For nearly 30 years, the Negro Motorist Green Book helped African American travelers navigate the challenges of segregation under Jim Crow laws in the U.S. By listing hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and areas that were outwardly welcoming toward African Americans, its goal was to make travel safer. On Nov. 18, the Green Book Institute and National Tour Association (NTA) held a gathering called A Celebration of Cultural Tourism luncheon as part of NTA’s 2024 Travel Exchange conference in Huntsville, Alabama. The purpose was to pay homage to organizations, community leaders, and travel professionals for their contributions to diversity and cultural tourism in the spirit of the Green Book.
The nonprofit Green Book Institute, which operates under parent company Green Book Experience and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was founded last year to preserve, educate, and celebrate the legacy of the Green Book, which was published from 1936-1965. NTA Travel Exchange is an annual event where members connect to create innovative tours for customers traveling to, from, and within North America.
NTA Vice President of Communication and Marketing Bob Rouse says the honorees were commemorated during the convention luncheon on Monday, Nov. 18. Green Book Experience President and CEO Karin M. Aaron says those selected helped pave the path to a more inclusive travel landscape.
Among the honorees:
- Ford Motor Company: A regular advertiser in the historic Green Book, Ford recognized the humiliating and dangerous conditions of segregated waiting rooms and railroad cars, Aaron explains.
- Howard Johnson’s: The company issued a policy in 1963 committing to serve all customers without discrimination, coming on the heels of protests in 1962 at Howard Johnson’s restaurant locations in Chicago and North Carolina against discriminatory practices. Aaron says that Howard Johnson’s restaurants no longer exist, but Howard Johnson’s hotels under the Wyndham brand were recognized instead.
- YMCA: “The YMCA was one of the few places where Black travelers could find safe, welcoming accommodations during segregation,” Aaron says. “YMCA branches offered lodging, food, and a place [for people] to socialize without facing discrimination.”
- Cherokee Nation: “African Americans and the Cherokee Nation share unique but parallel histories of resilience and survival amid discrimination and forced displacement,” Aaron explains.
- Huntsville Revisited: In what will become annual awards that select one recipient from the area where NTA Travel Exchange is being held, Huntsville Revisited was chosen for its local work in the spirit of the Green Book: preserving and sharing African American history around Huntsville.
Meanwhile, the Green Book Institute is also in the process of promoting the placement of interpretive markers for locations mentioned in the Green Book, Aaron says. “What we’ve done is partnered up with the University of Virginia, and what they did is they went around throughout their state and started installing interpretive markers in the locations where Green Book sites were at,” Aaron says. She says the goal is to expand that effort in other states, with groundwork already in process in several, so educational walking and bus tours of the sites will be possible.
In fact, Aaron expects meeting planners to embrace the opportunity for groups to participate in outings that can be built around Green Book marker tours when they are available. “What we’ve found is meeting planners are looking for inclusive attractions and experiences for their attendees when they’re going into cities,” she says. “They want to learn something unique about that city they’re in.”
NTA Travel Exchange 2025 will be held Nov. 9-12 in Ottawa, Canada.
