About the book
Americans have long regarded the freedom of travel a central tenet of citizenship. Yet, in the United States, freedom of movement has historically been a right reserved for whites. In this book, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor shows that African Americans fought obstructions to their mobility over 100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. These were “colored travelers,” activists who relied on steamships, stagecoaches, and railroads to expand their networks and to fight slavery and racism. They refused to ride in “Jim Crow” railroad cars, fought for the right to hold a U.S. passport (and citizenship), and during their transatlantic voyages, demonstrated their radical abolitionism. By focusing on the myriad strategies of black protest, including the assertions of gendered freedom and citizenship, this book tells the story of how the basic act of traveling emerged as a front line in the battle for African American equal rights before the Civil War.
Drawing on exhaustive research from U.S. and British newspapers, journals, narratives, and letters, as well as firsthand accounts of such figures as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and William Wells Brown, Pryor illustrates how, in the quest for citizenship, colored travelers constructed ideas about respectability and challenged racist ideologies that made black mobility a crime.
Editions of Colored Travelers
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781469628578
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781469663920
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469628585
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469628592
- EBook
- ISBN 9798890885524
- PDF
- ISBN 9798890885517
Read an Excerpt
Americans have long regarded the freedom of travel a central tenet of citizenship. Yet, in the United States, freedom of movement has historically been a right reserved for whites. In this book, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor shows that African Americans fought obstructions to their mobility over 100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. These were “colored travelers,” activists who relied on steamships, stagecoaches, and railroads to expand their networks and to fight slavery and racism. They refused to ride in “Jim Crow” railroad cars, fought for the right to hold a U.S. passport (and citizenship), and during their transatlantic voyages, demonstrated their radical abolitionism. By focusing on the myriad strategies of black protest, including the assertions of gendered freedom and citizenship, this book tells the story of how the basic act of traveling emerged as a front line in the battle for African American equal rights before the Civil War.
Drawing on exhaustive research from U.S. and British newspapers, journals, narratives, and letters, as well as firsthand accounts of such figures as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and William Wells Brown, Pryor illustrates how, in the quest for citizenship, colored travelers constructed ideas about respectability and challenged racist ideologies that made black mobility a crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Colored Travelers about?
Americans have long regarded the freedom of travel a central tenet of citizenship. Yet, in the United States, freedom of movement has historically been a right reserved for whites. In this book, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor shows that African Americans fought obstructions to their mobility over 100 years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. These were “colored travelers,” activists who relied on steamships, stagecoaches, and railroads to expand their networks and to fight slavery and racism. They refused to ride in “Jim Crow” railroad cars, fought for the right to hold a U.S. passport (and citizenship), and during their transatlantic voyages, demonstrated their radical abolitionism. By focusing on the myriad strategies of black protest, including the assertions of gendered freedom and citizenship, this book tells the story of how the basic act of traveling emerged as a front line in the battle for African American equal rights before the Civil War.
Drawing on exhaustive research from U.S. and British newspapers, journals, narratives, and letters, as well as firsthand accounts of such figures as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and William Wells Brown, Pryor illustrates how, in the quest for citizenship, colored travelers constructed ideas about respectability and challenged racist ideologies that made black mobility a crime.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Colored Travelers?
Society and Social Sciences > Society and culture: general > Social groups, communities and identities > Ethnic studies / Ethnicity
Where can I read a sample of Colored Travelers?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469628578
How long is Colored Travelers and how many pages does it have?
Colored Travelers has 240 page(s)
Is Colored Travelers part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series The John Hope Franklin Series in African American History and Culture
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Colored Travelers?
Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Colored Travelers is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469628578) and paperback(ISBN 9781469663920) and ebook(ISBN 9781469628585) and ebook(ISBN 9781469628592) and ebook(ISBN 9798890885524) and pdf(ISBN 9798890885517)
Where can I buy Colored Travelers online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Colored Travelers from below
Where can I buy Colored Travelers?