This is a word, a podcast from Slate. I'm your host, Jason Johnson.

For many Americans, Green Book is the title of a feel-good movie about a racist turned white

savior which won the Oscar a few years ago. But in reality, the Green Book was a road map

to help African Americans travel through a hostile nation without getting killed.

It was a nationwide guide to help black travelers find places to receive welcoming services

as well as save harbors when they were on the roads of America.

The true story of the Green Book coming up on a word with me, Jason Johnson. Stay with us.

Welcome to a word, a podcast about race and politics and everything else. I'm your host,

Jason Johnson. For many Americans, especially white folks, the Green Book is a movie that

starred Mahershala Ali and Figo Mortensen, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2019.

My point is, we'll be going for eight straight weeks. No breaks right up until Christmas.

You're quite sure you can leave your family for that long?

It depends where you pay. $100 a week plus room and board.

But let me be crystal clear. I'm not just hiring a chauffeur.

I need someone who can handle my itinerary. Be a personal assistant. I need a valet.

I need someone who can wander my clothes and shine my shoes.

Good luck back. It was one of those movies where a gifted,

genius-level black person strikes up an unlikely friendship with an ignorant white

bigot. But in real life, the Green Book, formerly known as the Negro Motorist Green Book,

was a guide for African-American travelers, trying to navigate through the hostile territory of

the Jim Crow South, saving as much as they could of their dignity and their safety.

Now, there's a new book that shares the real history of the Green Book.

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