During the Jim Crow era, many businesses and establishments were not friendly to African-Americans which made traveling both inconvenient and dangerous for black families.
As a mail carrier, Victor Green was acutely aware of this problem so he decided to use his professional network to help tackle it. Green connected with mail carriers around the country to put together “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” a guide that showed black travelers where they could go safely and who would house them if they needed a place to stay.
Multiple editions of the guide were published from 1936 to 1964 and assisted black travelers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Bermuda.
Author and playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey has spent the past decade documenting Victor Green’s story and the impact of “The Green Book.”
Ramsey speaks Monday, Dec.7 at noon at the Stanford L. Warren Branch of the Durham County Library.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Ramsey about Green Books, and previews his upcoming documentary “The Green Book Chronicles.”