Navigating the Green Book

In the 1930's Victor H. Green started publishing an African-American travel guide (first published as 'The Negro Motorist Green Book' and later as 'The Negro Travelers' Green Book'). In the guides Green reviewed hotels and restaurants which welcomed Black customers during the time of Jim Crow laws and racial segregation.

Back in 2013 the University of South Carolina created an interactive Green Book Map which visualized over 1,500 listings from the Spring 1956 Green Book. Unfortunately the University of South Carolina's interactive Green Book Map has suffered the Google Maps API kiss of death and now all the map tiles are stamped with unsightly 'For development purposes only' warnings. However there is no need to worry as you can peruse the new NYPL Navigating the Green Book route planner instead.

Navigating the Green Book allows you to plan a route anywhere in the USA and find hotels, restaurants and bars which were welcoming to African Americans during the times of segregation. The map attempts to show a restaurant every 250 miles and a lodging every 750 miles. You can read more about the map, the Green Book and the New York Public Libraries attempts to map the entries in the Green Book at the NYPL Digital Collections.