Slate has a fascinating look at a travel guide published for African-American travelers during the era of Jim Crow:
The Negro Motorist Green Book was a guide that helped African-American travelers identify friendly hotels, restaurants, and mechanics when they were on the road. Harlem postal employee and publisher Victor H. Green published the Book annually from 1936 to 1964.
As historian Cotton Seiler points out, the Green Book flourished during a time when cars were getting cheaper, and travel by automobile was becoming more common. For black drivers, however, freedom of the road had its limits. These travelers had to navigate segregated accommodations, couldn’t join AAA, and received disproportionate levels of attention from the police and local racists.
