by Candacy A Taylor
What an amazing book. A book about a book, or rather a series of books, published from 1936 to 1967, telling the black traveler where it was possible to eat, rent a hotel room, or buy gas. Or get your hair done, or get your car fix, or buy a drink, or see a live performance. It was shocking.
Growing up in the sixties, I knew that theaters used to have colored only seating in the balcony. Although in my days that was just a sign on the wall--I don't remember any enforcement of it. But I wouldn't, you see, being white. Did my friends get rudely re-routed to the stairs in the back?
But I had no idea how very pervasive the restrictions used to be. To think of a black man having to wear a chauffeur's cap and pretend he was "taking his boss'es car to the garage" in order to drive the streets of the US. To think of the majority of restaurants, especially in the south and western states, not even allowing a Negro to sit at a table. To think of black men preferring to drive at night because there were less cops on the roads "moving them along" in those days.
And to be honest true, I'd never heard of "sundown towns". The idea makes me gag.
The author, Ms. Taylor, did a magnificent job of putting all this material together and making a readable, although horrifying, book out of it. Great writing--great choice of topics--great organization.
My only complaint--and warning--is that she takes advantage of her book to mount a pulpit and raise alarm about the current crisis of black male incarceration. It is indeed a shocking, infuriating, miserable issue, and she deserves a chance to remind us of it. But did it belong in the book? Maybe not. But that's okay.
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