The Green Book of Travel for Black People

Lining the walls with little-known history, a new Carroll Gallery exhibit at the Emlen Physick Estate opened on the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. The exhibit explores how Black travelers used The Green Book and other publications during the Jim Crow era to travel more safely in the United States.

This Included travel for vacation or business to Wildwood and Cape May, N.J. “Routes of Black Travel: ‘The Green Book’ in Cape May and Wildwood” is presented by Cape May MAC  in association with the Center for Community Arts (CCA) at the Carroll Gallery, Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St.

“We started on this journey last year when we realized Cape May had restaurants and accommodations in the Green Book,” exhibit team member Mary Stewart said. “We’ve added that information to some of the trolley tours, which expands the scope of our storytelling and gives a more dimensional view of Cape May.” she continued.

The Negro Travelers’ Green Book

“The Negro Motorist Green Book,” later renamed “The Negro Travelers’ Green Book,” was an annual guidebook first published in 1936 that gave African American travelers essential information about safe places to stay, dine, and obtain services while traveling in the segregated United States during the Jim Crow era.

“Many people have no idea this history even exists,” local historian Jeffrey Hebron said. “People assume that black people were only housekeepers and servants, with no knowledge they were business owners too.”

Jim Crow laws forced racial segregation and were enforced harshly, often with violence. The laws lasted nearly 100 years until the Civil Rights laws of the 1960s. The Green Book and similar publications helped keep Black travelers stay safe during this time and gave them some measure of freedom of movement.

Esso (gas) stations created safe havens for Black motorists to fill their gas tanks, and how hotels such as the Banneker House, the Hotel Dale, and Richardson’s Hotel, among others in Cape May, along with guest houses in Wildwood, gave Black visitors safe spaces to relax at the seaside on holiday or for business.

So much history in our midst

Some of the establishments in the exhibit are clearly recognizable. John T. Nash was born at 818 Jefferson St. in 1917 on the corner of Dale Place and later lived with his family in the brick house there. When he returned to Cape May after serving in World War II, he and his wife Janet (“Dolly”) bought the land previously occupied by the central hotel and built a motel called The Planter.

The Planter is named after the Confederate ship confiscated by Janet Nash’s famous ancestor and war hero, Robert Smalls. They sold the motel in 1979, and today, it is The Boarding House, operated by the Hirsch family.

“The location has so much history, and we’re thankful they put this together to help us tell that story. We met with Rachel from CCA and Steve Oleszewski, an exhibit designer, and we learned a lot.” Jonathon Hirsch said.

“Isn’t it amazing how much we don’t know about a town we’ve lived in for years?” Mary Stewart said

The public is invited to the exhibit in the Carroll Gallery on the grounds of the Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. The exhibit is open until March 23. Admission is free.

 

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1 Comment

  1. Hugh Murray
    January 30, 2025 / 9:36 am

    Well done John. Very informative.