During a time when taking a trip across the nation could be dangerous
for Black Americans, one man crafted a guide that changed the lives of
millions.
In the late 1930s when segregation was legal and Black Americans
couldn't visit every establishment or travel everywhere they wanted to
safely, a New Yorker named Victor Hugo Green decided to do something
about it. Green wrote and published a guide that listed places where his
fellow Black Americans could be safe in New York City. The guide sold
like hot cakes! Soon customers started asking Green to make a guide to
help them travel and vacation safely across the nation too. With the
help of his mail carrier co-workers and the African American business
community, Green's guide allowed millions of African Americans to travel
safely and enjoy traveling across the nation.
In the first picture book about the creation and distribution of The
Green Book, author Keila Dawson and illustrator Alleanna Harris tell the
story of the man behind it and how this travel guide opened the road for
a safer, more equitable America.