So you stayed up late on Sunday to see the big winners at the Oscars. If you haven’t seen Green Book, you may not know what a Green Book is. Here’s a description.
First published in 1937 by Victor H. Green & Company, The Negro Motorist Green Book provided African American travelers with a national guidebook for navigating segregated facilities on US highways, including hotels, restaurants, and gas stations. The Green Book (later renamed The Negro Travelers’ Green Book) became an essential reference for African Americans to travel more safely and comfortably during the Jim Crow era, when black travelers were regularly denied services, treated with hostility, and threatened with physical harm simply for seeking accommodations, food, or gas from white providers. The guidebook included recommendations and warnings for every state, highlighting the fact that racism made travel dangerous across the country, not just in the segregated south. The last guidebook was published in 1966.
You can view a Green Book at the Digital Public Library of America.
Here’s a good piece from the NYTimes.
The Open Road Wasn’t Quite Open to All
Here’s a great post you may find useful.
Pairing Picture Books and Primary Sources: Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey