Category: 1940s

Four different editions of the Green Book under a single cover!

During the dangerous days of Jim Crow segregation, it was difficult to be an African-American traveler, as hotels that would take you or restaurants that would serve you were few and far between. This was addressed by The Negro Motorist Green Book, an annual listing of lodging, diners, gas stations, and other businesses that could handle the needs of the Black customer. Created in 1936 by Harlem-based postman Victor H. Green, the Green Book served the public until after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s ended legal segregation.

Original copies of the Green Book are now museum pieces, but in this book you can see all the articles, all the ads, and all the listings from four editions of the Green Book, one for each decade in which the series was published. The Negro Motorist Green Book of 1938 is an early example, covering only the states east of the Mississippi River, but also presenting articles on “The Automobile and What It Has Done for the American Negro” as well as driving tips.

By 1947, the Negro Motorist Green Book had listings for 45 of the 48 states that then existed (there was nothing for Nevada, New Hampshire, or North Dakota), and that also included directories of the Negro colleges and newspapers of the day, as well as a look at the current models from Ford and GM, and some notes on automotive design of the future.

By 1954, the title had changed to The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, and the volume includes an article on the highlights of San Francisco (which was “fast becoming the focal point of the Negroes’ future”) and tourist guides to New York City and Bermuda. Finally, the Travelers’ Green Book for 1963 through 1964 leads off with a state-by-state listings of rights against “jimcro” (Jim Crow segregation), plus it has “Guide Posts for a Pleasant Trip,” a couple of cartoon-illustrated sidebars on Black history-makers, a listing of major league ballparks, and other useful items for the traveler. And all of it reproduced at about 50% larger than the original size, for easier reading.

Reprints of the Green Book published by About Comics have gotten coverage by Newsweek, the Guardian, and BBC News, and more. They are carried by major museums, and have been used by TV and film. Now you can get four editions in one convenient volume, and see why the New York Times called the Green Book a “beacon for Black travelers.”

• Paperback: 313 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1949996069
• ISBN-13: 978-1949996067
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 0.7 x 9.6 inches

In the 1940s, Americans open roads were a magical and inviting opportunity… for white people. People of color, however, were barred from many of the hotels, restaurants, and even gas stations that made travel possible and convenient. In the face of this, mailman Victor H. Green started publishing The Negro Motorist Green Book, a listing of establishments willing to serve African-American customers. It not only made the Jim Crow-era roads navigable for the Black traveler, it created business opportunities for Black entrepreneurs, as they knew that if they created hotels for Black customers, they had a route to let potential customers know.

In addition to the travel listings and ads that Black travelers relied on, the 1949 edition includes an introduction by Victor H. Green, an article by the Esso service stations’ special representative to the Black community on how the Green Book helps solves travel problems, a brief look at the 1949 Fords, a guide to what to see in Chicago, an article on the Black-owned and -operated town of Robbins, Illinois, and a travel guide to Bermuda.

The New York Times called the Green Book a “beacon for Black travelers.” The Washington Post said it was “a game changer.” Newsweek referred to it as “practical scripture” that “saved Black lives on the road.

• List Price: $9.99
• Paperback: 88 pages
• ISBN-10: 1949996026
• ISBN-13: 978-1949996029
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.2 x 6.8 inches

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In the segregated US of the mid-twentieth century, African-American travelers could have a hard time finding towns where they were legally allowed to stay at night and hotels, restaurants, and service stations willing to serve them. In 1936, Victor Hugo Green published the first annual volume of The Negro Motorist Green Book. This facsimile of the 1947 edition brings you the listings and advertisements aimed at the Black travelers trying to find their way across a country where they were so rarely welcome – plus sections on “Negro Schools & Colleges” and “Negro Newspapers”, some notes on “Green Book traveling”, and a guide to GM and Ford cars of the day (with photos!)

• List Price: $9.99
• 5″ x 6.75″
• Black & White on Cream paper
• 84 pages
• ISBN-13: 978-1936404742
• ISBN-10: 1936404745
• BISAC: History / United States / 20th Century

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