3rd EOTO Reaction

 We did our third each one teach one activity. Out of the presentations, I learned a lot about different aspects of racial violence and resistance that has existed during our history as a country. 

We learned pretty quick on the importance of what was called the Green Book. I was surprised that until that point in presentations, I had never known about what this was. The green book was a survival guide that Black travelers used during the Jim Crow era. We learned about how dangerous it was while traveling while Black was back then. Like at this time period traveling was literally life threatening. The Green Book wasn't just a travel guide it also served as basically a survival manual that helped Black families navigate a country that was actively trying to harm them.

What hit me hardest was learning about how Black travelers had to plan every single detail of their trips. They couldn't just hop in a car and drive like white families could. I think this aspect hit me in a weird way because today, it's not something that we really second guess. Being honest, safety while traveling is honestly something that I take for granted. I don't think that many people honestly think too much of it. I couldn't imagine needing to know exactly which towns were safe or which gas stations would serve them or which hotels would let them stay overnight. I seriously couldn't imagine having to map out every single mile of a road trip just to make sure you don't get attacked.

The Green Book ended up being more than a travel guide. It was a revolutionary document of resistance. It showed how Black Americans created safety networks and refused to be intimidated by systemic racism.

Something else I learned that I found interesting was , how the Ku Klux Klan wasn't just some white supremacist group, but this massive mainstream movement that essentially terrorized entire communities. I always knew the KKK was a sensitive topic and that what they symbolized was always ridicilious, but learning about the actual levels of violence they brought, was sad. The second wave of the KKK, which exploded after the movie "Birth of a Nation," wasn't just about attacking Black people. I didn't know that they went against others, not just blacks.

They went after anyone who didn't fit their super narrow definition of "American." The groups ended up becoming almost normalized. These weren't just random groups of violent racists, they were neighbors, local politicians, and sometimes even law enforcement. Being part of the Klan was like a social status symbol. I find it crazy to think that a movement that was so violent, was seen as something that so many people wanted to be apart of and support. The KKK is probably the most scary reflection of what we are capable of as humans and how inhumane some of the people that existed in the past were.