Route 66: An Intersectional Feminist Analysis on the Roots of Discrimination and Racism Ingrained in the American Culture of the Mother Road

AlexisBarton

According to historian Michael WaUis, "[Route 66] has always been a mirror held to reflect what goes on in the nation:'' When comparing the I 00-year his­ tory of Route 66 to the last JOO )'earsof history, one can illdeed find the Mother Road to be a honest reflection of the best and worst America has to offer. Among these things arc hope. optimism, freedom, and democracy. In additi

2017-2018 89 path. Running 2,448 miles in length, the Mother Road connects Chicago and For the most part. each slate was in-charge of the care and keeping of their Los Angeles through the lower half of the United States. segments of the road. In 1933. Route 66 was only fully paved through Illinois Roule 66 draws ils roots from the surviving wagon trails. Around 1857, and Kansas. was half-paved, and was only partially paved. Congress commissioned a man named Lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale lo The rest of the states along the route were dusty and dirty byways. survey the land on the - border all the way to the Colora- After 1933, the United States federal Government became increasingly in- do River. Over lime, this route came to be known as Beale's Wagon Road. 'I his terested in a National Highway System. President Franklin Roosevelt created a road was used to establish a connection out west and later as a military vehicle "New Deal" program that played an important role in the further improvement transport road. Other similar roads, such as the Pontiac Trail, the old Santa Fe of the existing highways. They enlisted the help of the Works Progress Adm in· Trail, and the Ozark Trail of Missouri were all historic predecessors of what istration {WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) lo improve the would eventually be connected and known as America's "Mother Road." new National Highway System. As a result, the entire length of Route 66 from As the t\\'entieth century can1c in ftJil -force ,vith the invention ofau lo1110- Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, was paved by 1937. biles and more advanced transportation methods, the existing, poorly marked During the same tin1e frame. the entire country "'as suffering fron1 a wagon trails began to be replaced by newer and more sustainable road,. Grass- n1ajor economic depression. This \\ras exacerbated by the Dust Bo,\11- a severe roots orgaJlizations began springing up around the country with the goal of dry period in the Midwest with no rain and strong winds - because ii tu rned improving the existing roads and helping to map them out. By the mid-1920's, farms in Lhe heart of the country (Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas) into a America had grown to have more than 250 acCe$Sible trails marked around the dusty, barren wasteland. This meant that farmers had no choice but to flea to nation. But because many of these roads were grassroots led efforts, they were California in hopes of finding work. Highway 66 became a road of flight at this all marked differently - some using symbols, numbers, letters, or stripes on time because it was the most accessible escape path for these families. fence posts. In 1939, John Steinbeck penned the novel Tire Grapes of Wrath - a story In 1924, following a period of confusion for early <'ro$S·COuntry travelers set during the Great Depression about a fa mily trapped in the Dust Bowl. due to road sign inconsistencies. a national high\vay nu1nberi ng syste1n \vas Steinbeck is k.JlO\,.,.n for forever im1norta1izing the Li nk bct,veen the in.itiaJ set in place and the trails began lo be Laken over one at a time by the govern- travelers and Route 66, as well as being the person to create the nickname ment in an effort lo become to be standardized. That same year, two men by "The Mother Road:' In L940, Route 66 emerged in popular culture yet again as the names of and Frank Sheets worked together to propose the Steinbeck's novel hit the big screen. This timeless story has left a lasting impact creation of a highway to connect Chicago to Los Angeles. ll was initially met on our culture and is still studied today. \•lith a large ai-nount ofopposition because it \Vasn't considered to be a "tourist" As time continued, Roule 66 found itself serving as a main roadway for route due to the number of small cities it ran through. Despite these concerns. military equipment transportation during World War II. During the initial Avery believed that the road between Chicago to Los Angeles could easily be- years of the l940's, more than half of America's defense-related equipment was come one of the country's most valuable highways, simply due to the amount moved by truck. The United States government was specifically invested in of travel already existing between Chicago and Los Angeles. areas in southern California near Los Angeles and San Diego. Because of the Route 66 was named after another small debate. Officials in charge of an- need to meet high production demands for these war-related materials, Cal- other road, from Springfield, Missouri lo Virginia Beach, Virginia were hoping ifornia was in dire need of workers. Because of Route 66's proximity to these to use "60." The pre-existing primary roads running through the country also military-related factories, the Mother Road fou nd itself continuously playing ended in zero, making it more fi t lo be assigned lo Route 66. Eventually the an important role to help people establish new lives in the west. disagreemem was settled and it was decided that the route from Chicago to In 1946, Nat King Cole and Bobby Troup recorded "Get Your Kicks on Los Angeles would take on the number 66. Two years later, in November 1926, Route 66:' Troup wrote the lyrics to this song while on a 10-day drive to the tlw design of the highway and the new numbering system was approved and California coast. fl follows the entire sequence of the drive, making references ready lo be used. to St Louis and Joplin, Missouri, , Oklahoma, Amarillo, . Instead ofconnec ting major cities across the country, Highway 66 took a Gallup, New Mexico; Flagstaff. Arizona; Winona, Arizona; Kingman, Arizona; nontraditional path diagonally through fll inois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Barstow, California; and San Bernardino, California. It was among the top of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Californ ia. The first route was comprised of the pop a11d R&B charts for Billboard magazine. Route 66 continued to belong the old existing trails that weaved along county lines through towns and states. to American popular culture.

90 JU South Bend New Views on Gender 2017-2018 91 Following World War ll, automobile travel took off as the nation slipped sustained today by sheer willpower. Despite the large amount of information I into an intense period ofgrow th. For the next ten years, Route 66 experienced used in preparation of my trip, it wasn't until many months after I returned that a high inAux of tourism. Route 66 was already the busiest east-lo-west highway I learned about the complete whitewash of the road's portrayal and its history - in the entire country, and the newly fo und wealth allowed thousands of new the dark side of Route 66. hotels, cafes, gas stations, diners, and allractions to spring up along the entire While Route 66 spread across the country like a diagonal shortcut to free- length oft.he route to better meet the needs of travelers. dom. its message only truly applied to while Americans and not people ofco lor. In the late I 950's, the Federal Aid Highway Act was passed. lhis provided A year prior to the highway's construction, the Chicago Tribune published an money to further expand the country's existing National Highway System and, editorial on August 29, 1925 suggesting that people of color avoid sites (such as in turn, marked the end to some of the lnvel along America's Main Street. Route 66) completely: Newer, wider roads were built, bypassing rural areas for a quicker and more We should be doing no service to the negrocs if we did not point out that direct route from place to place. As a result, owners of businesses along Route to a very large section of the white population the presence of a Negro, however 66 began to sec traffic through their towns slow down. well behaved, among white bathers is an irritation. This may be a regrettable In the 1960's, Nat King Cole's song was revived in a cover by Chuck Berry. fact to the Negroes, but it is nevertheless a fact, and must be reckoned with ... No longer essential to travel \\'est. the road's mystique grcv.•; After a progressive The Negroes could make a definite contribution to a good race relationship by American TV show, titled "Route 66" was aired, the road became an em- remaining away from beaches where their presence is resented. blem of the young, restless American spirit as opposed to the essential means Not only did black Americans get historicall)' shut out of parks, pools, and of travel it once was. By 1970, most of Route 66 had been bypassed by new beaches, the)' couldn't sleep, eat, or even get fuel at most businesses because interstates. In 1985, the historic U.S. Highway 66 was decommissioned and they ,vcre \1/hite-o\vned. It is no surprise that traveling cross-cross COL111 t.ry ,..,as removed from the National Interstate System entirely. nearly in1possible as a black American. To avoid the humiliation they faced for For approximately 50 years, Route 66 was the caretaker of dreams for their skin color, people of color were forced to travel with everything that they millions of people who left their homes in hope of establishing a better life ma)' need to survive - portable toilets, extra gas, bedding and blankets, clothing. in the west. Though the road only exists today through ghost towns and bit.s food, and even drinks, because many soda machines were labeled "For White and pieces, it ren1ains synonymous ,vilh Lhe modern ideas of "Americana" and Customers Only~ "road trips." Once an escape route to the West during the Great Depression, In 1930, 44 out of the 89 counties lining the length of Route 66 were "Sun- Historic Route 66 survives in our culture today as a modern-day symbol for down Towns,• all-white communities that forbid black Americans from entering self-discovery. This is how I, a college-aged female with an uncontrollable wan- into the city's limits after the sun went down. It is important to remember that derlust and a heart for adventure, initially stumbled across the most famous Route 66 started in the state of Illinois, a slate that itself had roughly 150 sun- road in America. down towns alone. Because of this, the road did not mean freedom for everyone In the sLUnmcr of2017, I feverishly devoured book after book about as promised, it actually bore witness to some of the nation's most horrific acts of traveling Route 66. J, like many others, became obsessed with the image of race-related radical lcrroris,n the country has ever seen. a more innocent A 1nerica that Route 66 seems to evoke. 1 read nev.•spaper In fact, before Route 66 existed as we know it today, many of the old trail articles, historical and new, in the New York Times and National Geographic. I roads that led to it.s creation were what helped to link one atrocity to the next. watched documentaries, I read biogs about other adventurers' travel experienc- For example, acts of violence in Springfield, Missouri in 1906 (the birthplace of es, and also articles about the quirks and uniqueness, as described by current the idea behind Route 66) where a lynching occurred on Easter holiday week- and former owners of roadside attractions. For the most part, resources and end, when an all-white mob kidnapped Horace Duncan and Fred Coker. They travel guides were very easy lo find. ll is no surprise that, with a road holding were taken to the town square, hanged, and burned to deatl1 in front of thou- so much history and prominence in our society, that there would be a broad sands, and their remaining body parts were distributed as keepsakes. range of media available to help me prepare an itinerary for my trip. In Tulsa, 1921, the trails re-dating the route bore witness to the 'I\~sa Race Despite personally meeting a lot of opposition about being a yowig, solo, Riot in Oklahoma. This ,vas one of Arnerica•s most disgusting acts of terrorism female traveler taking a 20-day, 6,000-mile road-trip, I proceeded with my against people of color. A lynch mob broke out, killing more than 300 black plans. I was determined lo understand the allure this road continued to have Americans and leaving 10,000 homeless following fires to Tulsa'.~ Greenwood over our society - seeing as it ,vas created out of necessity and only being District.

92 1U South Bend New Views on Gender 2017-2018 93 After Route 66's conception, racism could be found in every mile along the Isleta Pueblo, attempted to put up an armed resistance when Route 66 began way. Businesses would be erected with clever lilies, such as "Klean Kountry Kot- interfering with their land. But for many others, the tribe's narrative was cen- tages• or "Kozy Kottage Kamping" to poorly mask their association with the Klu tered aro,ind forced removal - dispersed LO cities, boarding schools, new land Klux Klan. They only served whites. Even the kitschy roadside anractions, like allo t111 ents, and reservations. the Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, MO were associated with the KKK. They While Route 66 gained a lasting reputation for its greasy diner food. flashy o,~ned the tourist site and held their cross burnings inside. In an effort to keep neon signs, and beautiful stretches of open road, it also historicall)' maintains safe from the racism along the route, many black travelers were forced to have a an array of American Indian-themed tourist attractions. While more than half safety plan or cover story to disguise them, such as a chaulfer's hat. Small things of the highway is a drive through indigenous country home LO over 30 tribes like this would help to prevent them from facing harassment from law enforce- who live along the route, the roadside attractions all too often fai l to proper- ment, even though racial profiling continues to exist today. ly represent the multitude of traditions associated with the different tribes. Despite all of these possible dangers, millions of black Americans still made Instead, Route 66 offers travelers a monolithic view of the American Indian, an effort to explore the country. The desire for safety while doing so caused the often dripping in racial exploitation. This can be seen in sites like the Cherokee creation ofa small, often secret travel guide, called The Negro Motorist Green Trading Post in Oklahoma, which depicts an Indian in a stereotyped Plains- Book. It was published from 1936 until 1966, and frequently updated to include style war bonnet, which was not even worn by the Cherokee Indians. Simi- safe and ,\'elcoming gas stations> , ,nechanics, taverns. restaurants, hair lar!)', a "Navajo trading post" in Arizona brags ofowning the "World's Largest salons, department stores, and attractions. It was modeled after similar Jewish Tepee,• but the traditional Navajo dwelling is not a Tepee, ii is a Hogan. Not to travel guides from the 1930's. \Vhile this book covered the entire United States, mention the chain of historic "Wigwam Motels" along Route 66 that are aclu· ally just a cluster of tipi structures. Two of the seven Wigwam Motels remain in other similar guides focused specifically on Route 66, since it was the most pop- ular highway in America at the lime these guides were published. business along Route 66 today, continuing to profit on false ideals present with Route 66 is and was the epitome of Americana - but only for whites. Route the racial exploitation of the American Indian. 66 Historian, Candacy Taylor explains in 1he Atlantic, "All of the American ln the 1930s, the Fred Harvey Company hired Pueblo Indians living near narratives around what it means to hit the open road and the freedom and the Route 66 to serve as guides for tourists taking famous "Indian Detours." The symbolism that comes along with that was a dramatically different story fo r guides were dressed in uniforms of feathers and buckskins, similar to plains black people.•>Taylor encourages people to "look beyond the bobby socks, the Indians - further perpetuating the monolithic view America holds against iLs Chevys and the chrome• to experience the real Ro11te 66. For black Americans, O\\tn Native Arnericans. According to Cherokee ,vriter Lisa Snell, "These were experiencing the real Route 66 meant the very real possibility of encountering people doing a job. Because of the socioeconomic reality of the Lime, they were playing Indian as a way to survive, but the road helped perpetuate the image radical terrorisn1 and violence. of this homogenous, one-size-fits-all, buckskin-wearing, Holl)'wood version of But this isn't 10 say that Route 66 wa.s any more or less racist than any other highway in America at the time. As Taylor says. it is the "open road branding as· the Indian:·, sociated with it" and the road being celebrated at a time when black Americans Similarly, the narrative of the road, as conveyed by both American histor- had to find other means, such as the green book, to navigate the radical violence ical works and popular culture, has been primarily focused on men and often our society valued. The American ideals that are associated with the legacy of ignored the experiences of women and girls. To contrast society's monolithic Route 66 have covered up the original narrative and erased the 1nore harro"·ing, view of the American Indian, we often think of a cowboy. 'Jbe classic image of frightening aspecLs in its own history. As Taylor says, "It's an American icon. just a cowboy is ofa strong, wandering man. Symbolicall)', the American Cowboy like Marilyn Monroe or Elvis, but Route 66 is not perfect and shiny, there are a has come to represent our large, abstract societal values: freedom, honesty, lot ofcracks in that metaphor, in that illusion of what America is." bravery- sin1ilar to those of Route 66. In our romanticired idealizations, As much as I would like to say that black Americans were the only peo- cowboys wander and conquer the open range alone with their trusty horses. ple of color 10 be troubled by racism on Roule 66, this is unfortunately and But '"'here do '"omen fit into these pervasive stories of these lonely, \vand('ring unsurprisingly not the case. We musl also add an indigenous narrative to the heroes? They're at home. Unfortunately, Route 66 also came equipped with untold, incomplete story of Route 66. During Route 66's construction, tribes rodeos and other cowboy-themed roadside attractions that sublin1i.nally com· were robbed of land for commercial gain. Some tribes, such as New Mexico's ment on the ideal role of women in American Society.

1Caudacy Taylor, ~Vhy Black A1neriruns Are 1'.'ot iVost11lgic for Route 66, 11\e Atlantic 3 Alysa Landry, Adding an l11dige11ou.t i\larrative to tlie l11co1nple1e Story ofRoute 66, 2017 95 94 JU South Bend New Views on Gender 2017- 2018 The 1960's hit America with an explosion ofcou nterculture. Optimism for along America's main street, such as the Wigwam or Tepee Curios, that some was anguish for others, and before society knew it, all the citizens were still play a crucial role in uncovering the true narrative behind the land lost by being challenged by the Civil Rights Revolution. For black Americans, this 30 different tribes of American Indians still being racially exploited for profit resulted in many important rulings by federal judiciary, such as: the legali1.a- today. Take the restaurants with the misogynistic cowboy culture that repre- tion of Interracial marriages by Loving v. Virginia ( 1967), Ratification of 23"' sent toxic masculinity and romantici7.ed \-.•estern ideals set in place for ,.,01nen. ( 1961) and 24th ( 196'1) constitutional amendments, the passage of the Civil While many of these issues have improved over the last 100-years, the remain- Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, the Right to Vote in 1965, The Fair Hous- ing roadside Route 66 attractions still mirror the nation - and we still have a ing Act, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( 1965), and the Office long way to go. of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity within US Department of Housing and Urban Development (1968). Similarly, the 1960's saw the creation of the American Indian Movement, J would like to exte11d a special thank you to Linda Fisher at Indiana University which s<,ught out to address American Indian sovereignty, spirituality, treaty South Bend, as well as Bri Taylor of the Goshen Public Ubrnry for their assi.

96 IU South Bend New Views on Gender 2017-2018 97 References

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