Driving the Green Book

Join award-winning broadcaster Alvin Hall on a journey through America’s haunted racial past,with the legendary Green Book as your guide. For countless Americansthe open road has long been a place where dangers lurk. In the era of Jim CrowBlack travelers encountered locked doorshostile policeand potentially violent encounters almost everywherein both the South and the North. From 1936 to 1967millions relied on The Negro Motorist Green Bookthe definitive guide to businesses where they could safely resteator sleep. Most Americans only know of the guide from the 2018 Green Book movie or the 2020 Lovecraft Country TV show. Alvin Hall set out to revisit the world of the Green Book to instruct us all on the real history of the guide that saved many lives. With his friend Jan├⌐e Woods Weberhe drove from New York to Detroit to New Orleansvisiting motelsrestaurantsshopsand stores where Black Americans once found a friendly welcome. They explored historical and cultural landmarksfrom the theatres and clubs where stars like Duke Ellington and Lena Horne performed to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. was assassinated. Along the waythey gathered memories from some of the last living witnesses for whom the Green Book meant survival–remarkable people who not only endured but rose above the hatebuilding vibrant Black communities against incredible odds. Driving the Green Book is a vital work of national history as well as a hopeful chronicle of Black resilience and resistance. The book contains 25 outstanding black and white photos and ephemera.