Trouble on Route 40:
The Cold War, Civil Rights, and Soviet Union Collide

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This program spotlights Route 40 in Maryland and Delaware during the Cold War when it was at the forefront of international tensions. On the busy corridor between Baltimore and the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Soviet Union, the Kennedy Administration, African decolonization, and Jim Crow plowed into each other. While diplomats from newly established countries shuttled back and forth between the United Nations and Washington, D.C., the Cold War intensified. But when these African envoys hit Route 40, they were denied service. This humiliation of representatives of new, nonaligned countries at the hands of Jim Crow sparked an international incident, made newspaper headlines worldwide, and delighted Soviet propagandists. The Soviet Union leveraged this tension to bolster relationships while President Kennedy pressured Delaware and Maryland truck stops, restaurants, gas stations, and motels to serve foreign representatives.
​To unpack the story of a collision on 40 during these chaotic years, we examine how on this old corridor, international tension and the civil rights movement converged on Northeastern Maryland and Delaware.
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