Victor Hugo Green (November 9, 1892 – October 16, 1960) was an American postal employee and travel writer from Harlem, New York City, best known for developing and writing what became known as ''The Green Book,'' a

travel guide A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

for African Americans in the United States. During the time the book was published, choices of lodging, restaurants and even gas stations were limited for black people in many places, both in the South and outside it. It was first published as ''

The Negro Motorist Green Book ''The Negro Motorist Green Book'' (also ''The Negro Motorist Green-Book'', ''The Negro Travelers' Green Book'', or simply the ''Green Book'') was an annual guidebook for African American roadtrippers. It was originated and published by Afri ...

'' and later as ''The Negro Travelers' Green Book''. The books were published from 1936 to 1966. Green reviewed hotels and restaurants that did business with African Americans during the time of

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

and

racial segregation in the United States In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, and transportation on racial grounds. The term is mainly used in reference to the legally or ...

. He printed 15,000 copies each year. In the 1930s, Green began his work by compiling data on stores and motels and gas stations in New York City area that welcomed black travelers, and published his first guide in 1936. Green's guide was so popular that he immediately began to expand its coverage the next year to other US destinations, adding hotels and restaurants as well. After retiring from the Postal Service, Green continued to work on updating issues of ''The Green Book.'' In addition, he developed the related travel agency business he had established in 1947.

Biography

Victor Hugo Green, named for the noted French author, was born on November 9, 1892, in Manhattan, New York City. He was the eldest of three children of Alice A. (Holmes) and William H. Green. His family moved and he grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey. Starting in 1913 he worked in Bergen County, New Jersey as a postal carrier for the US Postal Service. On September 8, 1917, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

License no. 15995 for Kings County for 1917. Municipal Archives of the City of New York, New York Green married Alma S. Duke (1889–1978) of Richmond, Virginia. She came to New York as part of the Great Migration from the South to northern cities in the early twentieth century. After their marriage, the couple moved to

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, which was attracting blacks from across the country. It developed as a center of black arts and culture in the period of the Harlem Renaissance. They lived in an apartment at 580 St. Nicholas Avenue. Green was employed by the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

as a letter carrier. He was subsequently drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

to serve in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, even though he had requested exemption from the draft due to his "employment in the transmission of mail." He served as a member of the Supply Company of the 350th Field Artillery, 92nd Division, rising to the rank of Regimental Supply Sergeant. He sailed for France with his unit on June 30, 1918, from

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

on the troop carrier SS ''President Grant''. He returned to the United States from

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French m ...

on the troop carrier SS ''Maui'' on February 16, 1919, landing in Hoboken on the 28th.

Publishing and travel career

''The Green Book'' publications (1936–1966): In 1936, Green published the first iteration of ''

'' (1936). These editions were a publication series for the intended purpose of helping

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

roadtrippers travel across America safely. The guidebook featured thousands of businesses, either black-owned or that catered to African Americans during the Jim Crow era. The ''Guide'' also allowed African American travelers to safely venture through discriminatory and segregated areas of the United States by avoiding potential harassment and violence from racist business owners. Thereby, enabling ''

'' to become a tool for African Americans to subvert

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...

. The many editions of the ''Green Book'' established a general roadmap that shows distinct black geographies across America–those of which were generally unknown to white institutions. As African Americans began to own automobiles and participate in developing American

car culture Since the start of the twentieth century, the role of cars has become highly important, though controversial. They are used throughout the world and have become the most popular mode of transport in many of the more developed countries. In dev ...

, they were restricted by

. State laws in the South required separate facilities for African Americans and many motels and restaurants in northern states also excluded them. "For the Negro traveler, whether on business or pleasure, there was always trouble finding suitable accommodation in hotels and guest houses where he would be welcomed."Alfredo Graham, "Travel Whirl," (New York) ''Age,'' August 23, 1958, 32 In 1936, Green "thought of doing something about this. He thought of a listing, as comprehensive as possible, of all first-class hotels throughout the United States that catered to Negroes." He collected information on hotels, restaurants and

gas stations A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gaso ...

that served African Americans for his first edition of ''The Negro Motorist Green Book''. Since some towns did not have any hotels or

motel A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionarie ...

s that would accept African American guests, he listed "

tourist home A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries ...

s," where owners would rent rooms to travelers. His first edition had data for facilities only in the New York metropolitan area. In his introduction, Green 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 created a publishing office in Harlem to support his guide. In 1947, he established a Vacation Reservation Service, a travel agency to book reservations at black-owned establishments. By 1949, the guide included international destinations in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

; it listed places for food, lodging, and

. In 1952, Green changed the name to ''The Negro Travelers' Green Book''. His travel agency office was located at 200 West 135th Street in

. ''The Green Book'' was printed by Gibraltar Printing and Publishing Co. at 800 Sixth Avenue (at West 27th Street) in New York City. The owner of Gibraltar Printing was Samuel Jacob Glener (1904–1961). Similar guides had been published for Jewish travelers in some areas. Victor Hugo Green printed 15,000 copies each year of ''The Green Book'', marketing them to white as well as black-owned businesses to demonstrate "the growing affluence of African Americans." At the time, Esso franchised gas stations to African Americans, when some other companies did not. The Esso stations became popular sales outlets for the book. During the Jim Crow era, the book garnered a large appeal within the African American community as many began to popularize the phrase "carry your Green Book with you" when traveling. It outlined establishments where African Americans would be free from discrimination. Through its series of publications, Green's ''

'' appealed to a large majority of the African American population, as such, during the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...

it was credited as one of the forerunners in American literature that championed the cause.

Personal life

Following Victor's marriage with Alma Duke Green (June 9, 1889 – March 1978) in 1918, the two would go on to create the first editions of the Green Book. Alma was the book's editor for several years and made other significant contributions. Alma died in March 1978. According to the 1956 edition, "several friends and acquaintances complained of the difficulties encountered; oftentimes painful embarrassments suffered which ruined a vacation or business trip.” ''The Green Book Chronicles'' (2020), a film by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Becky Wible Searles, have noted that Alma “appears to have actively supported and been involved in this venture from the start, eventually taking over as editor when Victor stepped away from that role.” Green died on October 16, 1960, in Manhattan, New York City at age 67. After his death, publication continued, with his widow Alma serving as editor, until 1966. Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and legal end to racial segregation in public facilities marked the beginning of the guide's obsolescence; the goal that Green had described in his introduction to the first edition of his work.

In popular culture

* Calvin Alexander Ramsey,
The Green Book Chronicles
', a play that had a staged reading on September 15, 2010, at the Lincoln Theatre in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

;J. Freedom du Lac, "Guidebook that aided black travelers during segregation reveals vastly different D.C."
''Washington Post'', 11 September 2010. "The discovery of a 1949 edition of the Negro Motorist Green Book, a guide important to African Americans traveling during segregation and needing to find friendly hotels, restaurants, shops and other services, helps shed light on the District's important role in the African American experience. It has also inspired a new play.", accessed 9 March 2015 It premiered in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, in 2011. * ''The Dresser Trunk Project'' (2007), traveling exhibit about black travel during segregation, organized by William Daryl Williams, director of School of Architecture and Interior Design,

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

. * '' Green Book'' (2018), dir.

Peter Farrelly Peter John Farrelly (born December 17, 1956) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and novelist. Along with his brother Bobby, the Farrelly brothers are mostly famous for directing and producing quirky comedy and romantic comedy ...

, a biographical drama influenced by African American pianist

Don Shirley Donald Walbridge Shirley (January 29, 1927 – April 6, 2013) was an American classical and jazz pianist and composer. He recorded many albums for Cadence Records during the 1950s and 1960s, experimenting with jazz with a classical influenc ...

, and actor Frank Vallelonga, who traveled through the Deep South during 1962. Green Book premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the

Oscar for best picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categor ...

, best supporting actor and best original screenplay in 2018.

Biography

Publishing and travel career

Personal life

In popular culture

References

Further reading