Letter to Isabel Wilkerson

Dear Ms. Wilkerson, 

I hope this letter finds you well. I am reaching out to you as a fan of your novel The Warmth of Other Suns and perhaps more importantly as an enthusiast of travel and American studies in general. I had not known enough about the Great Migration or the plight of African Americans in 20th century America, and your bestseller certainly helped supplement my understanding of these important historical phenomena. The novel left me with a few topics I would like to discuss with you. Furthermore, I watched a small selection of your interviews after reading your book and they have left me with some important questions about travel in relation to your writings. 

You stated that being stuck in “ a caste system beyond your control and then breaking free” is a theme that your book explores deeply. The three principal characters in your novel all were stuck in oppressive systems in the south east and fled by traveling to three different parts of the country. Therefore, I like to think that the idea of travel and the open road can mirror the theme in your work. The characters I have been studying so far in my history of travel class have all wanted to travel on the open road in order to escape some sort of construct in which they did not feel comfortable. I know that the constraints on your characters were extremely harsh in comparison, but the idea of traveling and physically moving from one location to another is a method through which to obtain freedom from some oppressive system or ideal or construct. Have you read Jack Kerouac before? If you have, I’d like to know what you think about his characters and the reasons for which they love the open road. 

Doctor Robert is my favorite character of yours in this novel and I find his story particularly intriguing because he migrated all the way to the west coast from the south. He faced extreme prejudice and racism in Monroe and Atlanta, not even being allowed to work and having to live under the Jim Crow laws in place. He traveled west in order to find freedom and escape past maltreatment. However, even while out west and while on the open road he encountered harsh racism. He was unable to lodge in Arizona and New Mexico and this, like Kerouac’s best works, shows the limitations of the open road. On this I want to ask, to what extent is any freedom that we can get from travel, and the open road, limited?

You discuss how the idea of never giving up and always following your dreams is a central theme in your novel and something that your main characters stick to wholeheartedly. Travel is therefore a means of achieving ones’ dreams. In addition, you discuss the limitations of traveling in a world and time void of technology such as email and cellphones. I believe all of this discussion on never giving up and the limitations while traveling are well reflected in On the Road and also Easy Rider. The beat generation traveled for a purpose, just as the 6 million of the Great Migration did, and just as we do today. Do you like to travel and what is the purpose for which you normally travel?

Another concept explored in your book is the idea of post migration adaptation. When Robert moves to LA he has to restart with his family and find a job. Your three main travelers meet this struggle to adapt with varying degrees of success. The ones who did successfully resettle and raise families in the north and west US eventually led to families who were part of a large return migration to the south. You stated that you are one of the members of the return generation. What is the personal connection you felt with the people you interviewed to write this book? You said that immigrants from countries such as China or Poland tell you how they feel such a strong connection to characters such as Robert and Ida. What bond do you feel, if any, to immigrants and in particular ones fleeing some form of stress? Lastly, what does travel represent to you personally?

Thank you and best wishes, 

TJ Francisco