It wasn't AAA, but it got the job done.

I would like to start this post by asking Mitt Romney to release all of his tax returns. It's important for our election process and democracy here in America.

Mitt, I thank you in advance.

Anyway, I remember my parents telling me stories about when they were young college students in these divided states of America. They would often have to drive down South and the accommodations for people of color was not exactly what it is today.

Recently I stumbled on an article from The Root about a book that was written back in the day to help the "Negro motorist" navigate Jim Crow America while driving.  My parents didn't have the "The Negro Motorist Green Book", but somehow they managed.

"In 1936 a Harlem postal worker and activist named Victor H. Green decided to develop a guide that would help African Americans travel throughout the country in a safe and comfortable manner. The Negro Motorist Green Book (also called The Negro Travelers' Green Book), often simply known as The Green Book, identified places that welcomed black people during an era when Jim Crow laws and de facto segregation made it difficult for them to travel domestically without fear of racial backlash.

The Green Book listed businesses and places of interest such as nightclubs, beauty salons, barbershops, gas stations and garages that catered to black road-trippers. For almost three decades, travelers could request (for just 10 cents' postage) and receive a guide from Green. Eventually the guide expanded to encompass information about Canada and Mexico.

Like users of today's popular recommendation sites such as TripAdvisor, travelers collected information during their journeys, which they shared with Green and his team of editors. The data were then incorporated into future editions. "Historically, The Green Book falls in line with the underreported activism of black postal workers and the heightened awareness of driving while black in certain regions of the country," says Robert Smith, associate professor of African-American and civil rights history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "Although many think of this book in historical terms, the challenges facing black travelers then resonate with black travelers now, particularly as it relates to racial profiling and stop-and-frisk laws."  

If there are any of you Negroes out there reading this with an entrepreneurial spirit, you might want to consider developing a similar book for the modern day Negro traveler.  Jim Crow is now illegal so the challenge is to teach Negroes their legal rights as it relates to things such as racial profiling on our highways. Also, you might want to include a chapter on just how to behave when stopped in order to keep your ass out of a Rodney King type situation.

The following is from a person calling themselves Willski who left a comment under the original post:

"We need to be real in this day and time. Several years ago my niece her two sons and her mom were traveling cross country. My niece was traveling from California to North Carolina to start her new job. They stopped in Texas to purchase some food at a local eatery. When a Godly white couple approached them and informed them to fill their car up with gas at this stop, and do not stop in certain portions of Texas in that they not friendly toward African Americans. My niece was grateful to the couple. I myself traveled from California to Michigan to see family. I took the I-80 route from Reno Nevada on. Every thing wen well until I got to Iowa. I stopped a gas station road side to purchase some sodas and water. When I went in the establishment I was meet with a tumultuous greeting as to "What Do you Want." I said it not worth it - to come down to level of these individuals. I simply left the place never to return again. Just recently I was traveling to the Monterey bay area from the greater Sacramento/Stockton area when I came up a little town on the way to purchase from a subway sandwich shop and I was meet with that same old garbage what are you doing here. This time it was more unspoken of than spoken. I am 62 years old and I have seen racist garbage from the elite to the lower social economic class. I still hurts. I have a thick skin but I hate to see my love ones exposed to it. African Americans still need to cautious. America can still be a dangerous place for blacks traveling it. I still stock up on food, water, sodas, and gas. Take Care My brother & Sisters......"

Well Willski, I am not as cautious as you-----or I am sure my parents were back in the day, but I always make sure that the hotel room door is locked, and I never go more than 15 miles over the speed limit on the highway.