I am closing out Black History Month with Victor Hugo Green, the visionary publisher of “The Negro Motorist Green Book.”

Green was a postal worker who lived in Harlem and had routes in New Jersey. The Green Book was a crowdsourced travel guide to help African Americans navigate Jim Crow laws in the South and racial segregation in the North.

Green identified businesses through his own travel and a network of postal workers. The travel guide directed Black travelers to nondiscriminatory lodging, dining, entertainment and other services. The Green Book was published from 1936 to 1966.

It’s been nearly 60 years since the last edition of the travel guide was published, but the Green Book is still in the news.

I lead a walking tour of Green Book sites in Philadelphia. The next walk will be held in April 2025. For updates, send contact info to greenbookphl@gmail.com.