'Auto Trends' Women's History Month Spotlight: African American Travel And The Road To Civil Rights (Two Shows)

 

As we kickoff Women's History Month, Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, the only syndicated multicultural automotive program in North America, is reaching into our archives re-airing a 2020 conversation centered around cars, travel, Civil Rights and American history. In light of the current state of the world, it seems fitting that we revisit history, seeing the climate the Black community encountered before gaining many of the civil liberties most of us have taken for granted. 

In an exclusive two-part conversation with Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, curator, documentarian, professor and author Dr. Gretchen Sorin literally take us on a historical road trip, exploring the popular acronym DWB beyond the lens of racial profiling. In her book, Driving While Black: African American Travel And The Road To Civil Rights, the effervescent Sorin shares how the car, which has served as the ultimate symbol of independence and possibility, played different roles for both the Black and white community.

We begin our talk during the period of 1930, which was also known as the Jim Crow Era, discussing everything from W. E. B. Dubose to Booker T. Washington to Albert Einstein to the cars that played a prominent role with Black vacationers, business travelers, entertainers, sports figures and Civil Rights activists. We also dissect the history behind sundown towns and the infamous Green Book travel guides, sharing a number of revealing findings. 

And we conclude our conversation, discussing the Federal Highway Administration role with segregating Black communities. We also delve into how Dr. Sorin partnered with filmmaker Ric Burns, who is the younger brother to documentarian Ken Burns, to turn her book, which has been a labor of love for over two decades, into a PBS documentary.

How To Tune In On Sirius And Other Free Radio/Online Outlets

To Tune In via SiriusXM and/or several of our free FM online outlets, click here.

Show One Airs - Saturday, March 1 - Thursday, March 6

Show Two Airs - Saturday, March 8- Thursday, March 13

And for more information on the upcoming PBS Special, click here.