Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor
Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America by Candacy Taylor
Published from 1936 to 1967, the Green Book was hailed as the bible of black travel." During the Jim Crow years and into the civil rights movement, travel for black America was difficult and dangerous. Black travelers couldn't eat, sleep, get gas, or shop at most white-owned businesses. The Green Book was an ingenious solution to a horrific problem. It listed hotels, restaurants, gas stations, stores, nightclubs, and other businesses across the United States that were safe for black people to patronize.
Overground Railroad celebrates the stories of those who advertised in the Green Book and stood up against segregation. The book explores how and why Victor Green founded the guide and discusses its history and how the subjects and businesses it covered changed through the years. It also reveals the contemporary events that helped shape how black people struggled, endured, and triumphed despite incredible obstacles.
Candacy Taylor drove through the neighborhoods where Green Book sites once thrived. Her photographs and stories document the indelible scars that redlining, urban renewal, gentrification, and mass incarceration have left on these communities. Although less than 5 percent of Green Book businesses are still operating, these sites of sanctuary symbolize black ingenuity, resourcefulness, strength, entrepreneurship, and resilience.
Overground Railroad tells the untold story of black travel, offering readers a rich opportunity to reexamine America's story of segregation, black migration, and the rise of the black leisure class.
ABRAMS BOOKS, HARDCOVER, 1ST EDITION, 3RD PRINTING, 2020
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK.