Segregated Travel in Jim Crow America

December 17, 2021

|In Black History in Two Minutes (or so), Season 2

Be Woke Presents Black History in Two Minutes (or so)

As the US economy began to boom after World War II, so did the demand for alternate means of transportation. While personal car usage rose and the highway system was created, many Black people relied heavily on public transit as their primary mode of transportation day-to-day.

Jim Crow’s separate but equal not only impacted restaurants and schools, but it also led to the segregation of travel on buses. Black patrons in Winston Salem, North Carolina, frustrated with limited routes, took matters into their own hands. From jitney’s organizing, to the creation of the Safe Bus Company, Black patrons began to implement multiple options on their journey to safe travel.

In this episode of Black History In Two Minutes or So hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. — with additional commentary from Daina Berry of The University of Texas, Imani Perry of Princeton University and Hasan Jeffries of Ohio State University, we look at how Black people organized safer travel during a time of segregation.

Black History in Two Minutes (or so) is a 4x Webby Award winning series.

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Archival Materials Courtesy of:
• Burk Uzzle
• Getty Images

Additional Archival by:
• North Carolina Collection
• Winston-Salem Transit Authority

Executive Producers:
• Robert F. Smith
• Henry Louis Gates Jr.
• Dyllan McGee
• Deon Taylor

Senior Producer:
• William Ventura

Series Producers:
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura

Executive in Charge of Production:
• Robert L. Yacyshyn

Post Production Supervisor:
• Veronica Leib

Post Production Coordinator:
• Katherine Swiatek

Written By:
• Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Additional Writing:
• Kevin Burke
• Kelsi Lindus
• Chinisha Scott
• William Ventura

Editors:
• Margaret Metzger
• Anne Yao

Producer:
• Kevin Burke