In honor of Black History Month, we're joining in this moment by recognizing that the promise of emancipation fell short for far too many years. | Flickr
In honor of Black History Month, we're joining in this moment by recognizing that the promise of emancipation fell short for far too many years. | Flickr
In honor of Black History Month, we're joining in this moment by recognizing that the promise of emancipation fell short for far too many years. And travel, in particular, was a very real challenge.
During the era of Jim Crow and segregation, traveling around the country by car as a Black American was an undertaking fraught with peril. You didn’t know where it would be okay to stop, where you would be allowed to use a restroom, or which hotels would honor your reservation after they saw your face. Imagine taking your family on a road trip and being unsure that you could find a bed for your kids to sleep in, a restaurant to grab a meal, or a place to fill up your gas tank.
Enter the "Negro Motorist Green Book." This travel guide was published from 1937 to 1966 and offered Black Americans a list of restaurants, hotels, taverns, barber shops, service stations, and more where they could be safe and welcome while traveling. This book was literally a life-saver for Black travelers in a way that is hard to imagine today. And even Alaska was represented!
The first entry for Alaska appeared in the 1948 edition and listed the Savoy Hotel in Fairbanks. In 1962 entries were added for Anchorage, Juneau, and Ketchikan. Please join us in celebrating Black History Month by learning about Black history in America. You can read more about the Green Book and Alaska at this National Park Service website: https://www.nps.gov/articles/alaska-and-green-book.htm
#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #GreenBook
Original source can be found here.
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