Meant to marginalize and dehumanize Black Americans, Jim Crow laws kept a strict divide between white and Black America. These laws could bring pain, suffering, or death to any who broke them. And every jurisdiction was different.
Travel was part of Victor Green’s job as a postal worker, but he enjoyed the adventure. As he delivered mail around Harlem, he made note of the businesses and areas that were willing to serve Black people. He realized that Black people needed a way to travel safely while still enjoying themselves.
Green knew that sundown towns and the Klan could be found all over the country, but he didn’t want that to stop our people from experiencing the joys of travel. He began compiling information from businesses around New York and New Jersey. He was creating a guide for us.
The first issue of The Negro Motorist Green Book was released in 1936. Its popularity was so intense Green published a more extensive version the following year and then the next until The Green Book became required reading for all Black travelers.
Victor Green’s publication run ended after the Civil Rights movement in 1966. However, modern versions of his idea continue to inform Black travelers of safe spaces for us. Green and other Black travelers like him have kept us safe for generations.