To come: Episode 3, When in Rome
Green flees a lynch mob to Texas, where he chauffeurs for a rich banker and meets celebrities from Ty Cobb to George Washington Carver.
Writer: Sam Worley
In this episode, Green passes for white on a train heading to Memphis, a dangerous position that could cost him his life, and then on to Texas. We talk with a scholar on Jim Crow laws. We zoom out to take a broader look at segregation laws and their effect on Green.
We take a look at the work Green does for a wealthy white man, known as the Judge, as a chauffeur and assistant in Waxahachie. It’s a time when he meets important leaders, Presidents, athletes, scientists. He refers to the family of the Judge as his own. He takes time to improve his reading and begins to express his political ideas about the use of the word Negro and the ever-present race question. We try to get a bead on the Judge and why he is so important, both as a father figure and as a powerful man in the country.
But while he talks about the kind family in Texas, he still needs to live up to their expectations, and finds himself existing in a “never a moment’s rest” life, being at their beck and call. And it’s outside of the family too, from working with famous baseball player Ty Cobb who wants to put him up as a professional boxer, to how he must act around white police and sheriffs in the area. Dr. Hannah Huber will take us through the exhausting work of appearing safe in front of white people for both Black and biracial people.
And, we check in on Patricia Ravarra and Em Chitty, daughter of the historian who worked with Green on the publication of his book, to understand their stakes in this story. We follow the story of Green’s white father who, remarkably, also ends up in Texas.
In the end, Ely Green signs up to serve in World War 1, answering a call and like the 350,000 Black troops who will serve, hoping it will mean an advancement and equity for all citizens. But what lies in store for these non-white troops once they get to France? And more importantly, will he be treated like a citizen when he returns?
