An Important Dimension of Washington’s Black History
“The Negro Motorist Green Book” exhibition now on view at D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor, author of Overland Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America.
What Was The Green Book?
“Published from 1936 to 1967, the Green Book was hailed as the ‘bible of black travel.’ During the Jim Crow years and into the civil rights movement, travel for Black Americans was difficult and dangerous. Black travelers couldn’t eat, sleep, get gas, or shop at most White-owned businesses. The Green Book was an ingenious solution to a horrific problem. It listed hotels, restaurants, gas stations, stores, nightclubs, and other businesses across the United States that were safe for Black people to patronize.”
from Overland Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America
Join Washington Walks for a guided tour of the “The Negro Motorist Green Book” exhibit followed by a walking tour highlighting sites in D.C.’s U Street neighborhood associated with the Green Book era. (We’ll travel from the MLK Library to U Street via Metrorail.)
If you like this Washington Walks walking tour, you might also like: Logan Circle and City Within a City: U Street
