Tuesday, November 6, 2018

The Green Book

Also known as The Negro Motorist Green Book, this compilation of information allowed African Americans and minorities to travel safely by car. The book contained information about the location and available services of African American- friendly businesses throughout the United States as well as popular locations, driving tips, and articles. A product like this was of great need because of the high racial tensions and widespread segregation. For example, many businesses would refuse service to citizens of color, making both long and short distance travel very difficult and, at times, dangerous.

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Its creator, Victor Green, recognized this need and published the first version in 1936, which only included information regarding New York City. Its instant popularity encouraged Green to release another version in 1937 that included locations outside of the city. This cycle repeated itself until its final publication in 1964, which included locations in every state, and some international locations. Although Green died in 1960, his legacy and entries were manifested in this edition of his guide. Additionally, by 1964, there were several other travel guides that specialized in African American-friendly businesses, however, the Green Book was always the most popular one. 

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In 1956, the national highway system was created and, in turn, ended the need for the Green Book, as highways reduced the need to pass through individual towns. Finally, in 1964, the Civil Rights Act stated the irrelevance of the Green Book in law.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is very conclusive, informative, and thorough. Extremely well-written! It's interesting how the Green Book was made irrelevant by highways; wouldn't people still need to stay somewhere?

Matthew Liu said...

It's interesting how a book is needed for people to know where they can go because of the segregation in the 1920s. The Green book allowed the black people to travel without the fear of being rejected.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting and in-depth. I like it how you add photos that help me understand the article better. It's easier to see what the Green Book was like. Also, it must have been a really hard journey for Victor Green, traveling all over the US looking only for places that African Americans could go to. He probably got laughed at and ridiculed at a lot.

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