Overview

Join award-winning broadcaster Alvin Hall on a journey through America's haunted racial past, with the legendary Green Book as your guide. For countless Americans, the open road has long been a place where dangers lurk. In the era of Jim Crow, Black travelers encountered locked doors, hostile police, and potentially violent encounters almost everywhere, in both the South and the North. From 1936 to 1967, millions relied on The Negro Motorist Green Book, the definitive guide to businesses where they could safely rest, eat, or sleep. Most Americans only know of the guide from the 2018 Green Book movie or the 2020 Lovecraft Country TV show. Alvin Hall set out to revisit the world of the Green Book to instruct us all on the real history of the guide that saved many lives. With his friend Jan�e Woods Weber, he drove from New York to Detroit to New Orleans, visiting motels, restaurants, shops, and stores where Black Americans once found a friendly welcome. They explored historical and cultural landmarks, from the theatres and clubs where stars like Duke Ellington and Lena Horne performed to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Along the way, they gathered memories from some of the last living witnesses for whom the Green Book meant survival--remarkable people who not only endured but rose above the hate, building vibrant Black communities against incredible odds. Driving the Green Book is a vital work of national history as well as a hopeful chronicle of Black resilience and resistance. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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Reviews

Pays moving tribute to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Black Americans who hit the road, despite the dangers. This historical travelogue inspires and educates. -- Publishers Weekly Revealing, enraging, and inspiring in equal measure...Nothing tells us more about the country we have been, the country we remain in so many ways, and the country we should aspire to be. -- Ric Burns, filmmaker

Pays moving tribute to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of Black Americans who hit the road, despite the dangers. This historical travelogue inspires and educates. -- Publishers Weekly Revealing, enraging, and inspiring in equal measure...Nothing tells us more about the country we have been, the country we remain in so many ways, and the country we should aspire to be. -- Ric Burns, filmmaker

Author Information

Alvin Hall is an award-winning television and radio broadcaster, author, political activist and renowned financial educator. His numerous radio programs include The Tulsa Tragedy that Shamed America, The Green Book, and Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Board Room, all on BBC. For five years he hosted the highly rated and award-winning BBC series Your Money or Your Life. He lives in New York City. Alvin Hall is an award-winning television and radio broadcaster, author, political activist and renowned financial educator. His numerous radio programs include The Tulsa Tragedy that Shamed America, The Green Book, and Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Board Room, all on BBC. For five years he hosted the highly rated and award-winning BBC series Your Money or Your Life. He lives in New York City.

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