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Do Not Read “…Racial Slurs in Our Review Form”
They Are a Trick in the Mind of A Mad Person
I got this email below from Greenbookglobal, a website that advises black travelers where to go where they will feel safe from crazy white-believing people. It plays on the original—The Negro Motorist Green Book. During the era of Jim Crow laws (1936–1966), a black postal worker, Victor Hugo Green authored the “Green Book.”
His guide addressed the widespread discrimination faced by black people then, especially when owning cars was limited by racial discrimination and poverty. As I pointed out in my book, Economic Racism, restricting the mobility of black people is another tool of dominating. It keeps black people from gaining ideas for a better world for themselves through traveling.
Despite challenges, the emerging black middle class embraced car ownership as a symbol of freedom. Green’s guide aimed to help them navigate a perilous journey, offering information on services and places friendly to black people. Initially centered in New York, the “Green Book” expanded its coverage to include much of North America, and Green also founded a travel agency in response to the discriminatory landscape. You could say that Greenbook Global is a child of the original.
