Mixed Folks Welcome on the Road?

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

We're heading home today. Reverse road trip. I've packed the snacks, recharged all essential batteries and kissed all of my loved ones goodbye.

Here's a question for all of my color-ful readers. When you plan a road trip and you have to overnight somewhere in the middle of the country, does it ever occur to you that you might land in a region where "your kind" aren't welcome? I do. As I was searching for a clean off-road hotel/motel to stop at on our way home, which would either be in the middle of Ohio or Pennsylvania, I paused for a minute. I had to wonder if we might encounter some, let's say Sarah-Palin supporters who like guns and don't like Black people, or worse, Black people with White husbands who have thick accents. Yikes.

I was kind of kidding when I voiced my concerns to my family. But kind of not. As I was scanning TripAdvisor looking for reviews of one hotel that seemed decent, I noticed one satisfied reviewer was using the Confederate flag as his symbol of identity. Hello! Then my parents admitted that when they drive cross-country or to the south, they ALWAYS, stay in a big city, never in one of those off the highway motels. Not because they don't do motels, but because they don't do scary White people who don't like Black people. (No offense White people. In no way am I suggesting all White people are like this. I'm simply referencing a certain type of person who really hasn't progressed much past 1864.)

So, Meltingpot readers, what do you do? Do you have a way of knowing if you're staying in a welcoming place? Do you just take your chances or maybe not worry about this at all? I know I was wishing that one of TripAdvisor's categories of rating a hotel was "diversity friendly." What do you think?

I'm listening ... while I'm driving.

Peace!