African American Women On The American Railroad. 

Miriam Thaggert sheds light on the experiences of African American women both as passengers and workers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries on the railroad. With the rise of Jim Crow laws forcing Black Americans to endure segregation while traveling, train compartments became battlegrounds for leisure and labor. "Riding Jane Crow" delves into four key aspects of Black female railroad travel: the narratives of Black female intellectuals like Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell; lawsuits by Black middle-class women to access first-class "ladies’ cars"; the role of Black women as railroad food vendors; and the experiences of Black maids on Pullman trains. Thaggert argues that the railroad's technological progress was intertwined with African American efforts for social advancement. The experiences of Black women on or near the railroad highlight how American technological advancements often resulted in their exclusion or displacement. Therefore, the measure of American freedom and progress is most acutely seen through the lens of Black women's travel experiences.

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