Credit Line: Courtesy Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell
Hutson Research and Reference Division, New York Public Library.

On Thursday, October 15, 2020 at 7 PM Eastern/4PM Mountain, join Smithsonian Affiliations, the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, and author, photographer, and cultural documentarian Candacy Taylor to explore the legacy of the Green Book, its impact on communities, businesses, and families, and its relevance today. In 1936, Victor Hugo Green, a Harlem postman, began publishing a guide for African American travelers to offer travel options during America’s Jim Crow era. The Green Book, as it was known, was a sustained success—for almost thirty years—providing Black travelers information on hotels, restaurants, service stations, and other facilities where they could expect welcome “without humiliation.” 

Click here to register.

This event on Zoom will be a simultaneous broadcast to select Smithsonian Affiliate partners only, across the United States. After the program’s interview format, participants will have the opportunity to submit questions in the chat. 

For a large part of the 20th century, it was unsafe for Black motorists to be on American roads–this included one of America’s most famous roads, Route 66. A 1959 issue of the Green Book shows accommodations that welcomed Black travelers in Flagstaff and Kingman. Some of the businesses, like El Rancho Grande in Flagstaff, were Black-owned businesses–in fact, El Rancho Grande was one of Flagstaff’s first Black-owned businesses! There are entries for other Arizona cities as well, including Tucson, Phoenix, Bisbee, and Nogales. 

Photo Green Book Cover: 1959: Courtesy Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, New York Public Library.