20. The Green Book ended publication in 1966
Although the Green Book claimed to only list the best places in its editions over the years, some who remember it in use remember that not always being the case. Civil rights activist Julian Bond recalled his parents’ use of the guide and that it frequently directed travelers not to the best places, but often the only place. Quality of food and services at places listed in the book was not guaranteed, and not consistent throughout the country. The Black owned hotels listed in the book by town and city lost customers to the new motels built near highway exits in the late 1950s and the early 1960s, especially in the northern states. The international final edition of 1966-67 featured on its cover a drawing of a White woman skiing.
Its influence throughout the period in which it was published was nonetheless substantial, as business owners reached out to new customers and Black travelers were able to make better use of their time traveling. The Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s removed its purpose, though some bitter segregationists found ways to bend the law, and sad to say some still do. The final edition of the book, which featured the White skier, included a breakdown of the civil rights laws by state, including anti-Jim Crow laws which had been enacted. The final edition included travel destination listings in Africa as well, and though the advice provided was minimal when compared with some previous editions, it did remind its readers as always, to keep an open mind when on their journeys, and enjoy the difference from home.
Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“The Green Book: The forgotten story of one carrier’s legacy helping others navigate Jim Crow’s highways”. The Postal Record. September 2013. Pdf. Online
“Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism”. James W. Loewen. 2006
“This Segregated Railway Car Offers a Visceral Reminder of the Jim Crow Era”. Alex Palmer, Smithsonian.com. June 13, 2016
“Segregation Had to be Invented”. Alana Semuels, The Atlantic. February 17, 2017
“Breaking Ground: How the Green Book Helped African-American Tourists Navigate a Segregated Nation”. Jacinda Townsend, Smithsonian Magazine. April 2016
“Jim Crow and the Green Book Hotels”. Rick Holmes, MetroWest Daily News. February 10, 2019
“So That We as a Race Might Have Something Authentic to Travel By”. Cotton Seiler. 2012
“The Negro Motorist Green Book”. Victor H. Green, ed. 1940 edition (2016)
“The Open Road Wasn’t Quite Open to All”. Celia McGee, The New York Times. August 22, 2010
“The Negro Motorist Green Book”. July 29, 2014, Harry Tunnel, (1936-1964)
“The American Railroad”. The Negro Motorist Green Book Railroad Edition. 1951
“The Negro Travelers’ Green Book”. Victor H. Green. 1954 (2017)
“Janus”. Novera C. Dashiell. The Travelers’ Green Book. 1961
Note: All cited editions of the Green Book are available for online viewing at the New York Public Library’s Digital Collection