I'm Marvel at all the people we met while driving a green book, who shared with us their

experiences of living in segregation.

From these vivid and haunting stories, the voices of the elders emerged most powerfully.

They are the people who lived through these challenging times, who recalled incidents

in ways that took me back to the place and inside the emotions they felt.

I wonder, how did they know what to do in the moment to keep safe?

Where did they learn how to navigate situations that could be humiliating, frightening, or

threatening?

And what were the sources of their resolve to move forward?

These voices created something I call story maps.

Story maps retraced the physical landscape, political lines, and the emotional terrain

of living through a fraught period in history.

In these interviews, you'll hear the courage, the persistence, the optimism, and the forgiveness

that was necessary to forge ahead.

This is Driving the Green Book from Macmillan Podcasts, and I'm Alvin Hall.

As you listen to the stories my producer, Janay Woods Weber, and I share with you today,

I want you to follow the story maps and learn from them.

I think the takeaway will be different for every individual, but at the core of these stories

is America and how black people have had to and still continue to negotiate everyday

life here in so many ways.

Over time, we carved out our own connection to the American dream, when others, including

our own government, were resistant to us doing so.

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