Could you imagine having to use a travel guide to mark where it is safe for you to stop and use the restroom or get your hair cut? Well, this was a very real concern for our ancestors after slavery and during the Jim Crow era. Even though Jim Crow was alive and well the Black Middle Class rose to some prominence. This enabled them to purchase vehicles. Even though it was legal to drive, it was often a precarious situation when driving outside your own home town. Thus, the idea for “The Negro Motorist Green Book” was born.
For 30 years, starting in 1936, this book was published to aide African Americans in finding “Colored Friendly” places while driving.
A postal worker named Victor Hugo Green (inset picture) used his postal union affiliations to compile places all around the U.S. that were inviting for Blacks to patronize. The book is actually named for him because of his endeavors. This book spanned all 50 states and some countries because Jim Crow type laws were international where White Supremacy was the major influence.
This helped our people find things such as eateries and hair salons that were friendly and safe for us to use without fear of reprisals. In those days, “White Nationalists” did not discern from their own town folks and out of towners. One public mistake and you could very well end up lynched or at the LEAST severely beaten and ran out of town. Many athletes and entertainers used this book as a type of Bible for gas stations and lodging along their routes. If accommodations were available they were often limited. This left many black drivers sleeping in their cars on the side of the road.
The motto on the front of the book read not only as an advertisement but a dire warning. It read:
"Carry your Green Book with you – You may need it"
Eventually, Essos Standard Oil (Now ExxonMobil) endorsed the book and offered road maps and pamphlets along with the book. In some years the Essos gas stations that were black owned were featured in photographs. In stark contrast, Shell Oil Company was vocal in their stance to refuse blacks service. In peak distribution years even the United States government (via the United States Travel Agency) helped keep the book up to date for Back Motorists to travel safely.
So, the next time you are taking that road trip remember those who came before us so we could afford the “luxury” of not being restricted- travelling while black.
Sahara Wisdom is the Founder of U-N-I-Verse Academy. Currently, she is Head of Writing for Get This Wisdom Magazine. Check out Get This Wisdom on Social Media below as well as purchase their Anniversary Issue!