Claude was 24-years old when he drove from Detroit, Michigan to Tuskegee, Alabama. It was 1934 and a dangerous time for Black Americans to travel from northern to southern states, which is why so many used the Green Book* guide. 

However, my grandfather’s journey to Tuskegee was done on behalf of the Ford Motor Company. His safety was fortified by telegrams from company officials to all the Ford dealerships along Claude’s trip to Tuskegee. As long as he made it to the designated Ford dealer in the towns for which he had to stay during his travels, the letter in his possession and the telegrams ensured Claude’s safety and welcomed him into homes of Ford dealers for meals and overnight accommodations. When my grandfather shared this life event, he always noted his initial reaction was not to make that trip.

*The Negro Motorist Green Book, an annual guidebook for African-American roadtrippers, was originated and published by African American, New York City mailman Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1966, during the era of Jim Crow laws, when open and often legally prescribed discrimination against African Americans especially and other non-whites was widespread. Although pervasive racial discrimination and poverty limited black car ownership, the emerging African-American middle class bought automobiles as soon as they could, but faced a variety of dangers and inconveniences along the road, from refusal of food and lodging to arbitrary arrest. In response, Green wrote his guide to services and places relatively friendly to African-Americans, eventually expanding its coverage from the New York area to much of North America, as well as founding a travel agency.