The Negro Motorist Green Book and Route 66
(Bass and drum rock music)
Route 66.
No other road has captured the imagination
and essence of the American spirit.
It connected urban and rural America from
Chicago to Los Angeles, crossing eight states
and three time zones.
This national treasure is famous around the
world for having its own soundtrack.
It has inspired musicians, and filmmakers,
and classic literature, and popular culture.
It is the most celebrated highway of its time.
The Mother Road was an artery that nurtured
communities with busy gas stations, motels,
and diners.
Route 66 symbolized progress, prosperity,
freedom, and the American Dream.
The iconic images of Route 66 are of white
middle-class families hitting the road in
the airstream trailers to visit kitschy Americana
landmarks.
But the experience of driving Route 66 was
not the same for everyone.
(Piano music)
Being black and traveling Route 66 during
the Jim Crow Era was potentially life threatening.
It was assumed that the West was more liberated
than the South, but in fact, racial segregation
was in full force.
Blacks couldn't shop, sleep, or eat at most
white-owned businesses.
Almost half the counties along Route 66 were
all-white communities.
The 1930s Census listed these places as sundown
towns.
Some communities posted signs that blacks
had to leave by sundown.
To address these problems, Victor H. Green,
a black postal worker from Harlem, New York,
published The Negro Motorist Green Book from
1936 to 1964.
This national roadside companion featured
restaurants, hotels, barbershops, beauty salons,
taverns, garages, and gas stations that were
willing to serve blacks.
Green said he wanted to give the negro traveler
that will keep him from running into difficulties
and embarrassments.
But it was much more than that.
It was an essential road trip companion that
provided invaluable, possibly lifesaving,
information.
People called it the Bible of Black Travel.
During Jim Crow, black people traveling in
the West avoided small towns and aimed to
stay in cities, but it was still difficult
to find lodging.
According to a 1955 newspaper, only 6 of 100
hotels in Albuquerque admitted black people.
Route 66 mirrored this shameful chapter in
American history.
It took courage and resolve to be listed as
a Green Book property.
These business owners who provided food, shelter,
and services were taking a stand against racial
segregation.
Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985 and many
of its businesses closed their doors.
Research has documented an estimated 350 businesses
that were advertised in black traveler guides.
Harvey Houses also accepted blacks along with
modest tourist homes and other businesses.
Many have since fallen into disrepair.
Less than half are still standing.
These sites of refuge represent the struggle
and the triumph of finding a warm meal and
a safe place to rest.
These properties play a critical role in revealing
the untold story of the African American experience
of travel.
More research will shed light on this rich
and complex history of Route 66 and the pursuit
of the American Dream.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice."
---Mark Twain
(Written and produced by: Candacy Taylor at
www.taylormadeculture.com)
(Produced in association with:)
(Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program
National Trails - Intermountain Region
National Park Service)
(Co-Producer: Sophie Dia Pegrum)
(Photography: Candacy Taylor)
(Music: Kevin McCloud)
(A Presentation of the National Park Service,
US Department of the Interior)
