This is new to us: The Negro Motorist Green Book is the subject of today’s “Little-Known Black History Fact.”
The Negro Motorist Green Book was a publication released in 1936 that served as a guide for African-American travelers. Because of the racist conditions that existed from segregation, blacks needed a reference manual to guide them to integrated or black-friendly establishments. That’s when they turned to “The Negro Motorist Green Book: An International Travel Guide” by a Harlem postal employee and civic leader named Victor H. Green and presented by the Esso Standard Oil Company. Originally provided to serve Metropolitan New York, the book received such an alarming response, it was spread throughout the country within one year. The catch phrase was “Now we can travel without embarrassment.”
The Green Book often provided information on local tourist homes, which were private residences owned by blacks and open to travelers. It was especially helpful to blacks that traveled through sunset towns or towns that publicly stated that blacks had to leave the town by sundown or it would be cause for arrest. Also listed were hotels, barbershops, beauty salons, restaurants, garages, liquor stores, ball parks and taverns. It also provided a listing of the white-owned, black-friendly locations for accommodations and food.
The publication was free, with a 10-cent cost of shipping. As interest grew, the Green Book solicited salespersons nationwide to build its ad sales.
Inside the pages of the Green Book were action photos of the various locations, along with historical and background information for the readers’ review. Although Victor Green’s initial edition only encompassed metropolitan New York, the “Green Book” soon expanded to Bermuda (white dinner jackets were recommended for gentlemen), Mexico and Canada. The 15,000 copies Green eventually printed each year were sold as a marketing tool not just to black-owned businesses but to the white marketplace, implying that it made good economic sense to take advantage of the growing affluence and mobility of African Americans. Esso stations, unusual in franchising to African Americans, were a popular place to pick one up. “Within the pages of the introduction, the guide states, There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States .”
The Green Book printed its last copy in 1964 after the passing of the Civil Rights Act. Click here to see the 1949 book in its entirety.
From J. Moore
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How can I obtain any of the editions of the original Green Book series.
The Negro Motorist Green Book, The Negro Travelers Green Book.
Please contact me by email.
Would like to know, where i can purchase a copy of The Negro Travelers Green Book.
Not published anymore, from what we understand.
HW
What a wonderful discovery! I would like to purchase a copy if possible. How do I do that?
Sincerely,
Sherie Labedis
We have not seen them for sale.
HW
I ,too, am interested in purchasing a copy of the “Green Book. If it ever becomes available for purchase I would like to know where, etc. so that I can buy same. Thank you.
this book was a free download…why can’t i download it now?
Perhaps there’s still a place for this book with the large numbers of Black men who are stopped by cops for “DWB”…….driving while black.
You can find a pdf version for free:
http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Race/R_Casestudy/87_135_1736_GreenBk.pdf
Mandi,
thanks we have the same link on our post.
Daniel
HW
ahh The good old days…where “negroes” knew their place
I have a copy of the book and had it for a long time and used it when i traveled in the 60′s and 70′s – I usually stayed at Travelodge with no trouble and picked my places to stop – I was a National Union Rep. for the American Postal Workers Union at the time. My copy is old and hope I can download a better copy.
I would like to get a copy of the 1949 The Negro Motorist Green Book or The Negro Traveler’s Green Book.
My male companian is from Bessmer Al and he will be 72 this month. He has heard about this book but never seen one. I would like to give him a copy as a present. Thank you for your assistance. Ms Viola Perrin
This is a wonderful piece of history. How well I remember my father having to resort to traveling in his Navy Uniform while driving our family across the country to a new duty station in the late 50′s and early 60′s. Both of my parents feared for the safety of our family. I too would like a copy of this rare gem. I do not remember if my father used the Green Book or not.
There is a beautiful childrens book, Ruth and the Green Book by Calvin Alexander Ramsey about these green books. My students wanted to know more.