Green Book

Mrs. Film Geek and I were eager to see Green Book, as we're always on the look for flicks that dramatize complicated relationships. We bought our popcorn and sat down expecting a film that touched lightly on racism and more deeply on personal connection -- and in large part that's what we encountered.

But, what we received mostly was (yet another) lesson in white privilege.

Neither MFG nor I had reference for the real-life publication The Negro Travelers' Green Book: The Guide For Travel And Vacations. For more than 30 years the Green Book was published in the USA because, as the publisher wrote on the 1956 edition, "The white traveler has had no difficulty in getting accommodations, but with the Negro, it has been different. He, before the advent of the Negro travel guide, had to depend on word of mouth, and many times accommodations were not available." (See article here.)

Never in my half-century of living have I had to seek advice on where to have lunch, get gas, or lodge overnight while traveling. I've never been forced to plan my routes according to where I might feel safest. Not a single time have I feared being turned away from conducting business because of the color of my skin.

The Green Book ceased publication in 1966, soon after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It became unnecessary because, legally, white privilege can't exist in 'Merica.

Tradition, human nature, and psychology suggest otherwise.