Driving the Green Book: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance

Podcaster Hall debuts with an illuminating history of the mid-20th-century guidebook that advised Black motorists where it was safe to sleep, eat, and refuel in cities and towns across the U.S. Created by talent manager Victor Green and his wife, Alma, The Negro Motorist Green Book was published annually from 1936 to 1967. In an era when Black families traveling along the routes of the Great Migration bought large cars roomy enough to sleep in if they could not find welcoming overnight accommodations, the Green Book aimed “to give the Negro traveler information that will keep him from running into difficulties, embarrassments and to make his trips more enjoyable,” according to the introduction to the 1949 edition. Hall’s research includes his own journey from Detroit to New Orleans, with side trips to Cincinnati, Ohio; Nashville, Tenn.; and other cities along the way, where he interviewed residents about “living Black in America then—and now.” In Louisville, Ky., author Kenneth Clay recalls walking along Walnut Street, the hub of the city’s thriving Black neighborhood, before it was decimated by urban renewal projects in the late 1950s. Throughout, Hall pays moving tribute to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Black Americans who hit the road, despite the dangers. This historical travelogue inspires and educates. Illus. (Jan.)