NEWH - Summer 2021 - 24

EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND DIVERSITY

followed by names and addresses. What are
tourist homes? Well, in towns like Anderson,
South Carolina where accommodating hotels
were scarce, Black citizens opened rooms
of their homes for rent to travelers. Sound
familiar?
Victor Hugo Green was born on November
9, 1892 in New York City. He was the eldest
child of William H. and Alice Green. He grew
up in suburban Hackensack, New Jersey and
at age 20 began working as a Bergen County,
New Jersey postal carrier. While working for
the postal service he met Alma. In 1918 the couple married and
moved to Harlem, a center of Black arts and culture during this
time of the Harlem Renaissance. It was their visits to Alma's
family in Richmond, Virginia that awakened the need for a guide
that would allow Black people to travel, lodge, and dine safely
and to limit chances of humiliating incidents.
Victor began to compile a list of first-class hotels through the
U.S. that " catered to the Negro. " The 1936 edition only covered
the New York Metropolitan area but that initial run of 15,000
copies set the stage for future expanded editions. By 1947, he
had established the Vacation Reservation Service for booking
reservations at Black-owned establishments. By 1949, the guide
even included establishments outside the U.S. in Bermuda,
Canada, and Mexico. He recognized the hunger within his
community to see the unseen and hoped that more and more
businesses could alleviate themselves of their prejudices and
recognize the expanding power of the Black dollar. His forward
in the 1954 edition had these words: " Hence, we have filled
one of our life's ambitions, to give the Negro a travel guide that
will be of service to him, by this method we have established
ourselves in the mind of the traveling public. The Green Book
is known from coast to coast as the source of information for
travel and vacations. "

As commendable an innovation the
Green Book was, his true hope lay in
its obsolescence. In the forward to the
1936 edition he wrote: " There will be a
day sometime in the near future when
this guide will not have to be published.
That is when we as a race will have
equal rights and privileges in the United
States. " Green died in 1960, four years
before the signing into law of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. The Green Book 's
publication ceased in 1967.
Victor Hugo Green was a pioneer, and his publication was a
roadmap by which we all in some way, shape, or form benefit
today. Like Yelp, Green vetted establishments to ensure they
were indeed hospitable, clean, and safe for his readers. Like
Expedia, Green helped travelers book safe accommodations.
Like EatOkra he provided an easy guide for the Black traveler
to patronize Black businesses. Like Airbnb he provided hosts
that strengthened the bonds of community. The Green Book
was a passing on of knowledge that served a purpose. Times
and platforms may have changed, but the spirit and purpose
remain the same.
For an in-depth look at the impact of Victor Hugo Green's
Green Book complete with commentary and interviews, check
out " Driving the Green Book, " a podcast hosted by Alvin Hall
and Janée Woods Weber on all major platforms. ❙❘❚

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NEWH - Summer 2021

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