BBG Green Book

In 2024, National Geographic added West Virginia to an expanded Best of the World travel guide, as a part of its 20 Best Experiences in 2024 list. The publication covered the Mountain State several times last year and multiple times over its 137-year history. It’s always nice to have outsiders acknowledge the beauty and majesty of West Virginia’s natural resources in the form of its waterways, state and national parks, and of course, its landmarks such as The Greenbrier and the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. We applaud them and thank them for bringing attention to West Virginia’s goodness, however, there is a guide that served a different purpose: The Negro Motorist Green Book.

For the  next few months, BBG will explore the significance of Victor Hugo Green’s essential travel guide in the state of West Virginia. Published between 1936 and 1967, the Negro Motorist Green Book aided Black motorists and travelers in navigating through the rough terrains of Jim Crow laws, sundown towns and any threat of harm they could encounter traveling South and other regions to visit family and seek recreation. It was both a time-saving and life-saving publication that survived until federal changes in public accommodations laws. 

While we are certain Black travelers experienced West Virginia’s national landmarks and beautiful scenery, we also believe they had the experience of lodging and hoteling, dining and enjoying entertainment, shopping and more provided by Black business owners. In its heyday, the Green Book contributed to the incomes of Black entrepreneurs by marketing their goods and services around the country. It had an economic impact. 

The Negro Motorist Green Book: 1938 Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/f56e0d60-847a-0132-8e19-58d385a7bbd0

West Virginia made its first appearance on page 19 of the 1938 Negro Motorist Green Book. This particular edition was limited to large cities east of the Mississippi River. In this edition, only Charleston and Huntington entries exist. Over the years to follow, other cities and towns would appear, sometimes taking up the space of two pages filled with Black vendors. 

Stay tuned as BBG revisits WV’s presence in the Green Book as we provide a modern interpretation and tour of our state’s Black communities and businesses; past and present. 

If you’re inclined to assist us in this project, let us know if you are a descendant of a business owner featured in the Green Book. Let us know if you’ve had travel experiences using the guide. Your contribution is appreciated and important as we tell another part of a story most leave out. 

Want to follow along with the Green Book? Take a look here.

Help Us Discover TODAY’s West Virginia Black-Owned Tourism Gems!

Join BBG’s exciting mission to identify and celebrate the Black-owned tourism and travel businesses making waves across West Virginia right NOW. We’re on the hunt for TODAY’s standout locations that showcase the richness of Black culture and entrepreneurship within the state. Reach out to BBG with your suggestions and become a pivotal part of our Black on MAP journey to illuminate the best of TODAY’s Black tourism and travel businesses.

Let’s put the spotlight on West Virginia’s Black-owned wonders that are shaping the narrative right NOW—join us in putting them on the MAP today!