Overlooking beautiful Otsego Lake sits the Cooperstown Graduate Program, a division of SUNY Oneonta.
CGP was one of the first programs in the nation — if not the first program — to offer a master’s degree in museum administration. Founded in 1964, the Cooperstown Graduate Program was the product of a partnership between Louis Johns, the then-director of the New York State Historical Association, and SUNY Oneonta. Since its inception, the school has drawn students from all regions of our country. The current class now also includes a student from Ghana and a student from England.
Gretchen Sorin, CGP director and distinguished professor, told me the school’s graduates administer and curate museums all over the United States and in eight to 10 foreign countries. Asked to name a few, Sorin listed the Jerusalem Museum in Israel, the Wisconsin Historical Society and both New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Whitney Museum. With a recent graduate employed as an animal handler at the Boston Museum of Science, Sorin told me the school’s graduates range from curators to an animal handler.
In addition to serving as the CGP director since 1994, Sorin is an author. Her most recent book, “Driving While Black”, was a finalist for the NAACP’s award for outstanding literature and was featured on a PBS television show. While I was excited to visit CGP’s beautiful building on the lake for the first time, I was mostly interested in learning more about Sorin’s experience writing and publishing this book. It may be true that nearly all Americans fell in love with the automobile in the 20th century, but the experience of traveling by car turned out to be very different for African-Americans.
“I was working on an exhibition on the history of Saratoga Springs,” Sorin began to tell me. In her research she learned of “The Negro Motorist’s Green Book”. “The Green Book”, later featured in a movie by that name, was a guide to the very limited number of southern motels and restaurants where African-Americans were welcome. Sorin’s interest in the subject led her to research, which led her to making it the subject of her dissertation, which eventually led her to writing “Driving While Black”. The book documents the travel experiences of African-Americans which included, she would tell me, “carrying food, blankets and pillows because they knew that staying in the car all night was probably going to happen.” Some folks even told her that that was one reason they chose to buy big cars.
“Driving while Black” goes beyond the segregation of southern motels and restaurants to the continuing everyday experience of Black motorists throughout our country. Sorin talks about African-Americans’ complex relationship with the automobile. The open road provided Black families with a sense of independence and escape from racism while also requiring them to learn new ways of staying safe from both racial profiling and places at which they were not welcome. Sorin’s research included listening to people’s first-hand experiences. She told me of a white man sitting in his car waiting to pick up his daughter after playing soccer. In the car next to his was a Black man, known to him as an orthopedic surgeon, who also waiting for his daughter. When the police came by, the white man told Sorin that only the doctor — who happened to be Black — was questioned as to why he was waiting there.
Sorin said she is grateful that the response to “Driving While Black” has been mostly positive. After reading her book, African Americans have told her that “they now talk to their kids about how to be safe when confronted” and white men have told her that reading the book “made them more aware of their own prejudices.”
One unexpected response was from the editor of Motor Trend magazine who approached her wanting to publish an article about the book. The response to the article, Sorin told me was mixed, with some saying, “This is great — Motor Trend should do more articles like this” while others said, “Stick to talking about tires and engines — we don’t need to see any of this history stuff.” Sorin laughed and said, “I have an article in Motor Trend magazine, which I think is hilarious.”
Before ending our talk, I wanted to hear about Sorin’s thoughts on our country today. “I think what bothers me most is the lack of empathy and kindness,” Sorin lamented. “It has become acceptable to be a bully. It is certainly not how we would want children to behave. It is very sad. I don’t know how to explain to my grandchild why people put signs on their houses — or their cars — that say terrible things.”
Yes, it is very sad. The days of the Green Book may have passed, but driving while Black still exposes families to dangers and hatred. Yes, it is very sad.