Driving While Black

If there’s ever a symbol of  freedom, it’s the independence to be where you want to be, when you want to be, when you want to be. A large section of society—mostly marginalised groups and minorities—struggles for this freedom, even today. 

Driving While Black discusses this road to freedom for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement. A movement, which quite literally, saw the car as more than just a mode of transport. In her book, Sorin heavily refers to the Green Book, by Victor and Alma Green. A travel guide of sorts in 1936, which pointed Civil Rights workers towards safe guest houses, night clubs, restaurants and hotels across the country to rest between protests, or even have a family vacation. She details how black-only businesses and establishments became a new way to fight oppression, and the car a way to reach them. 

Sprinkled with anecdotes, her own family history, and some well-known black American imagery, Driving While Black is representative of what’s happening today. 

The book is a publication of Liveright and is available for $28.95