Mid-20th Century African American Travel Guides
The Negro Motorist Green Book may have been one of the earliest African American travel guides, serving the important purpose of helping black travelers stay safe in Jim Crow America. However, they soon gained competition as other individuals, organizations and companies began to publish their own guides. These guides focused not just on safety, but on leisure, recreation, and entertainment. In these later guides, the covers were graced with black celebrities, beauty queens, and well-dressed black couples roaring down the highway in fancy cars. Building on the foundation of the Green Book, these new guides claimed that black people could have, "vacation and recreation without humiliation." We will specifically highlight: Hackley & Harrison's Travelers Guide for Colored Travelers (1930), Afro-American's Travel Guide (1939), Travelguide (1947-1957), Go: Guide to Pleasant Motoring (1952-1959), and The Black American Travel Guide (1971).
There were also guides published for African Americans who traveled to see specific attractions or places, such as, Paris Here I Come!. All of these guides are available in the Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
