"There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published." -- Victor Green, in the preface to the 1941 Edition of the Negro Motorist Green Book . From 1936 to 1966 Victor Green, and later his widow Alma Green, edited the Negro Motorist Green Book which listed businesses that would serve black travelers without harassment or prejudice. Race or ethnicity of the business owner was not a criteria for inclusion in the listings. We examined 9 editions of the Green Book, and created an online interactive map of the 86 Detroit businesses. The businesses were often grouped in African-American neighborhoods. Many of the Detroit locations today are underneath highways, Comerica Park and Ford Field. Other clusters of business can be noted in other parts of the city. This project was undertaken to illustrate the power of combining multiple geospatial datasets to create insight into the past. The addresses in the Green Books
BTAA Geospatial Information Network Collection Stories and Highlights