NOTE: I posted this two years ago. Now, with a black man about to become president of the United States, it’s worth looking at again.
This is the full version of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
So what does King have to do with Route 66? Well, there’s this passage:
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” […] We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. […] We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by a sign stating: “For Whites Only.”
I occasionally long to time-travel back a few decades to see Route 66 during its heyday, along with its restaurants, motels and businesses. But I have no desire to stay in that time of widespread racial discrimination.
Michael Wallis, author of “Route 66: The Mother Road,” alluded to this during a speech in 2003:
… [T]he late great Nat King Cole, the man with the velvet voice who helped immortalize this very highway by singing Bobby Troup’s “Get Your Kicks,” […] for way too long would not be able to check into even a modest tourist court or dine in a greasy spoon on the Mother Road or any other road in this country.
“As a boy, I saw the ‘No colored’ signs at gas stations on my Route 66 just as I did on the roads of the Deep South. I also saw signs in cafe windows declaring, ‘No dogs, No Indians,’ and only yards away a Native American craftsman sold his hand-fashioned art from the sidewalk. Black families traveling American’s byways packed their own food and often slept in their vehicles. They didn’t get their kicks on Route 66, or at least the kind of kicks I was getting as a youngster as a hitchhiking Marine. At highway stops such as the Rock Cafe in Stroud, Oklahoma, during the ’30s and ’40s and ’50s and into the ’60s, black travelers went to the back door to get their food to go. None of them walked inside.
I’ve noticed that racism along Route 66 nowadays is more subtle and has evolved, targeting Asian-Americans who own motels along the road. One of the more snide comments is: “If you smell curry, leave in a hurry.”
I’m not the only one who has noticed this unwarranted bias. Wallis saw it, too, and urged Route 66 travelers to “choose the high road” instead.
“… [J]ust look around you. Just look at our highway today. Read the … signs on motels and other businesses proclaiming in great big letters “American Owned.” … Signs that serve no good purpose except to divide us and slap us in the face.
“… Remember the many, many reputable motel owners and operators from Indian, Pakistan, and Asia who are doing their dead-level best to provide service in their adopted homeland. Many of them are American citizens. Most are well-educated and hail from the state of Gujarat in India. Many of these have the surname Patel, as common a name in that state as Martinez is in New Mexico. […]
“So please, I ask you to make your decisions wisely. Mark Twain said, ‘Travel cures prejudice.’ That may be true, but still you have to consider your actions and the daily decisions you make as a traveler.
“You my good friends, my loved ones . . . strive to be all you can be. Take the high road whenever you can. Reject the ignorant and the ill informed. Turn your backs on the purveyors of hatred. Seek out the good in all people. Conform your actions to the good of all others. Release your righteous indignation. Admit when you’re wrong. Embrace your own humanity.
“Choose the high road. It takes strength and discipline to choose that path. Take a step in its direction — one step at a time, one day at a time.
“Make every single day your own masterpiece. Make wise choices but never be afraid of risk. Seek out the crooked paths, the roads of genius. Enjoy the journey.”
Great entry. I’ve never understood the fear and hatred of those from other countries. They’re trying to make a living just like the rest of us.
We were recently in Vegas, and that city experienced the same prejudices. Black performers on the Strip couldn’t stay in Strip hotels.
We’ve come a long way, but let’s hope that tomorrow ushers in a new day and a little more enlightenment.
Thank you for this.
I haven’t traveled 66 in Oklahoma yet, but I have heard that the town of Arcadia uses the police to set up speed traps, and the majority of victims are white. The city government/police are apparently mostly black. Could this possibly be true? I’ve always been told that bigotry and racism is a personality trait exclusive to whites.
Well, Arcadia is more than 50 percent black, but barely. It is aggressive in enforcing the speed limit, but has not run afoul of the state’s speed-trap laws.
As for those getting tickets, yes, they’re mostly white. But Oklahoma County is nearly 80 percent white, so that’s hardly out of line. To infer racism on the part of Arcadia’s city fathers is a stretch. Overzealous? Perhaps. Sticklers of the law? Definitely. Racist? I don’t see it.
Arcadia is assertive about the speed limit, but not, perhaps, to the degree some people would have you believe. An Arcadia Police officer let me off with a written warning a few years ago, despite the fact that I’d mistaken a 45 zone for a 65 and was going a good 10 to 15 over when he stopped me.
I hadn’t thought about it until just now, but it occurs to me that I’ve gotten speeding tickets from white officers on at least four separate occasions, while the two black officers who have pulled me over (including the guy in Arcadia) let me off with a warning and a stern admonition to be more responsible.
Based on my own personal experience, I like my chances a lot better when I see a black officer step out of the cruiser behind me….
Ron and redforkhippie, thank you for your responses. Since I have never stepped foot in Oklahoma, I had no way of knowing if these rumors were totally off base or were based on some truth. I have read some post (maybe on this site) and entries in some Route 66 books about speed traps along the Mother Road, and unscrupulous town officials or cops giving tickets for 2-3 mph over the speed limit to fill town coffers or local pockets. A possible future plan is to take a 6-8 day drive on the OK stretch in my ’53 Ford PU. I look forward to that day and will use the first hand info of the Route from this site. I’ve make a habit to spend my money in places that reach out it honestly.
What I find ironic though, is that in many parts of the country, civil rights “leaders” will attempt to count the numer of black motorist issued tickets vs the number of white motorist getting the same. Hence the “Driving While Black” mantra. “Leaders” often proclaim racism if the tickets issued to minorites is higher than that towns population. Using that logic, if the population of Arcadia is more than 50 percent black, wouldn’t more than 50 percent of tickets be issued to black motorist? I know that it is flawed logic, but we are often hammered with that once in a while by community “leaders.”
Please forgive my thinking aloud. I am aware that this site may not be the appropriate place for such conversation, but issues of race and 66 appear to be somewhat connected.
This is my first post here and this is a great site !!!
My own experience in Arcadia was that I was stopped once because my license plate had expired. I was given a ticket, AND my truck impounded. I was unemployed and on my way to a job interview.
The officer was black, and I am white. I DO NOT feel there was any racism involved. But, I do feel that a town that depends on tourism as it’s major industry shouldn’t drive tourists away like they do.
I am a Christian, Reagan-Conservative Republican. I didn’t vote for Obama, but I wish him well. I’m Praying for him and for our Country.