Remembering the New Deal during Black History Month: Improving tourism and travel for African Americans

Above: A reproduction of the 1940 edition of The Negro Motorist Green-Book. Image scanned from personal copy.

The Negro Motorist Green-Book was created by Victor H. Green (1892-1960) to assist African Americans traveling across the country. During those deeply segregated days, the Green-Book helped black Americans find friendly services and accommodations. It was published from 1936 to the mid-1960s, and during its early years it was assisted by the U.S. Travel Bureau (look closely at the image above). The Travel Bureau was a New Deal creation and part of FDR's overall push for more travel and recreation for all Americans. The Living New Deal has a good summary of the U.S. Travel Bureau.

The Green-Book's listings are broken down by state and city. In Berkeley, California, for example, we see that the "Little Gem" beauty parlor accepted African American customers (and may have been owned and run by African Americans); and in Annapolis, Maryland, "Wright's" hotel was open for business for black travelers.

The Green-Book offered other information too, for example, points of interest, bridge toll rates, and travel articles. In the 1940 edition, in an article titled "Southward," the author writes: "At Savannah we visited [the archaeological site] Irene Mound... A laboratory and museum have been established at this site and a large number of Negro W.P.A. workers is employed."

A history page added to the above reproduction edition of the Green-Book, explains that the guide "was sold largely through service stations - specifically, through Esso stations, as Esso not only served African-American customers, they were willing to franchise their stations to African Americans, unlike most petroleum companies of the day. The guide was also offered by AAA and distributed elsewhere with advice from the United States Travel Bureau, a government agency."

The credit for the Green-Book goes to Victor Green of course. But the assistance of the U.S. Travel Bureau shows, once again, how the New Deal tried to improve the quality of life for African Americans.

Above: The Berkeley, California section of the Green-Book. Image scanned from personal copy.

Above: The San Francisco section of the Green-Book. Image scanned from personal copy.