4}It has some advertisements on the back. 1009 00:54:39,000 --> 00:54:41,600 {\an1}- [Gretchen] There were a series of travel guides 1010 00:54:41,633 --> 00:54:45,133 {\an1}that were produced that provided information 1011 00:54:45,166 --> 00:54:46,633 {\an1}for African American travelers 1012 00:54:46,666 --> 00:54:50,266 {\an1}about places to stay, places to eat, places 1013 00:54:50,300 --> 00:54:53,966 {\an1}that would be safe as they were driving along the road. 1014 00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:56,133 {\an1}There was Smith's Guide, there was Grayson's Guide, 1015 00:54:56,166 --> 00:54:58,300 {\an1}there was the Traveler's Guide. 1016 00:54:58,333 --> 00:55:00,600 {\an4}And of course, there was the Negro Motorist Green Book, 1017 00:55:00,633 --> 00:55:03,100 {\an1}which is the guide that everyone has heard about. 1018 00:55:04,100 --> 00:55:05,400 {\an1}- [Male Narrator] "We obtained 1019 00:55:05,433 --> 00:55:07,133 {\an1}"the most important book needed 1020 00:55:07,166 --> 00:55:11,733 {\an1}"for Negroes who traveled anywhere in the United States. 1021 00:55:12,733 --> 00:55:14,900 {\an1}"It was called the Green Book. 1022 00:55:15,933 --> 00:55:18,533 {\an1}"The Green Book was the bible 1023 00:55:18,566 --> 00:55:21,066 {\an1}"of every Negro highway traveler. 1024 00:55:21,100 --> 00:55:25,133 {\an1}"You literally didn't dare leave home without it." 1025 00:55:25,166 --> 00:55:26,500 [jazz music] 1026 00:55:26,533 --> 00:55:28,233 {\an1}Earl Hutchinson Senior. 1027 00:55:30,233 --> 00:55:32,900 {\an1}- [Gretchen] Victor Green was the businessman 1028 00:55:32,933 --> 00:55:36,066 {\an1}who started The Negro Motorist's Green Book, 1029 00:55:36,100 --> 00:55:37,900 {\an1}which was an African American travel guide 1030 00:55:37,933 --> 00:55:40,200 {\an1}that started in 1936 1031 00:55:40,233 --> 00:55:42,700 {\an1}and it was a simple listing by state, 1032 00:55:42,733 --> 00:55:45,466 {\an1}of tourist homes and guesthouses, hotels 1033 00:55:45,500 --> 00:55:48,800 {\an1}and motels, restaurants, nightclubs, 1034 00:55:48,833 --> 00:55:51,300 {\an1}even beauty parlors and barbershops 1035 00:55:51,333 --> 00:55:53,100 {\an1}that African Americans could use 1036 00:55:53,133 --> 00:55:55,133 {\an1}as they traveled throughout the country. 1037 00:55:56,233 --> 00:55:59,666 {\an1}- [Alvin] He was a postman who lived up in Harlem, 1038 00:55:59,700 --> 00:56:01,733 {\an1}but had a route in New Jersey. 1039 00:56:02,400 --> 00:56:05,733 {\an1}He and his wife, Alma, would go back to the South 1040 00:56:05,766 --> 00:56:08,666 {\an1}to visit her relatives during the summer. 1041 00:56:09,666 --> 00:56:13,566 {\an1}So I think what was the personal motivation 1042 00:56:13,600 --> 00:56:16,466 {\an1}was this trip back to the South. 1043 00:56:16,500 --> 00:56:18,433 {\an1}How can I do this trip without having 1044 00:56:18,466 --> 00:56:20,466 {\an1}to experience the indignations 1045 00:56:20,500 --> 00:56:22,766 {\an1}of segregation and Jim Crow? 1046 00:56:23,933 --> 00:56:26,633 {\an1}- It was an ingenious idea that he had. 1047 00:56:26,666 --> 00:56:27,466 {\an1}I mean, this is a man 1048 00:56:27,500 --> 00:56:30,200 {\an1}that had no real capital, no power. 1049 00:56:30,233 --> 00:56:32,633 {\an7}He found a white publisher. 1050 00:56:32,666 --> 00:56:33,533 {\an7}- The name of the company 1051 00:56:33,566 --> 00:56:34,809 {\an7}was Gibraltar Printing and Publishing. 1052 00:56:34,833 --> 00:56:36,800 {\an7}It appears sometimes in the Green Book. 1053 00:56:38,266 --> 00:56:40,833 {\an1}And at that time, my father was a printer. 1054 00:56:40,866 --> 00:56:43,900 {\an1}They used to print what they call dream books, 1055 00:56:43,933 --> 00:56:46,533 {\an1}which were very popular in Harlem before the lottery. 1056 00:56:50,866 --> 00:56:51,942 {\an1}And people would have a dream. 1057 00:56:51,966 --> 00:56:54,166 {\an1}If they dreamed of a cat, it'd be number seven. 1058 00:56:54,200 --> 00:56:56,233 {\an1}If they dream of a dog, it's number two. 1059 00:56:56,266 --> 00:56:57,542 {\an1}And somebody always hit the number 1060 00:56:57,566 --> 00:56:59,200 {\an1}because there was enough options. 1061 00:57:00,266 --> 00:57:02,333 {\an1}And Mr. Green came up, and I was a kid, 1062 00:57:02,366 --> 00:57:04,433 {\an1}maybe 10 years old or so. 1063 00:57:04,466 --> 00:57:06,233 {\an1}And I remember meeting him 1064 00:57:06,266 --> 00:57:08,333 {\an1}and he was very tall and distinguished. 1065 00:57:08,800 --> 00:57:14,200 {\an1}- He had the courage, but also the resilience in knowing, 1066 00:57:14,233 --> 00:57:15,266 {\an1}"I'ma leave Harlem, 1067 00:57:15,300 --> 00:57:16,500 {\an1}"I'm gonna go to Midtown, 1068 00:57:16,533 --> 00:57:17,542 {\an1}"I'm gonna find a white publisher." 1069 00:57:17,566 --> 00:57:19,966 {\an1}There's a certain kind of person that does that. 1070 00:57:20,000 --> 00:57:22,466 {\an1}- [Howard] We started to print in the plant at the time. 1071 00:57:22,500 --> 00:57:25,200 {\an1}For some reason, there were a lot of Italian printers, 1072 00:57:25,233 --> 00:57:27,133 {\an1}And when they found out Mr. Green was black, 1073 00:57:27,166 --> 00:57:28,766 {\an1}they didn't wanna print the book. 1074 00:57:28,800 --> 00:57:31,266 {\an1}So my dad, very pragmatic, said, 1075 00:57:31,300 --> 00:57:34,166 {\an1}"Listen guys, if you don't wanna print it, 1076 00:57:34,200 --> 00:57:36,333 {\an1}"I'll get somebody else to do your job, 1077 00:57:36,366 --> 00:57:40,300 {\an1}"because as long as it's not illegal or pornographic, 1078 00:57:40,333 --> 00:57:41,466 {\an1}"we're gonna print it." 1079 00:57:42,800 --> 00:57:45,800 {\an1}So they changed their mind and they ended up staying 1080 00:57:45,833 --> 00:57:48,566 {\an1}in the job and printing the Green Book. 1081 00:57:48,600 --> 00:57:50,276 {\an1}- [Candacy] The other advantage that Victor Green 1082 00:57:50,300 --> 00:57:54,133 {\an1}had was that he knew these black marketing executives 1083 00:57:54,166 --> 00:57:56,133 {\an1}at Esso gas station. 1084 00:57:56,166 --> 00:58:00,433 {\an1}Esso was the Standard Oil, which is ExxonMobil today. 1085 00:58:01,633 --> 00:58:03,666 {\an1}Victor Green knew James Jackson. 1086 00:58:03,700 --> 00:58:07,500 {\an1}And because James Jackson'sjob as a representative of Esso 1087 00:58:07,533 --> 00:58:10,233 {\an1}was to capitalize on this black market, 1088 00:58:10,266 --> 00:58:14,400 {\an1}but also to give black businesses opportunities 1089 00:58:14,433 --> 00:58:15,733 {\an1}to be connected to Esso, 1090 00:58:15,766 --> 00:58:18,100 {\an1}it was again a symbiotic relationship, 1091 00:58:18,133 --> 00:58:19,433 {\an1}it was a win-win. 1092 00:58:22,200 --> 00:58:23,166 {\an1}There were so many people 1093 00:58:23,200 --> 00:58:26,100 {\an1}that worked for Esso gas stations at every level 1094 00:58:26,133 --> 00:58:28,200 {\an1}of the business who were Black. 1095 00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:32,900 {\an1}Black men franchised and rantheir own gas stations at Esso, 1096 00:58:32,933 --> 00:58:35,366 {\an1}this wasn't true for any of the other companies. 1097 00:58:36,700 --> 00:58:41,033 {\an1}And so when Victor Green became the key travel guide 1098 00:58:41,066 --> 00:58:44,166 {\an1}for Esso, for their Black customers, 1099 00:58:44,200 --> 00:58:48,266 {\an1}the Green Book was at nearly every Esso gas station. 1100 00:58:48,300 --> 00:58:51,500 {\an1}So that was another distribution model 1101 00:58:51,533 --> 00:58:54,433 {\an1}that allowed the Green Book to become successful. 1102 00:58:55,866 --> 00:58:57,833 {\an1}It grew very very fast. 1103 00:58:57,866 --> 00:58:59,466 {\an1}Within a couple of years, 1104 00:58:59,500 --> 00:59:03,066 {\an1}it had expanded to practically every state, east 1105 00:59:03,100 --> 00:59:04,366 {\an1}of the Mississippi River. 1106 00:59:05,833 --> 00:59:08,900 {\an1}It blew the boundaries of where you could go. 1107 00:59:08,933 --> 00:59:11,233 {\an1}The fact that it allowed you to map 1108 00:59:11,266 --> 00:59:13,933 {\an1}where you're going to go next. 1109 00:59:13,966 --> 00:59:16,766 {\an1}- [Herb] So that's why the Green Book was indispensable. 1110 00:59:16,800 --> 00:59:20,900 {\an1}It had to give you some way to find a place 1111 00:59:20,933 --> 00:59:24,433 {\an7}where you could be relieved, you could get some rest, 1112 00:59:24,466 --> 00:59:27,933 {\an7}get something to eat, without being violated. 1113 00:59:27,966 --> 00:59:29,109 {\an7}- [Jennifer] Guidebooks like this act 1114 00:59:29,133 --> 00:59:32,100 {\an1}as a sort of transect through the American experience. 1115 00:59:32,133 --> 00:59:34,333 {\an1}So it's almost like cutting a section 1116 00:59:34,366 --> 00:59:38,333 {\an1}that cuts through tourism, the civil rights movement, 1117 00:59:38,366 --> 00:59:41,400 {\an1}education, professional advancement, 1118 00:59:41,433 --> 00:59:44,233 {\an1}almost every kind of important thing that was changing 1119 00:59:44,266 --> 00:59:46,966 {\an1}in the 1950's and 60's is touched in some way 1120 00:59:47,000 --> 00:59:48,633 by these guides. 1121 00:59:48,666 --> 00:59:50,200 [soft music] 1122 00:59:50,633 --> 00:59:56,066 {\an1}- Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, 1123 00:59:56,100 --> 00:59:57,933 {\an1}"and narrow-mindedness." 1124 00:59:57,966 --> 01:00:02,033 {\an1}And this is the phrase that Victor Green adopted 1125 01:00:02,066 --> 01:00:05,033 {\an1}as his mantra for the Negro Motorist Green Book. 1126 01:00:05,066 --> 01:00:06,700 {\an1}I think when Mark Twain said 1127 01:00:06,733 --> 01:00:11,733 {\an1}it, he was talking broadly about all people in all cultures. 1128 01:00:12,300 --> 01:00:15,466 {\an1}But I think for Victor Green, he was talking 1129 01:00:15,500 --> 01:00:18,566 {\an1}about travel being fatal to white prejudice. 1130 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:20,966 {\an1}- Well, this is the whole thing. 1131 01:00:21,000 --> 01:00:23,833 {\an1}It's like separation permits the continuation 1132 01:00:23,866 --> 01:00:27,433 {\an1}the perpetuation of stereotypes, and fear, and disbelief. 1133 01:00:27,466 --> 01:00:30,800 {\an1}But every time people come together on equal terms, 1134 01:00:30,833 --> 01:00:34,233 {\an1}there's this moment, where you don't have the apparatus 1135 01:00:34,266 --> 01:00:36,633 {\an1}of racism around you anymore. 1136 01:00:36,666 --> 01:00:38,633 {\an1}And there's a moment in an encounter, 1137 01:00:38,666 --> 01:00:41,666 {\an1}where your racism is challenged. 1138 01:00:41,700 --> 01:00:44,366 {\an1}And so travel allows that to happen. 1139 01:00:45,466 --> 01:00:47,833 {\an1}- [Gretchen] Victor Green's mantra was an effort 1140 01:00:47,866 --> 01:00:52,500 {\an1}to convince white people in this country 1141 01:00:52,533 --> 01:00:55,100 that Black people were just like you. 1142 01:00:57,666 --> 01:01:00,133 {\an1}- The Green Book actually does something 1143 01:01:00,166 --> 01:01:02,600 {\an1}for us that we need. 1144 01:01:02,633 --> 01:01:04,966 {\an1}It reminds us of the world 1145 01:01:05,000 --> 01:01:09,700 {\an1}that black people created under the regime of segregation. 1146 01:01:09,733 --> 01:01:12,766 {\an1}And we don't need to be nostalgic about Jim Crow, 1147 01:01:12,800 --> 01:01:15,333 {\an1}to celebrate the extraordinary genius, 1148 01:01:15,366 --> 01:01:18,266 {\an1}of the brilliance of black entrepreneurs, 1149 01:01:18,300 --> 01:01:22,933 {\an1}the men and women who built businesses in the confines 1150 01:01:22,966 --> 01:01:25,566 {\an1}of a viscous segregation system. 1151 01:01:27,033 --> 01:01:30,700 {\an1}- There's a certain kind of harmonious collectivity 1152 01:01:30,733 --> 01:01:34,066 {\an1}there, in terms of the overall progress of the people 1153 01:01:34,100 --> 01:01:37,900 {\an1}and how you can now unify and fight back 1154 01:01:37,933 --> 01:01:39,966 {\an1}against some of these elements 1155 01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:42,500 {\an1}of discrimination and segregation. 1156 01:01:43,733 --> 01:01:45,533 {\an1}- [Candacy] This is just new data to us, 1157 01:01:45,566 --> 01:01:49,966 {\an1}it's a new way to look at to map Black businesses. 1158 01:01:50,000 --> 01:01:51,900 {\an1}I mean, the Green Book in and of itself 1159 01:01:51,933 --> 01:01:52,733 {\an1}was a travel guide, 1160 01:01:52,766 --> 01:01:56,133 {\an1}but was also more of a testimony 1161 01:01:56,166 --> 01:01:59,000 {\an1}to Black entrepreneurship, really. 1162 01:01:59,033 --> 01:02:01,266 {\an1}I mean, to me, that's really what it is. 1163 01:02:03,166 --> 01:02:06,366 {\an1}- [Gretchen] And so you have this parallel world 1164 01:02:06,400 --> 01:02:09,200 {\an1}that African Americans have constructed 1165 01:02:09,233 --> 01:02:12,566 {\an1}that enabled them to move forward, 1166 01:02:12,600 --> 01:02:14,000 {\an1}to continue moving forward. 1167 01:02:17,600 --> 01:02:18,609 {\an1}- [Valerie] Rock Rest holds 1168 01:02:18,633 --> 01:02:20,500 {\an1}a very warm place in my heart, 1169 01:02:20,533 --> 01:02:24,133 {\an1}because it was the home of family friends. 1170 01:02:24,166 --> 01:02:29,300 {\an1}The woman who ran Rock Rest was Aunt Hazel. 1171 01:02:29,333 --> 01:02:33,066 {\an8}She knew how to cook everything 1172 01:02:33,100 --> 01:02:37,000 {\an7}and she served her guests the best of everything. 1173 01:02:38,133 --> 01:02:39,800 {\an7}Every Sunday was lobster day, 1174 01:02:39,833 --> 01:02:42,266 {\an1}so that would be Lobster Thermidor, 1175 01:02:42,300 --> 01:02:44,100 {\an1}Of course, everything is homemade. 1176 01:02:44,133 --> 01:02:45,566 {\an1}She could just do it all. 1177 01:02:45,933 --> 01:02:47,233 [soft music] 1178 01:02:48,233 --> 01:02:51,033 {\an1}- [Alvin] The women were truly entrepreneurial. 1179 01:02:51,066 --> 01:02:53,700 {\an1}Think, in all these small towns, 1180 01:02:53,733 --> 01:02:55,600 {\an1}where people needed a place to stay, 1181 01:02:55,633 --> 01:02:58,433 {\an1}where these women they would make you food, 1182 01:02:58,466 --> 01:02:59,700 {\an1}they would have information 1183 01:02:59,733 --> 01:03:02,766 {\an1}about where you could go to get your hair done, 1184 01:03:02,800 --> 01:03:05,033 {\an1}local church services. 1185 01:03:05,066 --> 01:03:07,800 {\an1}They were a font of information 1186 01:03:07,833 --> 01:03:10,366 {\an7}that gave the travelers during that period 1187 01:03:10,400 --> 01:03:13,633 {\an7}of time, a lot of that security. 1188 01:03:13,666 --> 01:03:16,366 {\an7}They wanted the familiar things, the food, 1189 01:03:16,400 --> 01:03:18,566 {\an1}the smells, the warmth. 1190 01:03:18,900 --> 01:03:20,433 {\an1}[soft music continues] 1191 01:03:29,566 --> 01:03:32,533 {\an1}- Black people in these spaces had dreams 1192 01:03:32,566 --> 01:03:34,366 {\an1}and they were fully aware of those dreams, 1193 01:03:34,400 --> 01:03:36,166 {\an1}and they're still having a good time, 1194 01:03:36,200 --> 01:03:37,342 even though they're living in a world 1195 01:03:37,366 --> 01:03:39,666 {\an1}that tries to limit their mobility in terms of 1196 01:03:39,700 --> 01:03:41,800 {\an1}where they can be and in who they can be 1197 01:03:41,833 --> 01:03:44,400 {\an1}and that's not going to stop them from dreaming. 1198 01:03:44,433 --> 01:03:46,500 {\an1}And if you were doing this during the 50s 1199 01:03:46,533 --> 01:03:47,633 [chuckle] 1200 01:03:47,666 --> 01:03:48,566 {\an1}you also had to be a bit aware 1201 01:03:48,600 --> 01:03:50,766 {\an1}about where that good time was being had. 1202 01:03:58,200 --> 01:04:01,166 {\an1}- Oh Lord, eons ago. 1203 01:04:01,900 --> 01:04:05,100 {\an7}That was when the motel was jumping. 1204 01:04:12,466 --> 01:04:15,666 {\an1}- Started with about three or four rooms. 1205 01:04:15,700 --> 01:04:21,266 {\an1}But he invested in the business so that it 1206 01:04:21,300 --> 01:04:25,233 got at least to about 35 rooms. 1207 01:04:28,766 --> 01:04:31,700 {\an1}Ray Charles' band used to come through a lot, 1208 01:04:31,733 --> 01:04:34,500 {\an1}if they were playin' anywhere in the South. 1209 01:04:35,300 --> 01:04:38,133 {\an7}I can remember one time Dinah Washington sat 1210 01:04:38,166 --> 01:04:41,766 {\an7}at the piano and played, you know, 1211 01:04:42,600 --> 01:04:44,466 {\an1}and then joined them. 1212 01:04:45,100 --> 01:04:46,733 {\an1}[light jazz music] 1213 01:04:53,033 --> 01:04:55,133 {\an1}- Idlewild is another brilliant example, 1214 01:04:55,166 --> 01:04:56,133 {\an1}What an amazing space. 1215 01:04:56,166 --> 01:04:58,366 {\an1}It's like around this lake, houses, beautiful, 1216 01:04:58,400 --> 01:05:00,566 {\an1}they were horseback riding, playing outside. 1217 01:05:00,600 --> 01:05:02,333 {\an1}It was known as the Chitlin Circuit. 1218 01:05:02,366 --> 01:05:04,233 {\an1}Famous Black singers would come through. 1219 01:05:04,266 --> 01:05:06,866 {\an1}So they're partying, they're having a great time. 1220 01:05:07,700 --> 01:05:09,433 {\an1}- I also think that we need to tell 1221 01:05:09,466 --> 01:05:12,433 {\an1}the story about Jim Crow America less 1222 01:05:12,466 --> 01:05:16,133 around what was denied and more around, 1223 01:05:16,166 --> 01:05:18,666 {\an7}these folks didn't take that and go, 1224 01:05:18,700 --> 01:05:20,566 {\an7}"This was what was denied to us." 1225 01:05:20,600 --> 01:05:23,166 {\an1}they said, "Here's a niche opportunity. 1226 01:05:23,200 --> 01:05:24,733 {\an1}We are going to take advantage 1227 01:05:24,766 --> 01:05:26,933 {\an1}of those opportunities and build institutions, 1228 01:05:26,966 --> 01:05:29,166 {\an1}build businesses, build churches." 1229 01:05:29,200 --> 01:05:30,800 {\an1}Somebody's got to do that work. 1230 01:05:31,800 --> 01:05:33,042 {\an1}Here are the folks that saw an opportunity 1231 01:05:33,066 --> 01:05:36,266 {\an1}for that work to be done, and took advantage of it. 1232 01:05:36,300 --> 01:05:38,333 {\an1}[lively jazz music] 1233 01:05:38,966 --> 01:05:41,600 {\an1}- His vision for Lincoln Hills was for Winks 1234 01:05:41,633 --> 01:05:44,866 {\an1}to be a country club for black people. 1235 01:05:44,900 --> 01:05:46,400 {\an7}That was his vision. 1236 01:05:46,433 --> 01:05:50,533 {\an1}And he built that lodge up there and cabins 1237 01:05:50,566 --> 01:05:52,033 {\an1}around for people to rent. 1238 01:05:52,066 --> 01:05:54,600 {\an1}And there were people from all over, 1239 01:05:55,166 --> 01:05:56,800 {\an1}It was like a resort. 1240 01:05:57,600 --> 01:05:59,200 {\an1}- Well, for me, I think it's the same 1241 01:05:59,233 --> 01:06:03,100 {\an1}significance that my great-grandfather felt. 1242 01:06:03,133 --> 01:06:04,833 {\an1}It's a part of the American dream. 1243 01:06:04,866 --> 01:06:09,033 {\an1}It's a part of being able to recreate a place 1244 01:06:09,066 --> 01:06:11,666 {\an1}where they could feel safe in the mountains. 1245 01:06:12,866 --> 01:06:15,633 {\an1}Colorado has a sordid history, 1246 01:06:15,666 --> 01:06:17,566 {\an7}like many other places. 1247 01:06:17,600 --> 01:06:20,466 {\an7}In the '20s and '30s, the KKK 1248 01:06:20,500 --> 01:06:23,500 {\an7}was very prevalent in Colorado. 1249 01:06:23,533 --> 01:06:25,833 {\an1}There were many members of the KKK 1250 01:06:25,866 --> 01:06:29,833 {\an1}that were in either government or police departments, 1251 01:06:29,866 --> 01:06:33,000 {\an1}but Lincoln Hills was a safe haven 1252 01:06:33,033 --> 01:06:37,166 {\an1}for my great-grandfather, grandparents, 1253 01:06:37,200 --> 01:06:38,866 {\an1}the grandchildren like me. 1254 01:06:38,900 --> 01:06:40,866 {\an1}[lively jazz music continues] 1255 01:06:42,300 --> 01:06:45,500 {\an1}- Five Points was something that you could smile about. 1256 01:06:45,533 --> 01:06:48,433 {\an1}It was just like the streets of Vegas. 1257 01:06:48,466 --> 01:06:51,000 {\an7}If you came down here and you was feeling low, 1258 01:06:51,033 --> 01:06:52,400 {\an7}it wasn't for long. 1259 01:06:53,633 --> 01:06:57,300 {\an1}- The Rossonian Hotel was, and still is, 1260 01:06:57,333 --> 01:07:00,800 {\an1}one of the jewels of the Five Points neighborhood. 1261 01:07:00,833 --> 01:07:02,600 {\an1}Artists like Ella Fitzgerald, 1262 01:07:02,633 --> 01:07:05,833 {\an1}Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, 1263 01:07:05,866 --> 01:07:08,366 {\an1}would be able to perform all over the city 1264 01:07:08,400 --> 01:07:10,800 {\an1}and metro area, but couldn't stay in the hotels 1265 01:07:10,833 --> 01:07:12,066 {\an1}in the white neighborhoods. 1266 01:07:12,100 --> 01:07:14,200 {\an1}They would come to Five Points and stay 1267 01:07:14,233 --> 01:07:17,266 {\an7}at the Rossonian, where they were allowed to stay, 1268 01:07:17,300 --> 01:07:19,200 {\an7}and then party really started, 1269 01:07:19,233 --> 01:07:21,133 {\an1}that around midnight or one o'clock 1270 01:07:21,166 --> 01:07:23,000 {\an1}in the morning, up until sunrise. 1271 01:07:33,100 --> 01:07:34,566 {\an1}- The Dew Drop Inn? 1272 01:07:34,600 --> 01:07:36,866 {\an1}Yes, that was the place to go. 1273 01:07:36,900 --> 01:07:39,166 {\an1}That was Frank Pania's place. 1274 01:07:39,500 --> 01:07:41,466 {\an1}- The Dew Drop was a place, 1275 01:07:41,500 --> 01:07:43,233 it wasn't a jeans-and-tennis-shoe 1276 01:07:43,266 --> 01:07:44,666 kinda place. 1277 01:07:44,700 --> 01:07:48,766 {\an1}When there was a show going on, people dressed. 1278 01:07:48,800 --> 01:07:51,400 {\an1}This place really, as far as the history 1279 01:07:51,433 --> 01:07:55,566 {\an1}of New Orleans, is such a valuable piece 1280 01:07:55,600 --> 01:07:56,866 {\an7}in the city's history. 1281 01:07:56,900 --> 01:08:01,366 {\an1}Everybody who was somebody in town, when they came to town, 1282 01:08:01,633 --> 01:08:03,176 {\an1}they wanted to at least pass through here, 1283 01:08:03,200 --> 01:08:04,900 {\an1}to see what The Dew Drop was. 1284 01:08:04,933 --> 01:08:07,400 {\an1}I mean, we talking Senators; 1285 01:08:07,433 --> 01:08:10,400 {\an1}we talking big shots, movie stars 1286 01:08:10,433 --> 01:08:11,909 {\an1}that would come in and want to come in and see 1287 01:08:11,933 --> 01:08:13,466 {\an1}what was going on. 1288 01:08:13,500 --> 01:08:15,340 {\an1}'Cause they'd heard so much about it, you know. 1289 01:08:26,166 --> 01:08:29,633 {\an1}- The West has always been a mythology of freedom. 1290 01:08:29,666 --> 01:08:31,766 {\an1}It was manifest destiny, it was this idea 1291 01:08:31,800 --> 01:08:34,333 {\an1}that if you just headed West, things will get better 1292 01:08:34,366 --> 01:08:36,666 {\an1}or that there were opportunities, 1293 01:08:37,800 --> 01:08:39,600 {\an1}it was this kind of wide-open space 1294 01:08:39,633 --> 01:08:43,500 {\an1}and I think that signifiedalso as far as you could dream, 1295 01:08:43,533 --> 01:08:45,566 {\an1}it just expanded your horizons. 1296 01:08:47,666 --> 01:08:51,000 {\an7}- So by the turn of the 20th century, 1297 01:08:51,033 --> 01:08:55,400 {\an7}Los Angeles had become the largest center 1298 01:08:55,433 --> 01:08:59,233 {\an1}of the African American population in the West. 1299 01:08:59,266 --> 01:09:02,266 {\an1}They had an inkling that maybe there's something 1300 01:09:02,300 --> 01:09:03,833 {\an1}out there in Los Angeles. 1301 01:09:03,866 --> 01:09:06,200 {\an1}And maybe I can and I can have upward 1302 01:09:06,233 --> 01:09:09,066 {\an1}mobility, and I can have a better quality of life 1303 01:09:09,100 --> 01:09:12,333 {\an1}for my kids, and I can buy some real estate. 1304 01:09:12,366 --> 01:09:14,900 {\an1}And it's warmer there. 1305 01:09:16,000 --> 01:09:19,033 {\an1}So they were buying into the California dream, 1306 01:09:19,066 --> 01:09:21,333 {\an1}just as other Americans 1307 01:09:21,366 --> 01:09:22,966 {\an1}were when they were coming out here. 1308 01:09:23,000 --> 01:09:26,866 {\an1}With the caveat that they were also escaping 1309 01:09:26,900 --> 01:09:29,866 {\an1}the worst of Jim Crow discrimination 1310 01:09:29,900 --> 01:09:33,066 {\an1}and racial harassment and violence. 1311 01:09:35,100 --> 01:09:36,366 {\an1}- I think in the United States, 1312 01:09:36,400 --> 01:09:39,233 {\an1}the idea of play is a privilege. 1313 01:09:40,433 --> 01:09:42,000 {\an1}Recreation is a privilege. 1314 01:09:42,033 --> 01:09:44,533 {\an1}Leisure is a privilege. 1315 01:09:45,300 --> 01:09:47,600 {\an7}If you have to work all the time and/or you 1316 01:09:47,633 --> 01:09:50,500 {\an7}are poor working class you don't have time for leisure. 1317 01:09:50,533 --> 01:09:53,033 {\an1}It doesn't mean you don't know how to play. 1318 01:09:53,066 --> 01:09:56,200 {\an1}So you can buy a beach, you can show up 1319 01:09:56,233 --> 01:09:58,733 {\an1}in these spaces regardless and tell a different kind 1320 01:09:58,766 --> 01:10:02,933 {\an1}of story regardless of what the dominant culture is doing. 1321 01:10:16,333 --> 01:10:17,966 {\an1}- Now you smell that? 1322 01:10:18,000 --> 01:10:19,000 Pull it out. 1323 01:10:19,800 --> 01:10:20,966 {\an1}Don't burn yourself. 1324 01:10:21,833 --> 01:10:23,800 {\an1}That I call tutti-frutti pork. 1325 01:10:23,833 --> 01:10:25,866 {\an1}We glaze it with apricot jelly 1326 01:10:25,900 --> 01:10:29,433 {\an1}and put the peaches and the prunes around it. 1327 01:10:29,466 --> 01:10:31,666 {\an1}And it tastes kinda good. 1328 01:10:31,700 --> 01:10:34,433 {\an1}And it looks good, so I hope it tastes good. 1329 01:10:36,466 --> 01:10:40,000 {\an1}It's fun cooking and I've been in this kitchen 70 years. 1330 01:10:41,366 --> 01:10:45,400 {\an1}My mother-in-law started this, in 1939. 1331 01:10:47,200 --> 01:10:51,666 {\an1}About 1946, that's when I started cooking in here. 1332 01:10:51,700 --> 01:10:54,833 {\an7}Black people didn't eat Shrimp Newburg, 1333 01:10:54,866 --> 01:10:56,133 {\an7}and cream sauces. 1334 01:10:57,700 --> 01:11:00,533 {\an1}They said: "Oh this girl gonna ruin your business." 1335 01:11:03,300 --> 01:11:06,300 {\an1}It wasn't that I'm never satisfied, 1336 01:11:06,333 --> 01:11:08,300 {\an1}it's because I think as long as you living you 1337 01:11:08,333 --> 01:11:10,466 {\an1}gotta keep trying to move up. 1338 01:11:10,500 --> 01:11:12,966 {\an1}- My grandparents started this restaurant, 1339 01:11:13,000 --> 01:11:16,666 {\an1}because they were a people who enjoyed community. 1340 01:11:16,700 --> 01:11:19,833 {\an7}People came here to celebrate birthdays, 1341 01:11:19,866 --> 01:11:22,466 {\an7}anniversaries, weddings, and many, 1342 01:11:22,500 --> 01:11:23,933 {\an7}many other things. 1343 01:11:23,966 --> 01:11:26,166 {\an7}So when you came here, you came 1344 01:11:26,200 --> 01:11:27,300 into their home. 1345 01:11:27,333 --> 01:11:28,633 [upbeat music] 1346 01:11:28,666 --> 01:11:31,166 This place means not only a lot to me, 1347 01:11:31,200 --> 01:11:33,700 but a lot to many people in the community 1348 01:11:33,733 --> 01:11:36,466 {\an1}because it was one of the few places 1349 01:11:36,500 --> 01:11:38,200 {\an1}that African Americans could go. 1350 01:11:38,233 --> 01:11:39,566 [upbeat music] 1351 01:11:40,200 --> 01:11:41,800 {\an1}- I fed everybody. 1352 01:11:41,833 --> 01:11:44,366 {\an1}from James Baldwin, Thurgood Marshall, 1353 01:11:44,400 --> 01:11:45,966 {\an1}the whole kit and caboodle. 1354 01:11:47,766 --> 01:11:50,566 {\an1}Even when the civil rights people came, 1355 01:11:50,600 --> 01:11:52,500 {\an1}the policemen didn't worry us. 1356 01:11:53,700 --> 01:11:55,800 {\an1}all the civil-rights movement, 1357 01:11:55,833 --> 01:11:58,800 {\an1}the Freedom Riders who left from here met here. 1358 01:11:58,833 --> 01:12:00,233 {\an1}They made all the plans right here 1359 01:12:00,266 --> 01:12:01,266 {\an1}in this restaurant. 1360 01:12:02,366 --> 01:12:05,300 {\an1}This was the only restaurant where people 1361 01:12:05,333 --> 01:12:07,700 {\an1}of color could come and sit down 1362 01:12:07,733 --> 01:12:10,933 {\an1}and have a drink, have a sandwich, 1363 01:12:10,966 --> 01:12:13,700 {\an1}You were not gonna have any trouble. 1364 01:12:13,733 --> 01:12:16,600 {\an1}This was a safe haven for all of us. 1365 01:12:17,633 --> 01:12:20,433 {\an1}Once they were inside this building, 1366 01:12:20,466 --> 01:12:22,200 {\an1}nobody was gonna worry them. 1367 01:12:24,066 --> 01:12:25,900 {\an1}- At Saint Charles Missouri, 1368 01:12:25,933 --> 01:12:29,166 {\an1}the first tons of earth weremoved to make way for tomorrow. 1369 01:12:29,200 --> 01:12:31,433 {\an1}A tomorrow which will look like this, 1370 01:12:31,466 --> 01:12:33,733 {\an1}across the length and breadth of America, 1371 01:12:33,766 --> 01:12:35,733 {\an1}this will be the look of the future. 1372 01:12:37,933 --> 01:12:40,400 {\an1}The first part of the plan is the magnificent 1373 01:12:40,433 --> 01:12:42,933 {\an1}new interstate highway system. 1374 01:12:42,966 --> 01:12:44,966 {\an1}Over this network you'll be able to drive 1375 01:12:45,000 --> 01:12:47,866 {\an1}from border to border or coast to coast without 1376 01:12:47,900 --> 01:12:50,533 {\an1}ever seeing a traffic stop light. 1377 01:12:50,566 --> 01:12:52,700 {\an1}- In the 1950s, our government made 1378 01:12:52,733 --> 01:12:55,600 {\an1}the decision that we were going to be a nation of drivers. 1379 01:12:57,100 --> 01:12:59,433 {\an1}- The introduction of the automobile 1380 01:13:00,266 --> 01:13:02,633 {\an1}and the interstate highway system, I think, 1381 01:13:02,666 --> 01:13:06,833 {\an1}radically changed people's notion of time and space. 1382 01:13:07,133 --> 01:13:08,366 [music] 1383 01:13:08,400 --> 01:13:10,633 {\an1}- [Narrator] There has been a lot of excitement 1384 01:13:10,666 --> 01:13:13,133 {\an1}in America from coast to coast. 1385 01:13:13,166 --> 01:13:15,066 {\an1}In almost every state, 1386 01:13:15,100 --> 01:13:18,333 {\an1}banners have been unfurled, bands have played, 1387 01:13:18,366 --> 01:13:22,066 {\an1}and people have gathered to hear eloquent speeches, 1388 01:13:22,100 --> 01:13:23,900 {\an1}as Americans gathered to celebrate 1389 01:13:23,933 --> 01:13:26,966 {\an1}the completion of local sections of the national 1390 01:13:27,000 --> 01:13:29,866 {\an1}system of interstate and defense highways. 1391 01:13:31,966 --> 01:13:34,500 {\an1}- Kind of like the railroad in the 19th century helped 1392 01:13:34,533 --> 01:13:38,166 {\an7}to facilitate not just the experience 1393 01:13:38,200 --> 01:13:43,200 {\an7}but also the idea of a unified nation, a continent. 1394 01:13:43,966 --> 01:13:47,800 {\an1}I think the automobile accelerated those experiences. 1395 01:13:48,933 --> 01:13:51,033 {\an1}- There's a very complicated history 1396 01:13:51,066 --> 01:13:52,766 {\an1}around the interstate. 1397 01:13:52,800 --> 01:13:57,633 {\an8}The interstate for Black travelers creates 1398 01:13:57,666 --> 01:14:02,700 {\an7}a very positive kind of benefit in that the interstate 1399 01:14:02,733 --> 01:14:06,466 {\an7}makes travel safer in many ways 1400 01:14:06,500 --> 01:14:11,633 {\an1}because instead of travelingon country roads and back roads 1401 01:14:11,666 --> 01:14:15,833 {\an1}where there was quite a bit of fear 1402 01:14:15,866 --> 01:14:17,466 {\an1}and quite a bit of uncertainty 1403 01:14:17,500 --> 01:14:21,466 {\an1}about what could happen, traveling on interstates 1404 01:14:21,500 --> 01:14:24,733 {\an1}felt more safe and more secure. 1405 01:14:31,166 --> 01:14:32,700 {\an1}- The interstate highway program 1406 01:14:32,733 --> 01:14:36,300 {\an1}was built with this myth of consensus. 1407 01:14:36,333 --> 01:14:39,000 {\an1}That it's what everybody wanted. 1408 01:14:39,033 --> 01:14:41,633 {\an1}It's by popular demand. 1409 01:14:41,666 --> 01:14:45,900 {\an1}But for people of color, and for African Americans 1410 01:14:45,933 --> 01:14:48,633 {\an1}in particular, they were kind of left 1411 01:14:48,666 --> 01:14:50,500 {\an1}out of that consensus 1412 01:14:50,533 --> 01:14:55,733 {\an1}because their neighborhoods were the sacrificial lands 1413 01:14:55,766 --> 01:14:59,300 {\an1}in which to build this highway. 1414 01:14:59,333 --> 01:15:01,533 {\an1}- As part of the overall plan, 1415 01:15:01,566 --> 01:15:04,200 {\an1}one of the freeways serving our state 1416 01:15:04,233 --> 01:15:06,500 {\an1}will pass near Hilldale. 1417 01:15:06,533 --> 01:15:07,333 {\an1}Well ladies and gentlemen, 1418 01:15:07,366 --> 01:15:09,600 {\an1}I think the most important question 1419 01:15:09,633 --> 01:15:12,000 {\an1}is not where the automobiles come from 1420 01:15:12,033 --> 01:15:14,866 {\an1}but how they're going to get where they're trying to go. 1421 01:15:16,933 --> 01:15:18,700 {\an1}- If you travel along, particularly, 1422 01:15:18,733 --> 01:15:20,866 {\an1}south Claiborne Avenue, you'll see 1423 01:15:20,900 --> 01:15:23,233 {\an1}some very old, live oak trees. 1424 01:15:23,266 --> 01:15:25,100 {\an1}Which, was emblematic of New Orleans. 1425 01:15:25,133 --> 01:15:26,366 [jazz music] 1426 01:15:26,400 --> 01:15:28,233 The point is, that is one of the things 1427 01:15:28,266 --> 01:15:30,400 {\an1}that was destroyed by this overpass. 1428 01:15:31,500 --> 01:15:33,700 {\an1}And so the expressway, was destroying 1429 01:15:33,733 --> 01:15:35,933 {\an8}this black community as a stake through the heart 1430 01:15:35,966 --> 01:15:39,033 {\an7}of the Faubourg Treme, also is expressive 1431 01:15:39,066 --> 01:15:43,100 {\an1}of a broader sense of attempting to take back 1432 01:15:43,133 --> 01:15:47,666 {\an1}areas of the city that were largely black areas 1433 01:15:47,700 --> 01:15:49,066 {\an1}and repurpose them in such a way 1434 01:15:49,100 --> 01:15:52,166 {\an1}that's to be of greater service to white people. 1435 01:15:55,033 --> 01:15:57,200 {\an1}- So highway construction decimated 1436 01:15:58,000 --> 01:16:00,700 {\an1}African American neighborhoods in cities 1437 01:16:00,733 --> 01:16:01,833 {\an1}throughout the nation. 1438 01:16:05,333 --> 01:16:08,300 {\an1}Under the Interstate Highway Act, 1439 01:16:08,333 --> 01:16:11,733 {\an1}highway construction was coordinated with another 1440 01:16:11,766 --> 01:16:14,600 {\an1}federal program, of slum clearance. 1441 01:16:21,533 --> 01:16:23,009 {\an1}- The thing that people usually say is, 1442 01:16:23,033 --> 01:16:24,833 {\an7}these were dying communities 1443 01:16:24,866 --> 01:16:27,766 {\an7}and we needed the overpasses, we needed the highways 1444 01:16:27,800 --> 01:16:30,500 {\an7}to move people out of these ghetto environments. 1445 01:16:31,766 --> 01:16:34,066 {\an1}Well in fact, these were communities 1446 01:16:34,100 --> 01:16:35,166 {\an1}that were vibrant. 1447 01:16:35,200 --> 01:16:36,966 {\an1}That people were living in. 1448 01:16:37,000 --> 01:16:39,533 {\an1}That the United States government destroyed 1449 01:16:39,566 --> 01:16:42,433 {\an1}through a combination of active funding 1450 01:16:42,466 --> 01:16:45,400 {\an1}of detrimental projects, and a kind of benign neglect. 1451 01:16:46,433 --> 01:16:50,766 {\an1}- They created this very rigid method 1452 01:16:50,800 --> 01:16:52,700 {\an1}of categorizing neighborhoods 1453 01:16:52,733 --> 01:16:57,633 {\an1}as either very desirable or very undesirable. 1454 01:16:57,666 --> 01:17:02,233 {\an1}The primary criteria for this system was race. 1455 01:17:02,266 --> 01:17:04,300 {\an1}That is to say that if a particular neighborhood 1456 01:17:04,333 --> 01:17:07,166 {\an1}had even one African American living 1457 01:17:07,200 --> 01:17:10,200 {\an1}in that neighborhood, that neighborhood 1458 01:17:10,233 --> 01:17:13,900 {\an1}was immediately designated as a risk 1459 01:17:14,766 --> 01:17:17,200 {\an1}and it was coded in the color red. 1460 01:17:17,233 --> 01:17:20,033 {\an1}And that's where we get the term redlining from. 1461 01:17:22,433 --> 01:17:24,733 {\an1}Highway construction impacted 1462 01:17:25,766 --> 01:17:28,166 {\an1}Black communities or other non white 1463 01:17:28,200 --> 01:17:30,900 {\an1}communities, because that's where property 1464 01:17:30,933 --> 01:17:32,233 {\an1}values were the lowest. 1465 01:17:32,266 --> 01:17:34,466 {\an1}There is a certain kind of cost effective 1466 01:17:34,500 --> 01:17:37,400 {\an1}strategy in building highways 1467 01:17:37,433 --> 01:17:39,833 {\an1}through neighborhoods with lower property values. 1468 01:17:39,866 --> 01:17:41,533 {\an1}It costs the state less. 1469 01:17:41,566 --> 01:17:45,166 {\an1}However, historically, lower property values 1470 01:17:45,200 --> 01:17:48,700 {\an1}have been tied to race and African Americans 1471 01:17:48,733 --> 01:17:50,100 in particular. 1472 01:17:50,133 --> 01:17:52,866 {\an1}In many ways all of these federal policies 1473 01:17:52,900 --> 01:17:55,300 {\an1}and programs were interconnected. 1474 01:17:55,333 --> 01:17:58,000 {\an1}The Federal Housing Administration's policies, 1475 01:17:58,833 --> 01:18:01,166 {\an1}urban renewal, slum clearance, 1476 01:18:01,200 --> 01:18:04,533 {\an1}highway construction, all of these processes 1477 01:18:04,566 --> 01:18:08,200 {\an1}worked in tandem with each other to create 1478 01:18:08,233 --> 01:18:12,700 {\an1}an even more racially stratified geography. 1479 01:18:14,100 --> 01:18:16,433 {\an1}- And they did that so fast, 1480 01:18:16,466 --> 01:18:17,333 I'm telling you. 1481 01:18:17,366 --> 01:18:18,809 {\an1}Because Black people were not involved 1482 01:18:18,833 --> 01:18:20,400 {\an1}in anything in those days. 1483 01:18:21,300 --> 01:18:23,066 {\an1}People would do things, we didn't even know 1484 01:18:23,100 --> 01:18:24,066 {\an1}what was going on. 1485 01:18:24,100 --> 01:18:25,866 {\an1}We were not involved. 1486 01:18:25,900 --> 01:18:28,800 {\an1}In those days we were not allowed 1487 01:18:28,833 --> 01:18:31,300 {\an1}into the process, so they just came 1488 01:18:31,333 --> 01:18:34,200 {\an1}through there with that thing, took away houses; 1489 01:18:34,233 --> 01:18:36,666 {\an1}took away good businesses, good people. 1490 01:18:38,500 --> 01:18:39,933 {\an1}- And to watch neighborhoods being 1491 01:18:39,966 --> 01:18:43,766 {\an1}absolutely devastated, torn apart, demolished. 1492 01:18:43,800 --> 01:18:45,466 Houses, boom. 1493 01:18:45,500 --> 01:18:46,633 {\an1}Here comes these freeways. 1494 01:18:46,666 --> 01:18:50,733 {\an1}Here comes these here easy passages out 1495 01:18:50,766 --> 01:18:53,933 {\an1}of the city or coming into the city. 1496 01:18:53,966 --> 01:18:55,966 {\an1}That meant neighborhoods were destroyed. 1497 01:18:56,900 --> 01:18:59,666 {\an1}- I can see it in Newark, New Jersey, 1498 01:18:59,700 --> 01:19:03,933 {\an7}and when my daughter was young, 1499 01:19:03,966 --> 01:19:07,933 {\an7}I wanted to take her and showher where I had grown up. 1500 01:19:07,966 --> 01:19:10,233 {\an1}And I couldn't find my way around Newark, 1501 01:19:10,266 --> 01:19:11,333 {\an1}because there's a highway 1502 01:19:11,366 --> 01:19:12,933 {\an1}that's been put through it. 1503 01:19:14,666 --> 01:19:18,066 {\an1}- When road planners put through highways, 1504 01:19:18,100 --> 01:19:21,700 {\an1}they often take the path of least resistance, 1505 01:19:22,700 --> 01:19:25,000 {\an1}And that's one of the reasons that Black communities 1506 01:19:25,033 --> 01:19:26,966 {\an1}have been so vulnerable, 1507 01:19:27,000 --> 01:19:30,966 {\an1}because they have the least amount of power 1508 01:19:31,533 --> 01:19:32,533 to stop it. 1509 01:19:38,700 --> 01:19:41,000 - You see it again and again in almost 1510 01:19:41,033 --> 01:19:45,800 {\an1}every major city in America, and it was really a huge 1511 01:19:45,833 --> 01:19:49,766 {\an1}economic setback for many African American businesses 1512 01:19:49,800 --> 01:19:51,666 {\an1}because they became isolated. 1513 01:19:51,700 --> 01:19:52,900 [music] 1514 01:19:53,466 --> 01:19:56,033 {\an1}- If you retrace it and if you 1515 01:19:56,066 --> 01:20:00,900 {\an1}go to some of these areas that were once bustling 1516 01:20:00,933 --> 01:20:03,300 {\an1}Black business districts, 1517 01:20:03,333 --> 01:20:08,333 {\an1}now often they are abandoned buildings, 1518 01:20:08,566 --> 01:20:13,833 {\an1}sometimes they are abandoned, sort of, empty fields. 1519 01:20:14,100 --> 01:20:16,233 [music] 1520 01:20:18,500 --> 01:20:22,066 {\an1}I think the scars on the landscape are very telling. 1521 01:20:23,233 --> 01:20:24,900 {\an1}There's so many Green Book sites, 1522 01:20:24,933 --> 01:20:28,033 {\an1}that I have taken photographs of just freeway, 1523 01:20:28,066 --> 01:20:32,000 {\an1}because there was a list of maybe 10 or 20 sites and now 1524 01:20:32,033 --> 01:20:34,700 {\an1}they were just literally torn down. 1525 01:20:34,733 --> 01:20:35,600 - It's gone. 1526 01:20:35,633 --> 01:20:38,433 {\an1}So the biggest, most important piece 1527 01:20:38,466 --> 01:20:40,933 {\an1}of physical evidence that we have of our racial 1528 01:20:40,966 --> 01:20:44,166 {\an1}landscape is missing one half of it. 1529 01:20:44,200 --> 01:20:48,466 {\an1}So to me, that's a huge reason why it's become 1530 01:20:48,500 --> 01:20:50,800 {\an1}easy to not know this history anymore. 1531 01:20:51,233 --> 01:20:52,500 [music] 1532 01:20:54,400 --> 01:20:56,133 {\an1}- When you erase a history, 1533 01:20:56,166 --> 01:20:58,166 {\an1}you erase an identity. 1534 01:20:58,200 --> 01:21:01,466 {\an1}You erase what's important to people 1535 01:21:01,500 --> 01:21:05,766 {\an1}and how they connect with their community 1536 01:21:05,800 --> 01:21:08,633 {\an1}and how they connect with humanity as a whole. 1537 01:21:09,900 --> 01:21:13,866 {\an1}When you lose that culture and that space 1538 01:21:13,900 --> 01:21:17,266 {\an1}now there's a chink in the chain of your family 1539 01:21:17,300 --> 01:21:20,466 {\an1}legacy and you start to wonder, 1540 01:21:20,500 --> 01:21:22,100 {\an1}does my legacy matter? 1541 01:21:22,133 --> 01:21:24,133 {\an1}Does my life matter? 1542 01:21:25,500 --> 01:21:27,133 {\an1}- Imagine, you own a business 1543 01:21:27,166 --> 01:21:30,866 {\an1}that you or your family's had for 10, 20, 50 years. 1544 01:21:30,900 --> 01:21:32,933 {\an1}Near North Claiborne Avenue, 1545 01:21:32,966 --> 01:21:34,733 {\an1}you're not gonna immediately shut down, 1546 01:21:34,766 --> 01:21:36,766 {\an1}because the overpass comes through. 1547 01:21:36,800 --> 01:21:39,900 {\an1}But part of what comes with the overpass, 1548 01:21:39,933 --> 01:21:43,066 {\an1}is a culture of modernity that suggests 1549 01:21:43,100 --> 01:21:44,066 {\an1}that you should no longer 1550 01:21:44,100 --> 01:21:46,166 {\an1}go to your neighborhood store, you should get 1551 01:21:46,200 --> 01:21:49,366 {\an1}on the expressway and go to the stores in the suburbs. 1552 01:21:51,033 --> 01:21:53,266 {\an1}First of all, it means the death of small 1553 01:21:53,300 --> 01:21:54,933 neighborhood stores, in general. 1554 01:21:54,966 --> 01:21:56,333 {\an1}And in the Black community, 1555 01:21:56,366 --> 01:21:58,266 {\an1}in particular, were doomed. 1556 01:22:00,133 --> 01:22:02,533 {\an1}But they have now gone through and started 1557 01:22:02,566 --> 01:22:05,133 {\an1}adding new paintings beneath the expressway 1558 01:22:05,166 --> 01:22:08,500 {\an1}to try to bring life to what is otherwise a dead space. 1559 01:22:08,533 --> 01:22:11,200 {\an1}And recently my father's portrait was added 1560 01:22:11,233 --> 01:22:13,133 {\an1}to those that are being painted there. 1561 01:22:13,533 --> 01:22:15,966 {\an1}And so, of course, I'm torn. 1562 01:22:16,000 --> 01:22:18,300 {\an1}To have him memorialized in that way, 1563 01:22:18,333 --> 01:22:21,666 means a lot to me, but of course the great 1564 01:22:21,700 --> 01:22:24,033 fault of these highways was the extent 1565 01:22:24,066 --> 01:22:30,266 {\an1}to which they thought that this concrete could create 1566 01:22:30,300 --> 01:22:31,633 a new culture. 1567 01:22:31,666 --> 01:22:34,000 {\an1}And these things, while they ultimately 1568 01:22:34,033 --> 01:22:37,200 {\an1}destroyed a great bit of what I knew 1569 01:22:37,233 --> 01:22:40,166 {\an1}of and what I know of is the meaning of American life 1570 01:22:40,200 --> 01:22:41,500 and culture. 1571 01:22:41,533 --> 01:22:43,500 {\an1}We're still able to maintain a sense 1572 01:22:43,533 --> 01:22:46,433 {\an1}of ourselves and we're still able to speak 1573 01:22:46,466 --> 01:22:48,733 {\an1}about the necessity of taking down 1574 01:22:48,766 --> 01:22:52,566 {\an1}some of these things to get back to a truer expression 1575 01:22:52,600 --> 01:22:53,900 of who we are. 1576 01:22:53,933 --> 01:22:55,000 [music] 1577 01:22:55,366 --> 01:22:57,966 {\an1}- It's not easy to feel optimistic 1578 01:22:58,000 --> 01:23:01,900 {\an1}about the modern world in that kind of chaotic environment. 1579 01:23:01,933 --> 01:23:04,733 {\an1}Your physical body surrounded 1580 01:23:04,766 --> 01:23:07,633 {\an1}by these massive layers of concrete 1581 01:23:07,666 --> 01:23:11,900 {\an1}with these machines moving at 80 miles an hour next 1582 01:23:11,933 --> 01:23:14,233 {\an1}to you, above you, below you. 1583 01:23:14,266 --> 01:23:18,000 {\an1}And to see that kind of cultural vitality 1584 01:23:18,800 --> 01:23:22,833 {\an1}in the most unexpected place of a highway interchange, 1585 01:23:22,866 --> 01:23:25,533 {\an1}or beneath a highway interchange. 1586 01:23:25,566 --> 01:23:28,700 {\an1}To me, gives me hope. 1587 01:23:28,733 --> 01:23:31,333 {\an1}It reminds me that people 1588 01:23:31,366 --> 01:23:35,366 {\an1}are not going to lay down and die. 1589 01:23:35,400 --> 01:23:41,266 {\an1}They're not going to let themselves be paved over 1590 01:23:41,300 --> 01:23:43,366 {\an1}by the highway and their automobile. 1591 01:23:44,633 --> 01:23:49,900 {\an1}They will insist that their voices are heard and seen. 1592 01:23:50,266 --> 01:23:53,500 {\an1}They can draw creative inspiration 1593 01:23:54,500 --> 01:23:59,666 {\an1}from the most dismal aspects of modern urban life. 1594 01:24:00,366 --> 01:24:03,700 {\an1}I don't mean to sound Pollyannaish, 1595 01:24:03,733 --> 01:24:05,566 {\an1}but I do think that there is a kind 1596 01:24:05,600 --> 01:24:10,133 {\an1}of intrinsic value to that kind of cultural work 1597 01:24:10,166 --> 01:24:15,533 {\an1}and to that kind of determination to assert 1598 01:24:15,566 --> 01:24:20,300 {\an1}the dignity and the vitality of neighborhoods, 1599 01:24:20,333 --> 01:24:23,066 {\an1}even after those neighborhoods have been destroyed. 1600 01:24:31,133 --> 01:24:33,166 {\an1}There's this great way in which the automobile 1601 01:24:33,200 --> 01:24:36,933 {\an1}constantly shows up as a feature, 1602 01:24:36,966 --> 01:24:40,666 {\an1}as a player in black people's struggle for emancipation. 1603 01:24:43,266 --> 01:24:44,200 {\an1}- The Civil Rights Movement 1604 01:24:44,233 --> 01:24:46,900 {\an1}couldn't have happened without the automobile. 1605 01:24:46,933 --> 01:24:50,500 {\an1}- The car allows activists from far-flung 1606 01:24:50,533 --> 01:24:53,100 {\an1}places to get together and to travel. 1607 01:24:53,133 --> 01:24:57,700 {\an1}To get to a destination where there is a protest 1608 01:24:57,733 --> 01:24:59,933 {\an1}or a voter registration campaign going on. 1609 01:24:59,966 --> 01:25:01,900 {\an1}A lot of smaller places, especially 1610 01:25:01,933 --> 01:25:04,966 {\an1}in the Mississippi Delta, or the Black Belt 1611 01:25:05,000 --> 01:25:07,366 {\an1}of Alabama, or central Georgia 1612 01:25:07,400 --> 01:25:10,800 {\an1}are not so easily accessible by bus or by train. 1613 01:25:10,833 --> 01:25:13,800 {\an7}A car allows folks to convene and gather 1614 01:25:13,833 --> 01:25:15,833 {\an7}in relatively small places. 1615 01:25:15,866 --> 01:25:18,266 {\an7}And to move pretty quickly from one place 1616 01:25:18,300 --> 01:25:21,500 {\an1}to the next, if there's a call for an action 1617 01:25:21,533 --> 01:25:23,333 {\an1}or a campaign in a different town 1618 01:25:23,366 --> 01:25:24,366 {\an1}or a different city. 1619 01:25:24,400 --> 01:25:27,466 {\an1}Or if things go bad and you want to get out, 1620 01:25:27,500 --> 01:25:32,133 {\an1}the car can provide a quick way to exit a situation. 1621 01:25:32,166 --> 01:25:34,500 {\an1}- The Montgomery BusBoycott is actually 1622 01:25:34,533 --> 01:25:37,366 {\an1}a story of transportation in many ways. 1623 01:25:37,400 --> 01:25:39,000 {\an1}It's the bus boycott. 1624 01:25:39,033 --> 01:25:43,033 {\an1}But it's also how it was that African American 1625 01:25:43,066 --> 01:25:48,300 {\an1}women managed to establish and to reuse 1626 01:25:48,333 --> 01:25:51,466 {\an1}a network of connections to deploy 1627 01:25:51,500 --> 01:25:56,000 {\an1}their resources to sustain this boycott over months 1628 01:25:56,033 --> 01:25:57,233 {\an1}and months and months. 1629 01:25:57,266 --> 01:26:00,400 {\an1}And it meant, in fact, accessing cars. 1630 01:26:00,433 --> 01:26:02,566 {\an1}It meant finding new ways to move people 1631 01:26:02,600 --> 01:26:05,266 {\an1}around town, new ways to actually get people 1632 01:26:05,300 --> 01:26:06,500 to their jobs. 1633 01:26:06,533 --> 01:26:09,366 {\an1}And so Montgomery is in many ways actually 1634 01:26:09,400 --> 01:26:14,166 {\an1}a wonderful way of thinkingabout how Black people deployed 1635 01:26:14,200 --> 01:26:17,200 {\an1}the automobile to challenge Jim Crow. 1636 01:26:24,300 --> 01:26:28,900 {\an1}- It's really the car and the coordination 1637 01:26:28,933 --> 01:26:33,333 {\an1}of carpools that allowed for the Montgomery Bus Boycott 1638 01:26:33,366 --> 01:26:34,700 {\an1}to be the success, 1639 01:26:34,733 --> 01:26:38,200 {\an1}the dramatic success that it becomes. 1640 01:26:39,600 --> 01:26:42,133 {\an1}- [Narrator] Marking 1964 as a historic year 1641 01:26:42,166 --> 01:26:45,733 {\an1}in race relations, on July 2nd President Johnson signed 1642 01:26:45,766 --> 01:26:47,733 {\an1}into law the Civil Rights Act. 1643 01:26:47,766 --> 01:26:49,633 {\an1}It was the strongest federal law since 1644 01:26:49,666 --> 01:26:51,700 the slaves were freed a century ago. 1645 01:26:54,266 --> 01:26:56,400 {\an1}- I think the passing of the Civil Rights Act 1646 01:26:56,433 --> 01:27:00,800 {\an1}is really ironic, because of what happens 1647 01:27:00,833 --> 01:27:03,300 {\an1}to African American businesses. 1648 01:27:03,333 --> 01:27:06,633 {\an1}Because, you have these vibrant businesses, 1649 01:27:06,666 --> 01:27:08,066 {\an1}tourist homes, and guest houses, 1650 01:27:08,100 --> 01:27:10,933 {\an1}and these incredible resorts and beaches 1651 01:27:10,966 --> 01:27:16,466 {\an1}that are segregated, that are serving a black clientele, 1652 01:27:17,200 --> 01:27:20,966 {\an1}but you don't have white people 1653 01:27:21,000 --> 01:27:23,000 {\an1}deciding that they're going to use 1654 01:27:23,033 --> 01:27:27,633 {\an1}these businesses once segregation is gone. 1655 01:27:27,933 --> 01:27:29,500 [soft music] 1656 01:27:32,300 --> 01:27:35,600 {\an1}- When The Green Book first started, yes, 1657 01:27:35,633 --> 01:27:37,833 {\an1}it gave you the safe havens. 1658 01:27:37,866 --> 01:27:41,466 {\an1}But that drive between the safe havens, 1659 01:27:41,500 --> 01:27:44,466 {\an1}full of risk and uncertainty. 1660 01:27:44,500 --> 01:27:46,900 {\an1}With the passing of the Civil Rights Act 1661 01:27:46,933 --> 01:27:49,433 {\an1}and then the gradual implementation 1662 01:27:49,466 --> 01:27:53,466 {\an1}of the provisions of it, the drive between 1663 01:27:53,500 --> 01:27:55,900 {\an1}the safe havens became safer. 1664 01:27:56,133 --> 01:27:57,800 {\an1}[soft music continues] 1665 01:27:59,133 --> 01:28:02,366 {\an1}Victor Green himself said he wanted 1666 01:28:02,400 --> 01:28:05,633 {\an1}there to be a day when there would be no need 1667 01:28:05,666 --> 01:28:06,766 {\an1}for the Green Book. 1668 01:28:06,800 --> 01:28:10,800 {\an1}So he imagined his own obsolescence. 1669 01:28:10,833 --> 01:28:12,633 {\an7}And gradually he was right. 1670 01:28:12,666 --> 01:28:15,800 {\an1}People stopped staying at the guesthouses. 1671 01:28:15,833 --> 01:28:19,000 {\an1}They stopped stopping at only these restaurants. 1672 01:28:20,166 --> 01:28:23,700 {\an1}- There are dozens of theseAfrican American travel guides. 1673 01:28:23,733 --> 01:28:26,666 {\an1}The Green Book is just the most long-lasting. 1674 01:28:26,700 --> 01:28:29,566 {\an1}And all of them say: "Someday this won't be necessary. 1675 01:28:29,600 --> 01:28:31,033 {\an1}We know that the day is coming 1676 01:28:31,066 --> 01:28:32,566 {\an1}when this won't be necessary." 1677 01:28:33,500 --> 01:28:34,833 [soft music] 1678 01:28:37,900 --> 01:28:40,033 {\an1}- What The Green Book teaches us, 1679 01:28:40,066 --> 01:28:41,476 {\an1}it's great to think of it as something 1680 01:28:41,500 --> 01:28:44,633 {\an1}to a parallel highway to American history. 1681 01:28:44,666 --> 01:28:45,742 {\an7}There's the quote, unquote, 1682 01:28:45,766 --> 01:28:48,466 {\an8}the "American highway," which is in fact a white 1683 01:28:48,500 --> 01:28:51,100 {\an8}highway through American history 1684 01:28:51,133 --> 01:28:53,166 {\an1}and there's the "Black highway" or the highway 1685 01:28:53,200 --> 01:28:54,533 {\an1}for people of color. 1686 01:28:54,566 --> 01:28:56,166 {\an1}The highway for the marginalized 1687 01:28:56,200 --> 01:28:58,033 {\an1}and the disenfranchised people. 1688 01:29:00,566 --> 01:29:03,166 {\an1}And so we often do not talk about the cost 1689 01:29:03,200 --> 01:29:04,666 {\an1}of the Civil Rights Movement 1690 01:29:04,700 --> 01:29:07,666 {\an1}to the very people it was meant to help. 1691 01:29:07,700 --> 01:29:09,066 {\an1}- It was a blessing and a curse, 1692 01:29:09,100 --> 01:29:11,400 {\an7}because all of these Blackbusinesses it was significant 1693 01:29:11,433 --> 01:29:13,566 {\an1}that they were no longer in the Green Book. 1694 01:29:14,466 --> 01:29:16,900 {\an1}And yet, the pain of progress is you know 1695 01:29:17,900 --> 01:29:20,866 {\an1}trying to move forward into these white spaces 1696 01:29:20,900 --> 01:29:23,133 {\an1}that black people have been shut out of. 1697 01:29:24,833 --> 01:29:28,200 {\an8}- When integration came we lost a lot 1698 01:29:28,233 --> 01:29:29,333 {\an8}in the Black community. 1699 01:29:30,266 --> 01:29:32,700 {\an1}Because there were some people, well, 1700 01:29:32,733 --> 01:29:34,533 {\an1}naturally, they want to explore. 1701 01:29:34,566 --> 01:29:36,633 {\an1}They want to see what it's like to live 1702 01:29:36,666 --> 01:29:37,533 on this side. 1703 01:29:37,566 --> 01:29:39,266 {\an1}They wanted to see what it's like 1704 01:29:39,300 --> 01:29:41,533 {\an1}to go different places. 1705 01:29:41,566 --> 01:29:44,800 {\an1}They said to my husband Dook, they said: "Dook, 1706 01:29:44,833 --> 01:29:46,200 you should move. 1707 01:29:46,233 --> 01:29:49,366 {\an1}Because all of the people with money 1708 01:29:49,400 --> 01:29:54,033 {\an1}that's been coming to you will go in the white restaurants. 1709 01:29:54,066 --> 01:29:57,666 {\an1}You know, they will not come to you, you should move." 1710 01:29:57,700 --> 01:29:59,100 I told Dooky no. 1711 01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:03,333 {\an1}You can't run away from yourself. 1712 01:30:03,366 --> 01:30:07,133 {\an1}And so we stayed on this corner and just made it work. 1713 01:30:07,166 --> 01:30:09,766 {\an1}- All of a sudden, as I'm speaking and telling them 1714 01:30:09,800 --> 01:30:13,233 {\an1}about what I knew of the community... 1715 01:30:13,266 --> 01:30:17,400 {\an1}and one person stopped and asked me, say: "Well, 1716 01:30:17,433 --> 01:30:22,433 {\an1}who owned the store on so-and-so corner?" 1717 01:30:23,600 --> 01:30:26,066 {\an8}And I would start to explain to them 1718 01:30:26,100 --> 01:30:29,133 {\an1}what the businesses were, who owned them. 1719 01:30:29,166 --> 01:30:32,433 {\an1}And all of a sudden it slapped me in my face 1720 01:30:34,133 --> 01:30:36,133 {\an1}that we had lost so much. 1721 01:30:36,166 --> 01:30:38,066 {\an1}We had went backwards. 1722 01:30:39,233 --> 01:30:41,033 {\an1}Because so many of these businesses 1723 01:30:41,066 --> 01:30:43,066 {\an1}was black-owned you know, 1724 01:30:43,366 --> 01:30:44,366 [chuckle] 1725 01:30:44,400 --> 01:30:45,966 {\an1}that we could take pride in. 1726 01:30:46,000 --> 01:30:47,666 {\an1}And I look around now, 1727 01:30:48,133 --> 01:30:50,466 {\an1}there's less and less black businesses. 1728 01:30:51,566 --> 01:30:54,233 {\an1}- Culture is lost. 1729 01:30:54,266 --> 01:30:56,066 History is lost. 1730 01:30:56,100 --> 01:30:58,066 {\an1}So many of the places that are listed 1731 01:30:58,100 --> 01:31:01,633 {\an1}in these travel guides, the only thing we know about them 1732 01:31:01,666 --> 01:31:03,300 is the address. 1733 01:31:03,333 --> 01:31:05,833 {\an1}We have very, very little evidence, 1734 01:31:05,866 --> 01:31:09,066 {\an1}material evidence of most of these places. 1735 01:31:09,100 --> 01:31:11,533 {\an1}And I think many African American people 1736 01:31:11,566 --> 01:31:15,066 {\an1}didn't think that their heritage, 1737 01:31:15,100 --> 01:31:18,733 {\an1}their history was important for a long time. 1738 01:31:18,766 --> 01:31:23,533 {\an1}And so they didn't save some of these things, 1739 01:31:23,566 --> 01:31:26,366 {\an1}but there, you know, there are vestiges 1740 01:31:26,400 --> 01:31:30,966 {\an1}of clubs and restaurants that we can still find. 1741 01:31:31,000 --> 01:31:32,900 {\an1}We can still find some of that history. 1742 01:31:40,200 --> 01:31:41,733 [traffic noise] 1743 01:31:43,766 --> 01:31:44,766 [car door slam] 1744 01:31:46,833 --> 01:31:49,500 {\an1}- David, we're going to be moving to a new neighborhood. 1745 01:31:50,500 --> 01:31:52,100 {\an1}- Why, I don't want to. 1746 01:31:52,133 --> 01:31:53,100 {\an1}- Well, it's not what you want, 1747 01:31:53,133 --> 01:31:55,166 {\an1}I think it's best for you and the family. 1748 01:31:56,833 --> 01:31:58,800 {\an1}- One of the things that the automobile does, 1749 01:31:58,833 --> 01:32:03,166 {\an1}it allows all Americans to move to the suburbs, 1750 01:32:03,200 --> 01:32:05,866 {\an1}and Black Americans move to the suburbs as well. 1751 01:32:05,900 --> 01:32:07,700 {\an1}where everyone had a car because you 1752 01:32:07,733 --> 01:32:10,566 {\an1}had to have a car in order to get around. 1753 01:32:10,600 --> 01:32:12,600 {\an1}So I think the automobile 1754 01:32:12,633 --> 01:32:14,733 {\an1}really facilitated that class movement. 1755 01:32:14,766 --> 01:32:19,466 {\an1}It facilitated suburban life for many African Americans. 1756 01:32:20,600 --> 01:32:22,100 {\an1}- Finally, when you get this chance, 1757 01:32:22,133 --> 01:32:25,800 {\an1}this chance to get above the ghetto, 1758 01:32:25,833 --> 01:32:27,266 {\an1}get above the slums. 1759 01:32:27,300 --> 01:32:29,966 {\an1}You're happy, you're enthusiastic about it. 1760 01:32:30,000 --> 01:32:32,633 {\an1}And finally you think that you have made it 1761 01:32:32,666 --> 01:32:35,500 {\an1}into America, the American society. 1762 01:32:37,566 --> 01:32:38,366 - Yes? 1763 01:32:38,400 --> 01:32:39,300 - How do you do? 1764 01:32:39,333 --> 01:32:40,576 {\an1}Would you please ask the lady of the house 1765 01:32:40,600 --> 01:32:41,800 {\an1}how much milk she needs? 1766 01:32:44,033 --> 01:32:46,066 {\an1}- I'm the lady of the house 1767 01:32:46,100 --> 01:32:47,866 {\an1}and I don't need any milk, thank you. 1768 01:32:49,400 --> 01:32:51,900 {\an1}- After moving to the suburbs, 1769 01:32:51,933 --> 01:32:54,100 {\an1}African-Americans found that perhaps suburban 1770 01:32:54,133 --> 01:32:57,766 {\an1}life was not as idyllic as we had hoped. 1771 01:33:02,533 --> 01:33:04,433 {\an1}- [Narrator] The term is racial profiling. 1772 01:33:04,466 --> 01:33:08,300 {\an1}The nickname is "DWB" "Driving While Black." 1773 01:33:08,333 --> 01:33:10,900 {\an1}- "Driving While Black." - "Driving While Black." 1774 01:33:10,933 --> 01:33:12,333 {\an1}- I think the automobile is the way 1775 01:33:12,366 --> 01:33:15,733 {\an1}that many people encounter the police. 1776 01:33:15,766 --> 01:33:19,033 {\an1}And I think that's where we start to get 1777 01:33:19,066 --> 01:33:22,166 {\an1}the term, "Driving While Black." 1778 01:33:22,200 --> 01:33:24,033 {\an1}- [Man] My um address on my license 1779 01:33:24,066 --> 01:33:25,133 {\an1}doesn't match the address 1780 01:33:25,166 --> 01:33:27,633 {\an1}that's in the system, it was a mistake at the DMV 1781 01:33:27,666 --> 01:33:30,500 {\an1}and the sheriff pulled me over and made racial slurs 1782 01:33:30,533 --> 01:33:31,942 {\an1}toward me cause I told him I didn't think 1783 01:33:31,966 --> 01:33:33,100 {\an1}I was driving that fast. 1784 01:33:33,133 --> 01:33:34,966 {\an1}And he pulled out his gun on me. 1785 01:33:35,000 --> 01:33:36,800 {\an1}- One of the things that you ought to think 1786 01:33:36,833 --> 01:33:42,866 {\an1}about is a variety of studies that were conducted 1787 01:33:42,900 --> 01:33:46,733 {\an1}in the '70s and '80s, and up to the present, 1788 01:33:46,766 --> 01:33:50,500 {\an1}that are exploring traffic stops, 1789 01:33:50,533 --> 01:33:51,966 {\an1}police traffic stops. 1790 01:33:54,166 --> 01:33:57,133 {\an1}- But what exactly is racial profiling? 1791 01:33:57,766 --> 01:33:59,600 {\an1}Drivers all over the country have said, 1792 01:33:59,633 --> 01:34:01,566 {\an1}they have been targeted by police. 1793 01:34:01,600 --> 01:34:03,833 {\an1}They call it "Driving While Black." 1794 01:34:03,866 --> 01:34:05,733 {\an1}And Dozens of law enforcement agencies 1795 01:34:05,766 --> 01:34:07,033 {\an1}and civil rights groups 1796 01:34:07,066 --> 01:34:10,233 {\an1}have begun gathering information on the practice. 1797 01:34:10,266 --> 01:34:12,733 {\an8}- It's impossible to understand 1798 01:34:12,766 --> 01:34:17,666 {\an7}the clashes between African Americans and the police. 1799 01:34:17,700 --> 01:34:22,666 {\an1}The countless stories of Black folks pulled over 1800 01:34:22,700 --> 01:34:25,000 {\an1}for "Driving while Black" 1801 01:34:25,033 --> 01:34:30,033 {\an1}without embedding that in the long history of conflict 1802 01:34:30,066 --> 01:34:35,066 {\an1}between African Americans and law enforcement over mobility. 1803 01:34:35,300 --> 01:34:38,066 {\an1}These go back to slave patrols. 1804 01:34:38,100 --> 01:34:40,433 {\an1}Those don't go away in terms 1805 01:34:40,466 --> 01:34:44,333 {\an1}of people's consciousness, their memories. 1806 01:34:44,366 --> 01:34:49,300 {\an1}The images of African Americans being brutally beaten, 1807 01:34:49,866 --> 01:34:53,166 {\an1}is a reminder that no matter what your status, 1808 01:34:53,200 --> 01:34:55,600 {\an1}no matter what your class, 1809 01:34:55,633 --> 01:34:57,833 {\an1}if you're marked with a dark skin, 1810 01:34:57,866 --> 01:35:01,500 {\an1}you are going to be subject to particularly punitive 1811 01:35:01,533 --> 01:35:03,066 {\an1}policing and discipline. 1812 01:35:03,100 --> 01:35:04,733 [music] 1813 01:35:04,766 --> 01:35:06,200 {\an7}- A cop is a cop. 1814 01:35:06,233 --> 01:35:07,033 {\an7}- But it doesn't mean he's right 1815 01:35:07,066 --> 01:35:09,033 {\an7}And yeah, he may be, 1816 01:35:09,066 --> 01:35:10,233 {\an1}he may be a very nice man, 1817 01:35:10,266 --> 01:35:12,733 {\an1}but I haven't got the time to figure that out. 1818 01:35:12,766 --> 01:35:15,700 {\an1}All I know is that he has a uniform and a gun, 1819 01:35:15,733 --> 01:35:17,900 {\an1}and I have to relate to him in that way. 1820 01:35:17,933 --> 01:35:21,066 {\an1}That's the only way to relate to him, at all. 1821 01:35:21,100 --> 01:35:21,933 {\an1}'cause one of us is gonna, 1822 01:35:21,966 --> 01:35:23,466 {\an1}one of us may have to die. 1823 01:35:25,066 --> 01:35:28,600 {\an1}- Americans in particular love to celebrate their history, 1824 01:35:29,933 --> 01:35:32,266 {\an1}but they don't like to look at it very closely. 1825 01:35:32,300 --> 01:35:37,300 {\an1}We tend to look for the least problematic way 1826 01:35:37,666 --> 01:35:40,933 {\an1}of moving from the past to now. 1827 01:35:42,933 --> 01:35:46,500 {\an1}And to move our society beyond the point where it is, 1828 01:35:46,533 --> 01:35:48,000 {\an1}one of the things we have to do 1829 01:35:48,033 --> 01:35:52,066 {\an1}is just engage history with a kind of brutal honesty. 1830 01:35:52,466 --> 01:35:53,466 [soft music] 1831 01:35:57,233 --> 01:36:01,000 {\an1}- The vast majority of whites who are bystanders, 1832 01:36:01,033 --> 01:36:02,566 {\an1}who are indifferent, 1833 01:36:02,600 --> 01:36:07,666 {\an1}who drive down the road past the site of a police officer 1834 01:36:09,000 --> 01:36:10,700 {\an1}frisking an African American man 1835 01:36:10,733 --> 01:36:12,333 {\an1}against the side of his car, 1836 01:36:12,366 --> 01:36:15,033 {\an7}or punching, and kicking and beating him, 1837 01:36:15,066 --> 01:36:17,033 {\an7}who are complicit in the violence, 1838 01:36:17,066 --> 01:36:20,466 {\an1}even if they would never dream of committing it themselves. 1839 01:36:20,500 --> 01:36:23,466 {\an1}And so what we see in everyday activities 1840 01:36:23,500 --> 01:36:28,766 {\an1}like driving a car and the police pulling folks over, 1841 01:36:28,800 --> 01:36:32,033 {\an1}is a combination of official violence, 1842 01:36:32,066 --> 01:36:37,066 {\an1}of the threat of violence and of widespread indifference 1843 01:36:37,100 --> 01:36:41,500 {\an1}or complicity in that violence by whites. 1844 01:36:41,533 --> 01:36:46,166 {\an1}- There are still so many dangers of being on the road, 1845 01:36:46,200 --> 01:36:48,266 {\an1}and I think we're in a time right now 1846 01:36:48,300 --> 01:36:55,466 {\an1}where African Americans are feeling a similar kind of fear 1847 01:36:56,066 --> 01:36:58,166 {\an1}- It's not gonna get any better I don't think, 1848 01:36:58,200 --> 01:36:59,533 {\an1}I'm not at all optimistic. 1849 01:36:59,566 --> 01:37:01,400 {\an1}- I think it's all gonna be the same. 1850 01:37:01,433 --> 01:37:03,433 {\an1}- The numbers never lie, 1851 01:37:03,466 --> 01:37:05,700 {\an1}this is certainly proof positive, 1852 01:37:05,733 --> 01:37:07,966 {\an1}that there is something grossly wrong 1853 01:37:08,000 --> 01:37:09,966 {\an1}with the State police. 1854 01:37:10,000 --> 01:37:11,800 {\an1}- Our police are here to protect us. 1855 01:37:11,833 --> 01:37:15,266 {\an1}They shouldn't be here to hunt us down or pick on us 1856 01:37:15,300 --> 01:37:17,533 {\an1}because we're not like them. 1857 01:37:18,300 --> 01:37:21,333 {\an7}I think that this happens all the time. 1858 01:37:21,366 --> 01:37:23,042 {\an7}- This is a fear thatconnects really strongly 1859 01:37:23,066 --> 01:37:24,700 {\an7}to the present political moment in terms 1860 01:37:24,733 --> 01:37:26,933 {\an1}of African American safety on the road, 1861 01:37:26,966 --> 01:37:28,766 {\an1}and the encounters that we see with, 1862 01:37:28,800 --> 01:37:30,166 {\an1}with law enforcement right now. 1863 01:37:30,200 --> 01:37:31,666 {\an1}This is, there's a direct line there. 1864 01:37:31,700 --> 01:37:32,876 {\an1}- [Police] Get out of the car! 1865 01:37:32,900 --> 01:37:34,109 {\an1}- [Woman] I'm getting out, let me get out, 1866 01:37:34,133 --> 01:37:36,066 {\an1}do not touch me, do not touch me. 1867 01:37:36,100 --> 01:37:38,166 {\an1}- [Police] Get out of the car now. 1868 01:37:38,200 --> 01:37:39,033 - [woman] Help! 1869 01:37:39,066 --> 01:37:40,133 Oh my God! 1870 01:37:40,166 --> 01:37:44,266 {\an1}- And I think it's only, it's only a surprise, 1871 01:37:44,300 --> 01:37:46,833 {\an1}like this is a new problem to white people. 1872 01:37:46,866 --> 01:37:49,933 {\an1}It is not a new problem in the history of the country. 1873 01:37:49,966 --> 01:37:52,466 {\an1}- So for me, past is prologue. 1874 01:37:52,500 --> 01:37:56,600 {\an1}What has gone down before have been teachable moments, 1875 01:37:56,633 --> 01:37:58,066 {\an1}sometimes you have to look back 1876 01:37:58,100 --> 01:37:59,566 {\an1}and see where you have come from. 1877 01:37:59,600 --> 01:38:02,766 {\an7}It begins to give us someindication of the attitudes 1878 01:38:02,800 --> 01:38:05,500 {\an7}that prevailed at that time, 1879 01:38:05,533 --> 01:38:09,233 {\an1}and what did it take to overcome that situation. 1880 01:38:09,266 --> 01:38:13,366 {\an1}So we study the past in order to understand 1881 01:38:13,400 --> 01:38:15,233 {\an1}how it's been transformed. 1882 01:38:15,266 --> 01:38:16,576 {\an7}- [Police] I'm going to yank you out of here. 1883 01:38:16,600 --> 01:38:18,042 {\an7}- [Woman] Okay you gonna yank me out my car? 1884 01:38:18,066 --> 01:38:21,900 {\an1}- Because the indignities are still there. 1885 01:38:21,933 --> 01:38:22,833 {\an1}- [Woman] Don't touch me. 1886 01:38:22,866 --> 01:38:24,366 {\an1}- [Police] Get out of the car! 1887 01:38:24,400 --> 01:38:25,233 {\an1}Get out! Now, get out of the car! 1888 01:38:25,266 --> 01:38:26,900 {\an1}- What I think is a little different 1889 01:38:26,933 --> 01:38:28,366 {\an1}about the present, 1890 01:38:28,400 --> 01:38:29,366 {\an1}- [Woman] For a failure to signal, 1891 01:38:29,400 --> 01:38:30,233 {\an1}you're doing all of this for a failure to signal. 1892 01:38:30,266 --> 01:38:31,476 {\an1}Right, yeah let's take this to court. 1893 01:38:31,500 --> 01:38:37,566 {\an7}- Is that people's cell phones and other recording devices 1894 01:38:37,966 --> 01:38:40,633 {\an8}have made something that African Americans 1895 01:38:40,666 --> 01:38:44,000 {\an1}always knew was going on visible. 1896 01:38:44,033 --> 01:38:46,400 {\an1}- We in the backseat of the police car. 1897 01:38:48,233 --> 01:38:50,166 {\an1}- These incidents are not new. 1898 01:38:50,200 --> 01:38:52,866 {\an1}What is new is the perception, 1899 01:38:52,900 --> 01:38:55,366 {\an1}the understanding of other people, 1900 01:38:55,400 --> 01:38:57,466 {\an1}who are not African American, 1901 01:38:57,500 --> 01:38:59,333 {\an1}how deadly this could really be. 1902 01:39:00,900 --> 01:39:03,233 {\an1}There's something similar, actually, 1903 01:39:03,266 --> 01:39:07,100 {\an1}that happens in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, 1904 01:39:07,133 --> 01:39:09,866 {\an1}which is when television comes in. 1905 01:39:09,900 --> 01:39:12,400 {\an1}They begin to see these people, 1906 01:39:12,433 --> 01:39:15,100 {\an1}marching calmly down the streets 1907 01:39:15,133 --> 01:39:17,833 {\an1}and the police are surrounding them and beating them. 1908 01:39:17,866 --> 01:39:21,833 {\an1}Because they never knew that this could really happen. 1909 01:39:22,766 --> 01:39:26,266 {\an1}Something similar is going on today, 1910 01:39:26,300 --> 01:39:29,466 {\an1}where people who are not African American 1911 01:39:29,500 --> 01:39:30,966 {\an1}have begun to see, 1912 01:39:31,000 --> 01:39:35,633 {\an1}wow, there is really a tremendous difference 1913 01:39:35,666 --> 01:39:37,566 {\an1}in what driving around in the United States 1914 01:39:37,600 --> 01:39:42,233 {\an1}and being black is than the average white American. 1915 01:39:42,266 --> 01:39:47,000 {\an1}So, today, what we have is a wider social understanding 1916 01:39:47,033 --> 01:39:48,600 {\an1}of this phenomenon. 1917 01:39:48,633 --> 01:39:51,466 {\an1}And it is shocking, it's very shocking. 1918 01:39:52,966 --> 01:39:54,333 [music] 1919 01:39:55,800 --> 01:39:57,333 {\an1}- [Man] I bought a new car, 1920 01:39:57,366 --> 01:39:59,900 {\an1}and I still had the dealer tags on it. 1921 01:40:01,166 --> 01:40:03,033 {\an1}First thing he asked me, "Is this your car?" 1922 01:40:03,066 --> 01:40:05,500 {\an1}And he's being anything but pleasant. 1923 01:40:06,700 --> 01:40:09,800 {\an1}All I kept thinking about was, if someone, 1924 01:40:09,833 --> 01:40:12,466 {\an1}like myself, who knows their rights, 1925 01:40:12,500 --> 01:40:14,600 {\an1}and I can still be taken advantage of? 1926 01:40:14,633 --> 01:40:18,566 {\an1}Any young man or woman canhave the exact same thing done. 1927 01:40:20,533 --> 01:40:21,842 {\an1}- Every time we're driving, 1928 01:40:21,866 --> 01:40:23,233 {\an1}my hands immediately start shaking 1929 01:40:23,266 --> 01:40:25,400 {\an1}and it's like "you're behind me. 1930 01:40:25,433 --> 01:40:27,566 {\an1}I don't know for what, but you're behind me." 1931 01:40:27,600 --> 01:40:29,966 {\an1}So let's just pray that you don't hit your lights. 1932 01:40:30,000 --> 01:40:31,409 {\an1}- [Woman voice] So it's kind of the situation 1933 01:40:31,433 --> 01:40:34,900 {\an1}where you feel like either you comply or you die. 1934 01:40:34,933 --> 01:40:37,033 {\an1}And you have to choose between the two. 1935 01:40:37,066 --> 01:40:39,200 {\an1}- [Man voice] I have my daughter everywhere I go. 1936 01:40:39,233 --> 01:40:43,066 {\an1}Before, I never feared that I didn't imagine 1937 01:40:43,100 --> 01:40:45,433 {\an1}being shot by the police with my daughter in the car. 1938 01:40:45,466 --> 01:40:49,100 {\an1}But now when I see police in my rear view 1939 01:40:49,133 --> 01:40:50,666 {\an1}and I'm about to be stopped, 1940 01:40:53,300 --> 01:40:54,533 my heart races. 1941 01:40:55,133 --> 01:40:56,566 [music] 1942 01:41:00,366 --> 01:41:02,466 - I think in every black family, 1943 01:41:02,500 --> 01:41:04,800 {\an1}there are these ways in which information 1944 01:41:04,833 --> 01:41:07,166 {\an1}about our society is delivered. 1945 01:41:07,200 --> 01:41:08,333 {\an1}And one of the things that, 1946 01:41:08,366 --> 01:41:11,766 {\an1}one of the constant themes is actually about safety. 1947 01:41:11,800 --> 01:41:14,566 {\an1}And there is this cruel reality in American society 1948 01:41:14,600 --> 01:41:19,600 {\an1}that Black children are cute until a certain age. 1949 01:41:19,900 --> 01:41:22,666 {\an1}And what that age is never very clear, 1950 01:41:22,700 --> 01:41:24,433 {\an1}but black parents know. 1951 01:41:24,466 --> 01:41:27,266 {\an1}My mother knew that there was a point in time 1952 01:41:27,300 --> 01:41:29,266 {\an1}when she had to tell her Black son, 1953 01:41:30,433 --> 01:41:34,266 {\an1}what it meant to be male and Black in the United States. 1954 01:41:35,066 --> 01:41:36,300 [music] 1955 01:41:39,500 --> 01:41:42,866 {\an1}And It's a terrible conversation to have to have, 1956 01:41:42,900 --> 01:41:44,700 {\an1}but it's a necessary one. 1957 01:41:48,100 --> 01:41:51,833 {\an1}- My cousins, my boyfriend, my friends, 1958 01:41:51,866 --> 01:41:57,500 {\an1}just about every Black male I know has been stopped, 1959 01:41:57,533 --> 01:42:00,900 {\an1}harassed somehow driving while Black, 1960 01:42:00,933 --> 01:42:03,666 {\an1}standing on the corner while Black, 1961 01:42:03,700 --> 01:42:06,733 {\an1}walking across the street while Black, 1962 01:42:06,766 --> 01:42:09,100 I mean, as I think about it, 1963 01:42:09,133 --> 01:42:11,000 {\an7}it gets me more pissed off 1964 01:42:11,033 --> 01:42:13,200 {\an1}and upset every time I think about it. 1965 01:42:16,466 --> 01:42:19,833 {\an7}- So the question isn't "Driving while Black." 1966 01:42:21,633 --> 01:42:25,600 {\an7}We're at a moment where it'sthe presence of the black body, 1967 01:42:25,633 --> 01:42:28,566 {\an1}whether that body's in movement or sedentary 1968 01:42:28,600 --> 01:42:30,166 {\an1}is one that is considered a threat 1969 01:42:30,200 --> 01:42:32,066 {\an1}and needs to be controlled. 1970 01:42:32,100 --> 01:42:33,433 {\an1}And until we get to a place 1971 01:42:33,466 --> 01:42:36,133 {\an1}in which we actually are trying to live up to life, liberty, 1972 01:42:36,166 --> 01:42:38,533 {\an1}and pursuit of happiness in its totality 1973 01:42:38,566 --> 01:42:41,766 {\an1}for every human being who is in our society, 1974 01:42:41,800 --> 01:42:43,900 {\an1}then we're not there yet. 1975 01:42:45,666 --> 01:42:47,076 {\an1}- [Police] Could I see some ID please sir? 1976 01:42:47,100 --> 01:42:48,800 {\an1}- [Driver] For what, for what? 1977 01:42:48,833 --> 01:42:50,242 {\an1}- [Police] I need to see your driver's license 1978 01:42:50,266 --> 01:42:51,066 {\an7}and registration. 1979 01:42:51,100 --> 01:42:51,900 {\an7}- [Driver] For what? 1980 01:42:51,933 --> 01:42:53,733 {\an7}- [Police] Step out of the car. 1981 01:42:53,766 --> 01:42:55,500 [music] 1982 01:43:02,433 --> 01:43:03,600 [rap music] 1983 01:43:06,000 --> 01:43:08,333 {\an1}Stop! Stop! Hey! Hey! Stop! 1984 01:43:10,666 --> 01:43:12,866 {\an1}- [Driver] What he doing? 1985 01:43:12,900 --> 01:43:16,666 {\an1}What the police doing, what the police doing? 1986 01:43:18,233 --> 01:43:20,966 {\an1}- [Woman passenger] Oh my God. 1987 01:43:21,000 --> 01:43:24,033 {\an1}- [Police] Please step out the [ ] car. 1988 01:43:24,066 --> 01:43:26,233 {\an7}Get out the [ ] car right now. 1989 01:43:26,266 --> 01:43:28,600 {\an8}Get out the [ ] car. 1990 01:43:29,066 --> 01:43:30,400 {\an8}Yes, get out now. 1991 01:43:31,200 --> 01:43:33,300 {\an1}Get out the [ ] car. 1992 01:43:33,333 --> 01:43:34,300 Hands up. 1993 01:43:34,333 --> 01:43:36,200 {\an1}- [Woman voice] I can't put my hands up, 1994 01:43:36,233 --> 01:43:38,333 {\an1}I have a [ ] baby in my hands. 1995 01:43:39,100 --> 01:43:40,409 {\an1}- [Police] When I tell you to do something 1996 01:43:40,433 --> 01:43:41,333 you [ ] do it. 1997 01:43:41,366 --> 01:43:42,133 {\an1}- [Woman voice] I can't put my hands up, 1998 01:43:42,166 --> 01:43:45,033 {\an1}I have a [ ] baby in my arms. 1999 01:43:45,066 --> 01:43:46,200 [screaming] 2000 01:43:46,233 --> 01:43:48,700 {\an1}- [Man voice] Hey! Hey! Whoa, sir! Calm down! 2001 01:43:49,200 --> 01:43:51,166 {\an1}That's how y'all treat black people, huh? 2002 01:43:53,333 --> 01:43:56,400 {\an1}♪ Don't look good if you look like me ♪ 2003 01:43:57,366 --> 01:43:58,700 {\an1}♪ Like me, like me 2004 01:43:59,133 --> 01:44:01,200 {\an1}♪ Don't look good if you look like me ♪ 2005 01:44:01,233 --> 01:44:03,100 {\an1}- I was taught, many years ago, 2006 01:44:03,133 --> 01:44:05,400 {\an1}that if the police stop you, 2007 01:44:05,433 --> 01:44:07,433 {\an1}put your hands on the steering wheel. 2008 01:44:07,466 --> 01:44:08,566 {\an1}And if you have passengers, 2009 01:44:08,600 --> 01:44:12,033 {\an1}have them to put their hands on the dashboard 2010 01:44:12,066 --> 01:44:13,266 {\an1}or on the back of the seat. 2011 01:44:13,300 --> 01:44:15,866 {\an1}Because when the police come up, 2012 01:44:15,900 --> 01:44:17,200 {\an1}they see any kind of movement, 2013 01:44:17,233 --> 01:44:19,733 {\an1}they already have their guns out, 2014 01:44:21,233 --> 01:44:22,933 {\an1}finger on the trigger. 2015 01:44:22,966 --> 01:44:24,733 {\an1}And any kind of little movement 2016 01:44:25,633 --> 01:44:27,833 {\an1}can 'cause them to kill you. 2017 01:44:28,133 --> 01:44:32,433 {\an1}- One of the great fictions of American racialism 2018 01:44:33,400 --> 01:44:36,266 {\an1}is that there is things Black people can do 2019 01:44:36,300 --> 01:44:42,500 {\an1}to disarm white people to avoid violent backlashes 2020 01:44:42,533 --> 01:44:43,600 {\an1}from white people, 2021 01:44:43,633 --> 01:44:46,366 {\an1}to make themselves less threatening to white people. 2022 01:44:46,400 --> 01:44:48,400 {\an1}There are things they can wear, 2023 01:44:48,433 --> 01:44:50,666 {\an1}there are ways that they can speak, 2024 01:44:50,700 --> 01:44:53,033 {\an1}there are behaviors, mannerisms, 2025 01:44:53,066 --> 01:44:56,366 {\an1}manners of walking that will actually be less threatening. 2026 01:44:56,400 --> 01:44:58,066 {\an7}And what that tends to do it is tends 2027 01:44:58,100 --> 01:45:00,933 {\an7}to normalize white violence. 2028 01:45:00,966 --> 01:45:05,833 {\an7}It tends to give whiteviolence a kind of rationality 2029 01:45:05,866 --> 01:45:07,933 {\an7}that it never deserves. 2030 01:45:07,966 --> 01:45:10,066 {\an1}And the reality is that there is nothing 2031 01:45:10,100 --> 01:45:13,566 {\an1}that black people can do to disarm white violence. 2032 01:45:13,600 --> 01:45:16,933 {\an1}The reality is that those talks that parents have 2033 01:45:16,966 --> 01:45:20,233 {\an1}with their kids are frustrating, 2034 01:45:20,266 --> 01:45:22,633 {\an1}frightening and anxiety filled 2035 01:45:22,666 --> 01:45:25,133 {\an1}precisely because that conversation 2036 01:45:25,166 --> 01:45:26,833 {\an1}that you're having with a black child 2037 01:45:26,866 --> 01:45:29,333 {\an1}about the dangers of negotiating, 2038 01:45:29,366 --> 01:45:32,666 {\an1}of moving through this society, 2039 01:45:32,700 --> 01:45:35,766 {\an1}confess the powerlessness of the parents 2040 01:45:35,800 --> 01:45:38,333 {\an1}to actually protect their children. 2041 01:45:38,366 --> 01:45:40,533 {\an1}- So if you are stopped by a police officer, 2042 01:45:40,566 --> 01:45:43,966 {\an1}I told my children, "You keep your hands on the wheel, 2043 01:45:44,000 --> 01:45:46,300 {\an1}you turn on the light in the car, 2044 01:45:46,333 --> 01:45:48,766 {\an1}so the police officer can see you, 2045 01:45:48,800 --> 01:45:51,600 {\an1}you don't make any sudden moves." 2046 01:45:51,633 --> 01:45:55,233 {\an1}- When you're in a car and you're an African American, 2047 01:45:55,266 --> 01:46:00,233 {\an1}you know that any incident could be violent. 2048 01:46:00,266 --> 01:46:02,966 {\an1}Part of what they train you to do 2049 01:46:03,000 --> 01:46:05,000 {\an1}as you are learning to drive, 2050 01:46:05,033 --> 01:46:07,000 {\an1}yes you're learning how to operate the car, 2051 01:46:07,033 --> 01:46:08,633 {\an1}yes you're learning what the direction... 2052 01:46:12,233 --> 01:46:15,166 {\an1}with people when you have a problem. 2053 01:46:15,200 --> 01:46:17,333 {\an1}- Take a look at me, I'm been... 2054 01:46:17,366 --> 01:46:19,633 {\an1}even if you are taught that you could die. 2055 01:46:19,666 --> 01:46:22,166 {\an1}And the goal, which I said over and over to my children, 2056 01:46:22,200 --> 01:46:26,400 {\an1}your goal is to live long enough to get to the jail, 2057 01:46:26,433 --> 01:46:27,633 {\an1}where you can call us. 2058 01:46:27,666 --> 01:46:29,776 {\an1}And then we will come, and we will do everything we can. 2059 01:46:29,800 --> 01:46:30,766 {\an1}We will find a lawyer, 2060 01:46:30,800 --> 01:46:32,109 {\an1}I don't know what you, care what you've done. 2061 01:46:32,133 --> 01:46:34,933 {\an1}But your goal in this situation 2062 01:46:34,966 --> 01:46:38,333 {\an1}is to live long enough to call us. 2063 01:46:38,366 --> 01:46:41,033 {\an1}Now, all of this might not save you. 2064 01:46:41,066 --> 01:46:42,309 {\an1}i-All of this might noto save you, 2065 01:46:42,333 --> 01:46:43,733 {\an1}and you know that too. 2066 01:46:43,766 --> 01:46:45,366 {\an1}But the point is, 2067 01:46:46,166 --> 01:46:49,866 {\an1}When you are training a young African-American, 2068 01:46:49,900 --> 01:46:51,733 {\an1}that is part of their education. 2069 01:46:51,766 --> 01:46:54,966 {\an1}Now, maybe other people do that with their children too, 2070 01:46:55,000 --> 01:46:57,166 {\an1}but I don't think so to the same degree. 2071 01:46:57,200 --> 01:46:59,500 {\an1}Because they don't have the sense 2072 01:46:59,533 --> 01:47:01,866 {\an1}that if you're not really doing, 2073 01:47:01,900 --> 01:47:04,300 {\an1}like maybe you went through a red light, let's just say. 2074 01:47:04,333 --> 01:47:06,033 {\an1}Okay, you're at fault. 2075 01:47:06,066 --> 01:47:08,400 {\an1}But you're not really worried that you're going 2076 01:47:08,433 --> 01:47:12,066 {\an1}to die before you can get to get back home. 2077 01:47:13,766 --> 01:47:16,600 {\an1}- I think what makes me most angry 2078 01:47:16,633 --> 01:47:18,933 {\an7}is when I think about my own children. 2079 01:47:19,966 --> 01:47:22,900 {\an1}And when I think about my grandchildren 2080 01:47:22,933 --> 01:47:25,833 {\an1}who are ages six and four, 2081 01:47:25,866 --> 01:47:28,000 {\an1}and I think about whether or not 2082 01:47:28,033 --> 01:47:31,066 {\an1}things have changed dramatically. 2083 01:47:31,100 --> 01:47:32,566 {\an1}And sometimes I think they have, 2084 01:47:32,600 --> 01:47:35,400 {\an1}and sometimes I realize that it's 2085 01:47:35,433 --> 01:47:37,933 {\an1}one step forward, two steps back. 2086 01:47:37,966 --> 01:47:41,433 {\an1}Perhaps this is the moment when white people 2087 01:47:41,466 --> 01:47:44,700 {\an1}are as concerned as black people 2088 01:47:44,733 --> 01:47:48,566 {\an1}about what's going on withrace relations in this country. 2089 01:47:50,066 --> 01:47:55,433 {\an1}- I'm a father, my son's17, good kid, smart kid. 2090 01:48:01,566 --> 01:48:06,200 {\an1}For any American who is out there, any man, any parent, 2091 01:48:10,666 --> 01:48:11,676 {\an1}I want them to look in my eyes 2092 01:48:11,700 --> 01:48:13,666 {\an1}and ask themself a question which is, 2093 01:48:16,366 --> 01:48:19,300 {\an1}"How would you feel if you were concerned 2094 01:48:19,333 --> 01:48:22,466 {\an1}about your child being taken, 2095 01:48:22,500 --> 01:48:24,300 {\an1}- [Police] Don't reach for it. 2096 01:48:25,133 --> 01:48:27,866 {\an7}don't pull it out, don't pull it out! 2097 01:48:30,300 --> 01:48:31,366 {\an8}- Life ended? 2098 01:48:33,133 --> 01:48:35,500 {\an1}And when after all investigation is done, 2099 01:48:36,633 --> 01:48:38,666 {\an1}the reason why the life was ended 2100 01:48:38,700 --> 01:48:42,166 {\an1}was because there was a man with a gun 2101 01:48:42,200 --> 01:48:43,666 {\an1}who was afraid for his life? 2102 01:48:43,700 --> 01:48:45,309 {\an1}- [Police] I told him not to reach for it, 2103 01:48:45,333 --> 01:48:47,566 {\an1}I told him to get his hand out there. 2104 01:48:47,600 --> 01:48:49,966 {\an1}- And because he was a police officer, 2105 01:48:50,000 --> 01:48:53,366 {\an1}because my son didn't comply, 2106 01:48:55,000 --> 01:48:57,900 {\an1}whatever that means, he would end up dead? 2107 01:49:02,000 --> 01:49:04,800 {\an1}Tell me how you would feel if that 2108 01:49:04,833 --> 01:49:06,266 {\an1}was a real risk every day? 2109 01:49:07,633 --> 01:49:09,800 {\an1}Tell me what you communicate to your son. 2110 01:49:11,233 --> 01:49:12,233 {\an1}I'm really asking, 2111 01:49:13,633 --> 01:49:14,633 {\an1}what do you say?" 2112 01:49:17,966 --> 01:49:19,233 [soft music] 2113 01:49:33,300 --> 01:49:34,900 {\an1}And do you show them anger? 2114 01:49:36,733 --> 01:49:38,266 {\an1}Do you show your son hurt? 2115 01:49:38,300 --> 01:49:40,300 {\an1}Do you show him fear? 2116 01:49:40,333 --> 01:49:43,666 {\an1}Do you do something impractical about it? 2117 01:49:46,633 --> 01:49:50,266 {\an1}But to me, driving while black 2118 01:49:50,300 --> 01:49:54,233 {\an1}is at its core driving while afraid. 2119 01:49:57,533 --> 01:50:05,533 {\an1}And if I have to fear the State, 2120 01:50:07,533 --> 01:50:13,600 {\an1}the State, that which we are all a part of, 2121 01:50:15,266 --> 01:50:17,400 {\an1}then am I member of the State? 2122 01:50:17,433 --> 01:50:19,366 {\an1}Am I a member of the society? 2123 01:50:19,400 --> 01:50:21,466 {\an1}Is my son a member of the society? 2124 01:50:22,200 --> 01:50:23,633 [soft music] 2125 01:50:29,266 --> 01:50:30,733 {\an1}Those are real questions, 2126 01:50:32,833 --> 01:50:34,966 {\an1}those are real questions. 2127 01:50:36,333 --> 01:50:37,966 {\an8}[screaming] 2128 01:50:42,966 --> 01:50:46,033 {\an7}[several gunshots] 2129 01:50:46,066 --> 01:50:47,300 {\an8}[screaming] 2130 01:50:47,333 --> 01:50:50,300 {\an7}- [Man voice] Why the [ ] y'all just shoot him? 2131 01:50:50,333 --> 01:50:51,933 [siren] 2132 01:50:52,633 --> 01:50:55,633 {\an1}Why the [ ] y'all just shoot that man? 2133 01:50:55,666 --> 01:50:57,133 {\an1}Y'all bogus as [ ] that's why 2134 01:50:57,166 --> 01:50:58,833 {\an1}we don't [ ] like the police. 2135 01:51:01,266 --> 01:51:02,300 {\an8}- Human life, 2136 01:51:03,700 --> 01:51:07,066 {\an8}let it marinate in your mouth, in your minds. 2137 01:51:07,100 --> 01:51:11,233 {\an7}A human life, just likeevery single one of y'all. 2138 01:51:11,266 --> 01:51:13,066 {\an1}And everyone around us, we're human. 2139 01:51:14,200 --> 01:51:15,600 {\an1}And his life matters. 2140 01:51:17,300 --> 01:51:19,633 {\an1}So many people have reached out to me, 2141 01:51:19,666 --> 01:51:21,500 {\an1}telling me they're sorry 2142 01:51:21,533 --> 01:51:23,666 {\an1}that this has been happening to my family. 2143 01:51:23,700 --> 01:51:26,266 {\an1}Well, don't be sorry, 'cause this has been happening 2144 01:51:26,300 --> 01:51:28,833 {\an1}to my family for a long time, 2145 01:51:29,866 --> 01:51:31,966 {\an1}longer than I can account for. 2146 01:51:33,700 --> 01:51:36,000 {\an1}It happened to Emmett Till, 2147 01:51:36,033 --> 01:51:37,566 {\an1}Emmett Till is my family. 2148 01:51:38,700 --> 01:51:41,900 {\an1}Philando, Mike Brown, Sandra, 2149 01:51:42,733 --> 01:51:44,833 {\an1}this has been happening to my family. 2150 01:51:44,866 --> 01:51:46,666 {\an1}And I shed tears for every single 2151 01:51:46,700 --> 01:51:48,209 {\an1}one of these people that it's happened to. 2152 01:51:48,233 --> 01:51:51,600 {\an1}This is nothing new, I'm not sad, 2153 01:51:51,633 --> 01:51:55,866 {\an1}I'm not sorry, I'm angry and I'm tired. 2154 01:51:57,366 --> 01:51:59,600 {\an1}I haven't cried one time, 2155 01:51:59,633 --> 01:52:01,666 {\an1}I stopped crying years ago. 2156 01:52:02,533 --> 01:52:03,533 I am numb, 2157 01:52:05,266 --> 01:52:07,533 {\an1}I have been watching police murder people 2158 01:52:07,566 --> 01:52:09,966 {\an1}that look like me for years. 2159 01:52:13,833 --> 01:52:15,966 {\an1}I'm not sad, I don't want your pity, 2160 01:52:16,000 --> 01:52:17,033 I want change. 2161 01:52:19,666 --> 01:52:23,133 [tense music] 2162 01:52:23,166 --> 01:52:26,933 {\an1}[James Baldwin] This past, the Negro's past, 2163 01:52:27,900 --> 01:52:31,466 {\an1}fear by day and night, 2164 01:52:31,500 --> 01:52:34,566 {\an1}fear as deep as the marrow of the bone, 2165 01:52:35,233 --> 01:52:37,500 {\an1}doubt that he was worthy of life, 2166 01:52:37,533 --> 01:52:40,400 {\an1}since everyone around him denied it. 2167 01:52:40,433 --> 01:52:48,433 {\an1}This past this endless struggle to achieve and reveal 2168 01:52:48,466 --> 01:52:51,933 {\an1}and confirm a human identity. 2169 01:52:51,966 --> 01:52:58,533 {\an1}Everything now, we must assume is in our hands. 2170 01:52:58,566 --> 01:53:01,566 {\an1}We have no right to assume otherwise. 2171 01:53:01,600 --> 01:53:08,566 {\an1}If we and now by that I meanthe relatively conscious whites 2172 01:53:08,600 --> 01:53:11,500 {\an1}and the relatively conscious blacks, 2173 01:53:11,533 --> 01:53:16,966 {\an1}who must, like lovers, insist on, 2174 01:53:17,000 --> 01:53:20,500 {\an1}or create the consciousness of others. 2175 01:53:20,533 --> 01:53:24,066 {\an1}do not falter in our duty now, 2176 01:53:24,100 --> 01:53:28,066 {\an1}we may be able, handful that we are, 2177 01:53:28,100 --> 01:53:30,933 {\an1}to end the racial nightmare, 2178 01:53:30,966 --> 01:53:37,500 {\an1}and achieve our country andchange the history of the world. 2179 01:53:38,666 --> 01:53:42,066 {\an1}James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time. 2180 01:53:42,733 --> 01:53:44,966 1963 2181 01:53:51,500 --> 01:53:55,433 ♪ Oh 2182 01:53:55,466 --> 01:53:59,066 ♪ Mmm, Yeah 2183 01:53:59,100 --> 01:54:03,133 ♪ Oh oh oh 2184 01:54:03,166 --> 01:54:05,966 ♪ If it ain't the virus then its violence ♪ 2185 01:54:06,000 --> 01:54:07,833 ♪ Too much silence in the air 2186 01:54:07,866 --> 01:54:10,700 ♪ Our people scared, feels like nobody cares ♪ 2187 01:54:10,733 --> 01:54:12,700 {\an1}♪ If you wanna close the distance ♪ 2188 01:54:12,733 --> 01:54:14,633 {\an1}♪ And you're white then it's all fine ♪ 2189 01:54:14,666 --> 01:54:16,233 {\an1}If you're not, you crossed a line 2190 01:54:16,266 --> 01:54:18,166 {\an1}♪ We shouldn't dare and it's not fair ♪ 2191 01:54:18,200 --> 01:54:22,133 {\an1}♪ We shouldn't have to worry when we go outside the house ♪ 2192 01:54:22,166 --> 01:54:23,800 {\an1}♪ Built this country on our backs ♪ 2193 01:54:23,833 --> 01:54:25,833 {\an1}♪ They just keep breaking us down ♪ 2194 01:54:25,866 --> 01:54:30,633 {\an1}♪ It's 2020, what the hell is that about? ♪ 2195 01:54:30,666 --> 01:54:33,200 {\an1}♪ I'm trynna figure out 2196 01:54:33,233 --> 01:54:36,000 {\an1}♪ How is the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ 2197 01:54:36,033 --> 01:54:37,376 {\an1}♪ Built off the backs of the slaves? ♪ 2198 01:54:37,400 --> 01:54:39,266 {\an1}♪ Black man shot every couple of days ♪ 2199 01:54:39,300 --> 01:54:41,166 {\an1}♪ They see you run and put you in a grave ♪ 2200 01:54:41,200 --> 01:54:43,166 {\an1}♪ People dying, mommas crying 2201 01:54:43,200 --> 01:54:45,033 {\an1}♪ It's no longer underlying 2202 01:54:45,066 --> 01:54:46,933 {\an1}♪ And to keep on justifying 2203 01:54:46,966 --> 01:54:50,966 {\an1}♪ So we gotta keep on trying