![]() ![]() “We can’t forget our history,” Flagg said. ![]() At least half of the featured Black-owned businesses in the Green Book were closed less than a decade later, as a result. Expanding accessibility meant Black-owned businesses had to compete with bigger franchises, which had more resources and fewer obstacles. “Chicago is the starting point on Route 66, which is the way in which you would get west.”īut the need for the Green Book changed when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. “Black Americans came up to Chicago and would need to travel back south to visit family,” Weininger said. Bronzeville, specifically, made up 80% of the city’s listings. The Great Migration and Route 66 both play a part in the Green Book, marking Chicago’s presence. “So she had to cover them with a blanket and told them not to move or talk as she drove through those towns.” “When she was driving through a certain town of Mississippi and her kids were in the back seat, she was able to go through because she looked White, but her children looked Black,” Flagg said. “For us, we are a Holocaust Museum, but because of our mission, we look at other social justice issues, human rights violations and the Jim Crow era in the U.S., and this entrepreneurial response to it is something we wanted to highlight,” Weininger said.įor nearly 30 years, the Green Book led Black drivers down American roads by outlining restaurants, hotels, safe houses and other safe spaces they could frequent without general fear for their lives.Ĭhicagoan Marline Flagg visited the exhibit to better understand the experiences of her Southern relatives, like her aunt. “The Negro Motorist Green Book” exhibition is on display at the Skokie museum through April 23. So by creating the Green Book, he was making Black lives better, more enjoyable and safer,” said Arielle Weininger, chief curator of collections and exhibitions at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. “You may have had a map, but the map isn’t going to help you if the town is a sundown town or tell you if you’ll be served or have to enter through the back door.
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