EOTO #3

 During this week’s EOTO presentations I was had the privilege of learning on a number of topics. Some of these topics included that of the Negro Motorist Green Book, Executive Order 9981, as well as learning more about one of my personal heroes, Thurgood Marshall.

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a travel guide published by a black postal worker named Victor Hugo Green from the years of 1936 to 1966. This book was seen and used as an invaluable resource during this time due to the both reasonable and unreasonable fears of blacks around the potential of having to travel for any kind of reason during this time. The book included various lists of black owned businesses, warnings of potentially dangerous areas for black people, advice for the blacks traveling through certain areas, as well as information about “sundown towns”. The guide was used by middle class black families who were traveling during the period. Highly in part due to the fact that the middle class and high class were the only ones that could afford to travel at the time. The guide was so widely used and counted upon that it began to garner the name, “Bible of Black Travel”. 

The knowledge gathering process for the “Green Book” was one that heavily involved the communities in which were being detailed in the book. Victor Hugo reportedly relied heavily on friends, fellow travelers, and locals of these communities across the U.S. as he was writing his books. Green was somewhat known for encouraging readers to submit recommendations, reports, and other information.People caught wind of this and eventually began offering up information in droves, allowing others to take a peek in what their specific corner of the U.S. was like for them. The Green Book also had what were called regional correspondents. These were people employed by the Green Book and whose job it was to build networks around the country in order to provide accurate and up to date information.

Executive Order 9981 was an executive order handed down by President Harry S. Truman on July 26^th, 1948. The aim of the order aimed to create “equality of treatment” in the U.S. Armed Forces. The order meant that all military units must be integrated and that black service members were to have the same opportunities for advancement up the chain of command as their white counterparts. The execution of the order practiced the concept of gradualism, with its contents not truly being completely implemented until the late 50s. Influence upon this act comes, in large part, from blacks’ participation in WWII. Approximately 1.2 million blacks served in the military during the war. While facing numerous barriers they still found a way to stand out for their bravery. Examples of this include the Tuskegee Airmen, the 761^st Tank Battalion, as well as the Montford Point Marines. 

Thurgood Marshall was a trailblazer and one of my personal heroes. Marshall was born into a working class family in Baltimore, Maryland. His dad was a railroad porter and waiter, and his mom was a teacher. Marshall attended Howard School of Law, an HBCU. This was crucial in developing his interest in civil rights and his eventual future career path. Whilst attending Howard, Marshall picked up a mentor by the name of Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston was known as a revolutionary during the time due to his unique approach of using law school as a tool in reshaping the world around him in terms of social change and racial equality. Marshall reportedly had troubles finding work straight out of law school, a problem which most attribute to racial prejudice. Due to this as well as other possible factors, Marshall decided to begin his own private law practice in Baltimore, focusing on helping black clients. In 1938, Marshall began working as a full time employee of the NAACP. Started out as legal counsel, Marshall quickly rose up through the ranks and found himself in the position of the civil rights organization’s chief legal strategist. Before the case that most know Marshall for, Brown v Board, Marshall won other key cases as well such as Murray v Pearson (1936), Missouri ex rel. Gaines v Canada (1938), and Chambers v Florida (1940). In 1967, Marshall was nominated to Supreme Court by then President, Lyndon B. Johnson. Marshall served the court from 1967 to 1991, constantly fighting for the rights of the minority.