What’s old is new again. The Negro Motorist Green Book published by Victor H. Green, a postal worker in Harlem, is all the rage. Access to the Green Book in the New York Public Library Digital Collections and the “Green Book” movie sparked interest in the crowdsourced travel guide that was published from 1936 to 1966.

The Green Book empowered African Americans to “vacation without aggravation.” The guide helped travelers, including musicians, athletes and businesspeople, navigate Jim Crow laws in the South and racial segregation in the North. “Your Rights, Briefly Speaking!” is a precursor to the current mantra to “know your rights.”

A network of postal workers scouted out advertisers for the travel guide. Green Book listings included hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, theaters, barber shops and beauty parlors. Green envisioned a time when his publication would no longer be necessary:

There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment. But until that time comes we shall continue to publish this information for your convenience each year.

That day did not come until July 2, 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in public accommodations.

Over the course of 30 years, there were dozens of Philadelphia listings. Some businesses advertised every year; others for one or multiple years. Green Book listings were sites of sanctuary. They were also sites of resistance.

The Green Book Walking Tour stops at sites in Center City and South Philly.

The walking tour starts at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (now the Bellevue Philadelphia) and ends at the repurposed Attucks Hotel (distance: 0.7 miles).

Stops include:

• National Historic Landmark where John Coltrane first heard Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker perform in person;
• Site of the supper club that was a hangout for the producers and musicians who created “The Sound of Philadelphia”;
• Hotel that welcomed jazz, blues and R&B luminaries to its jazz space from the 1940s to the 1970s, and where Coltrane and Grover Washington Jr. recorded live albums;
• Hotels where Billie Holiday stayed and was arrested;
• Site of the legendary club where jazz and blues greats performed on the inside and tap dancers busked on the outside;
• Jazz club that paid homage to postal workers and the U.S. Postal Service; and
• Site of the jazz club that was the setting for the Broadway play “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.”

The Green Book Walking Tour is led by All That Philly Jazz Director Faye Anderson, a storyteller who is passionate about uncovering hidden and forgotten stories.

To be added to the mailing list for the walking tour schedule, arrange a group tour, or schedule a Mapping the Green Book in Philadelphia presentation, contact Faye at greenbookphl@gmail.com.