7 ms·

The Negro Travelers' Green Book (1956)

76 points by sampo 9y ago

AaronLasseigne 9y ago
99% Invisible did a good episode about the Green Book. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-book/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-book/
d2mo 9y ago
Crickets
- spraak 9y ago
  Is that a reference to something?
  - d2mo 9y ago
    yes... The absence of participants. "The only sound in the room is the sound of crickets"
    - sillysaurus3 9y ago
      In fairness, there's not a lot to say. It was a horrible time in the country for blacks. I wish I had a time machine to see what it was like.
      - forapurpose 9y ago
        > It was a horrible time in the country for blacks. It still is, it's just better than it was when this book was published. However, we are back to people openly espousing racism and white supremacy.
        deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
microtherion 9y ago
I first learned of the existence of the Green Book thanks to Matt Ruff's "Lovecraft Country", which features a similar work called the "Safe Negro Travel Guide": http://www.bymattruff.com/my-novels/lovecraft-country/a-readers-guide-to-lovecraft-country/the-real-safe-negro-travel-guide/ http://www.bymattruff.com/my-novels/lovecraft-country/a-read...
d2mo 9y ago
I learned of it by watching my parents use it while growing up in the Jim Crow south. You people were never supposed to know of it. You could not be trusted not to burn the businesses to the ground. Are any reader surprised to learn that such is still very much needed and that several things things may well still exist and be in use to this day? Same as it ever was. Thats why those of us who live through it still teach our children and grandchildren to "Never Trust Whitey". Funny how White folk are offended by that concept.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- RhodesianHunter 9y ago
  Some people you can trust. Others you can't. This has no correlation with skin color. To think otherwise is... well... racist.
  - alphakappa 9y ago
    That's a naive belief to have in practice. If you are part of a group that has been systematically oppressed by a different group because of your skin color, there is a valid correlation between trust and skin color. To think otherwise is... well... naive.
    - scoofy 9y ago
      Saying "not being a racist is naive" sounds just as stupid when applied to whites as it does to when applied to blacks, asians, hispanics, jews, etc., etc. Being racist is stupid, not smart
    - hyperdunc 9y ago
      Fortunately, there's no more systematic oppression. Dwelling on past systematic injustices hampers building trust. Better to just call out instances of racism when we see them.
      - 9y ago
sillysaurus3 9y ago
Since this site seems to be down, here are some other resources: Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book A very powerful clipping from the book: https://i.imgur.com/fo8vKHO.png https://i.imgur.com/fo8vKHO.png You can read the full book here: https://archive.org/stream/history_green_book/87_135_1736_GreenBk https://archive.org/stream/history_green_book/87_135_1736_Gr... And there's an article here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-these-chilling-charming-guides-black-travelers-during-jim-crow-era-180957131/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-these-chillin...
murphysbooks 9y ago
There is an interactive display of the Green Book at the National Museum of African American History and Culture https://nmaahc.si.edu/ https://nmaahc.si.edu/ (I think on the second or third floor). Also the New York Public Library has an interactive map fro their public domain collection http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/ http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
forapurpose 9y ago
I saw this very eye-opening video of a presentation on the Green Book, which I hadn't heard of before. The stories some of the participants tell transformed how I look at the experiences of black Americans. https://www.c-span.org/video/?404885-1/travel-guides-african-americans https://www.c-span.org/video/?404885-1/travel-guides-african... Per the link above, the presenter Calvin Ramsey is making a documentary, "The Green Book Chronicles", in progress (and looking for funding): https://greenbookchronicles.com/ https://greenbookchronicles.com/
DIDDLEZ 9y ago
Every group of people prefers to affiliate with their own, but blacks are some of the most racist human beings on this planet. I do not know if any of you have actual real-world experience or just have these discussion threads to attempt showcasing moral "values", but the drivel that comes out of the average hood-kid is astonishing: "cracker" this "cracker" that, and the recent "kill all white cops" my most favorite. South Africa shall have served as a warning sign but people choose to remain ignorant. Blacks are oppressed not by our white ancestors but by their own biology.
thenerdfiles 9y ago
> It was a horrible time in the country for Blacks... Dr. Hate: The work that we do in the clinic is one thing. But the moment we step outside, we are greeted by police, by [...] a society that is perfectly happy for us to die. FW: Even sociologists who don’t agree with my Afropessimist conclusions will nonetheless point out that we today are living in a state of greater captivity than we were in the 1860’s. It seems like 1 in every 6 Black people are somehow incarcerated. That is a pandemic. We’re living in more chains today — through lockdowns, ankle bracelets, halfway houses, that kind of thing -- than we were in the early 1800’s. That’s something to think about, when people tell you that progress has come along. — http://sfbay-anarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/frank-b-wilderson-iii-were-trying-to-destroy-the-world-antiblackness-police-violence-after-ferguson.pdf

76 points by sampo 9y ago

99% Invisible did a good episode about the Green Book. https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-book/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/the-green-book/

d2mo 9y ago

Crickets

spraak 9y ago
Is that a reference to something?
- d2mo 9y ago
  yes... The absence of participants. "The only sound in the room is the sound of crickets"
  - sillysaurus3 9y ago
    In fairness, there's not a lot to say. It was a horrible time in the country for blacks. I wish I had a time machine to see what it was like.
    - forapurpose 9y ago
      > It was a horrible time in the country for blacks. It still is, it's just better than it was when this book was published. However, we are back to people openly espousing racism and white supremacy.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]

microtherion 9y ago

I first learned of the existence of the Green Book thanks to Matt Ruff's "Lovecraft Country", which features a similar work called the "Safe Negro Travel Guide": http://www.bymattruff.com/my-novels/lovecraft-country/a-readers-guide-to-lovecraft-country/the-real-safe-negro-travel-guide/ http://www.bymattruff.com/my-novels/lovecraft-country/a-read...

d2mo 9y ago

I learned of it by watching my parents use it while growing up in the Jim Crow south. You people were never supposed to know of it. You could not be trusted not to burn the businesses to the ground. Are any reader surprised to learn that such is still very much needed and that several things things may well still exist and be in use to this day? Same as it ever was. Thats why those of us who live through it still teach our children and grandchildren to "Never Trust Whitey". Funny how White folk are offended by that concept.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
RhodesianHunter 9y ago
Some people you can trust. Others you can't. This has no correlation with skin color. To think otherwise is... well... racist.
- alphakappa 9y ago
  That's a naive belief to have in practice. If you are part of a group that has been systematically oppressed by a different group because of your skin color, there is a valid correlation between trust and skin color. To think otherwise is... well... naive.
  - scoofy 9y ago
    Saying "not being a racist is naive" sounds just as stupid when applied to whites as it does to when applied to blacks, asians, hispanics, jews, etc., etc. Being racist is stupid, not smart
  - hyperdunc 9y ago
    Fortunately, there's no more systematic oppression. Dwelling on past systematic injustices hampers building trust. Better to just call out instances of racism when we see them.
    - 9y ago

sillysaurus3 9y ago

Since this site seems to be down, here are some other resources: Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book A very powerful clipping from the book: https://i.imgur.com/fo8vKHO.png https://i.imgur.com/fo8vKHO.png You can read the full book here: https://archive.org/stream/history_green_book/87_135_1736_GreenBk https://archive.org/stream/history_green_book/87_135_1736_Gr... And there's an article here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-these-chilling-charming-guides-black-travelers-during-jim-crow-era-180957131/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/read-these-chillin...

murphysbooks 9y ago

There is an interactive display of the Green Book at the National Museum of African American History and Culture https://nmaahc.si.edu/ https://nmaahc.si.edu/ (I think on the second or third floor). Also the New York Public Library has an interactive map fro their public domain collection http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/ http://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

forapurpose 9y ago

I saw this very eye-opening video of a presentation on the Green Book, which I hadn't heard of before. The stories some of the participants tell transformed how I look at the experiences of black Americans. https://www.c-span.org/video/?404885-1/travel-guides-african-americans https://www.c-span.org/video/?404885-1/travel-guides-african... Per the link above, the presenter Calvin Ramsey is making a documentary, "The Green Book Chronicles", in progress (and looking for funding): https://greenbookchronicles.com/ https://greenbookchronicles.com/

DIDDLEZ 9y ago

Every group of people prefers to affiliate with their own, but blacks are some of the most racist human beings on this planet. I do not know if any of you have actual real-world experience or just have these discussion threads to attempt showcasing moral "values", but the drivel that comes out of the average hood-kid is astonishing: "cracker" this "cracker" that, and the recent "kill all white cops" my most favorite. South Africa shall have served as a warning sign but people choose to remain ignorant. Blacks are oppressed not by our white ancestors but by their own biology.

thenerdfiles 9y ago

> It was a horrible time in the country for Blacks... Dr. Hate: The work that we do in the clinic is one thing. But the moment we step outside, we are greeted by police, by [...] a society that is perfectly happy for us to die. FW: Even sociologists who don’t agree with my Afropessimist conclusions will nonetheless point out that we today are living in a state of greater captivity than we were in the 1860’s. It seems like 1 in every 6 Black people are somehow incarcerated. That is a pandemic. We’re living in more chains today — through lockdowns, ankle bracelets, halfway houses, that kind of thing -- than we were in the early 1800’s. That’s something to think about, when people tell you that progress has come along. — http://sfbay-anarchists.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/frank-b-wilderson-iii-were-trying-to-destroy-the-world-antiblackness-police-violence-after-ferguson.pdf