My grandparents (who lived in Baltimore) would take me and their foster/adopted children on road trips further south (to Virginia and North Carolina) to visit other family members when we were little kids in the 70s. I remember the "Green Book" sitting casually on the kitchen or coffee table (next to the Dreambook 😅). My grandad couldn't read and my grandmom couldn't drive. They relied on each other AND that book. I didn't realize the gravity of our trips at the time. Now I realize why I was made to squat to pee in the crevice between the car and the door while my male uncle/cousins were made to look the other way to give me some modicum of dignity (How, ironic!). I thought we left late at night so that we kids would sleep through most of the trip and not be annoyances the entire way. I thought at the time that they just didn't want to deal with having to make stops at a restroom with a bunch of little kids, but now I understand the weight and gravity of those pauses on the side of the road. I now know why my grandmother prepped a bunch of wet washcloths for the journey. I now comprehend why she cooked so much fried chicken (enough to feed an army) for the trip. All of this was so that we wouldn't have to stop, because stopping could have meant danger, harm or, even, death. I'm sure this is why travel is more than just "fun" to me. It's the fulfillment of my right to go and be and do what I want. It's me carrying on the courage that my grandparents and parents had to take journeys. I'm serious when I say I want to #goeverywhere and help others, especially Black folks, do the same.
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