
The Negro Travelers' Green Book (1956) - sampo
http://digital.tcl.sc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/greenbook/id/88
======
d2mo
I learned of it by watching my parents use it while growing up in the Jim Crow
south.

You people were never supposed to know of it. You could not be trusted not to
burn the businesses to the ground.

    
    
      Are any reader surprised to learn that such is still very much needed and that several things things may well still exist and be in use to this day?
    

Same as it ever was. Thats why those of us who live through it still teach our
children and grandchildren to "Never Trust Whitey". Funny how White folk are
offended by that concept.

~~~
RhodesianHunter
Some people you can trust. Others you can't. This has no correlation with skin
color. To think otherwise is... well... racist.

~~~
alphakappa
That's a naive belief to have in practice. If you are part of a group that has
been systematically oppressed by a different group because of your skin color,
there is a valid correlation between trust and skin color. To think otherwise
is... well... naive.

~~~
blackbagboys
There are quite a few valid correlations that judging individuals on the basis
of would be considered racist.

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sillysaurus3
Since this site seems to be down, here are some other resources:

Wikipedia page:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book)

A very powerful clipping from the book:
[https://i.imgur.com/fo8vKHO.png](https://i.imgur.com/fo8vKHO.png)

You can read the full book here:
[https://archive.org/stream/history_green_book/87_135_1736_Gr...](https://archive.org/stream/history_green_book/87_135_1736_GreenBk)

And there's an article here: [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-
these-chillin...](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-these-
chilling-charming-guides-black-travelers-during-jim-crow-era-180957131/)

------
microtherion
I first learned of the existence of the Green Book thanks to Matt Ruff's
"Lovecraft Country", which features a similar work called the "Safe Negro
Travel Guide": [http://www.bymattruff.com/my-novels/lovecraft-
country/a-read...](http://www.bymattruff.com/my-novels/lovecraft-
country/a-readers-guide-to-lovecraft-country/the-real-safe-negro-travel-
guide/)

------
AaronLasseigne
99% Invisible did a good episode about the Green Book.
[https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-
book/](https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-book/)

------
murphysbooks
There is an interactive display of the Green Book at the National Museum of
African American History and Culture
[https://nmaahc.si.edu/](https://nmaahc.si.edu/) (I think on the second or
third floor).

Also the New York Public Library has an interactive map fro their public
domain collection [http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-
map/](http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/)

------
forapurpose
I saw this very eye-opening video of a presentation on the Green Book, which I
hadn't heard of before. The stories some of the participants tell transformed
how I look at the experiences of black Americans.

[https://www.c-span.org/video/?404885-1/travel-guides-
african...](https://www.c-span.org/video/?404885-1/travel-guides-african-
americans)

Per the link above, the presenter Calvin Ramsey is making a documentary, "The
Green Book Chronicles", in progress (and looking for funding):

[https://greenbookchronicles.com/](https://greenbookchronicles.com/)

------
d2mo
Crickets

~~~
spraak
Is that a reference to something?

~~~
d2mo
yes... The absence of participants. "The only sound in the room is the sound
of crickets"

~~~
sillysaurus3
In fairness, there's not a lot to say. It was a horrible time in the country
for blacks. I wish I had a time machine to see what it was like.

~~~
forapurpose
> It was a horrible time in the country for blacks.

It still is, it's just better than it was when this book was published.
However, we are back to people openly espousing racism and white supremacy.

