Source:houstonpublicmedia.org

In the days before Yelp and the Internet, there was The Negro Motorist Green Book, or Green Book for short. These were travel guides that not only listed African American-friendly businesses but also offered tips on handling oneself in public, how to deal with police, how to keep a car from breaking down, and lists of so-called “sundown towns,” places where it was dangerous for blacks after sundown. The books got their name from their publisher, Victor H. Green, and were published all over the country. Eventually, they even went abroad. Decades later, Houstonians Toya and Reuben Levi discovered Green Books while themselves traveling the country. They were so fascinated that they started looking up places listed in the guides to see if they were still there. They became so engaged that they started The Green Book Project to explore the guide’s impact and legacy. For the project, they’re traveling to cities included in the books doing interviews and documenting any Green Book-listed sites that are still standing.