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Driving the Green Book

Driving the Green Book

Macmillan

Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.1K Ratings

Overview

Award-winning broadcaster and educator Alvin Hall hits the road alongside activist and social justice trainer Janée Woods Weber. They drive from Detroit to New Orleans, collecting powerful, personal testimony about how Black Americans used the historic travel guide The Negro Motorist's Green Book during the height of segregation as a vital resource to quell fears, find safe havens, and travel with dignity. As he drives the Green Book, Alvin unearths both inspiring and heartbreaking tales that tell a different story from what Hollywood would have you believe. Driving the Green Book is a living history podcast that preserves a powerful legacy and honors the stories of those who lived through the era, supported and uplifted each other, and fought for equality. Please be sure to explore the Green Book on our exclusive Apple Maps Guide at apple.co/explorethegreenbook, listen to the show's Apple Music Playlist at apple.co/listentothegreenbook, and find recommended reading in Apple Books at apple.co/alvinhallcollection.

14 Episodes

Bonus: Two eyewitnesses to the Green Book

In this bonus episode, Alvin and Janée talk with two women whose families used The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Transcribed - Published: 24 April 2023

Book Preview: How We Can Win: Race, History, and Changing the Money Game That's Rigged

Hear an excerpt from the new book, How We Can Win: Race, History, and Changing the Money Game That's Rigged. In it, author and activist Kimberly Jones delves into the impacts of systemic racism, revealing how her formative years in Chicago gave birth to a lifelong devotion to justice. It's inspired by her viral video during the George Floyd protests and her analysis of the enduring economic disparities Black Americans face. With an introduction from Green Book host Alvin Hall, you can hear the first chapter of the audio book now. Get your copy here or wherever books or audiobooks are sold.

Transcribed - Published: 18 February 2022

Book Preview: Buses Are A Comin'

Although Driving the Green Book is over, today we're sharing a clip from another powerful story about the fight for racial equality. The new book Buses Are A Comin' by Charles Person is an account of the Freedom Riders movement, written by the youngest original Freedom Rider. In this exclusive excerpt, you'll hear the first chapter of the audiobook. Get your copy today here or wherever books or audiobooks are sold.

Transcribed - Published: 27 April 2021

The Lorraine Motel

Now a National Civil Rights Monument, and best-known as the site where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee hosted not only civil rights leaders, but a range of famous musicians and black celebrities during its heyday.

Transcribed - Published: 16 November 2020

Ghost Towns

Places like Paradise Valley in Detroit and Idlewild, Michigan, catered to African American communities, whether it be to create a thriving district of Black-owned businesses or allow your family to take a trip where you could be comfortable and free of any harassment or prejudice.

Transcribed - Published: 9 November 2020

Preserving History

The A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham, Alabama was considered top-tier lodging for African Americans and an epicenter for the civil rights movement during its heyday in the 1950s.

Transcribed - Published: 2 November 2020

A Place to Put It

We explore the emotional legacy of The Negro Motorist Green Book and the inherited wisdom passed down from generation to generation.

Transcribed - Published: 26 October 2020

The Elders, Living History

The elders who lived through segregation pass down the wisdom and knowledge they gained as they learned to safely navigate extremely tense, frightening, and humiliating situations.

Transcribed - Published: 19 October 2020

The Nettles of Nashville

We head to Nashville to trace the legacy of Jim Crow, segregation, and The Negro Motorist Green Book through different generations of one family: The Nettles.

Transcribed - Published: 12 October 2020

Mother Wit

How did Black travelers use Mother Wit—common sense insights—to help them survive during the Jim Crow era?

Transcribed - Published: 5 October 2020

Little Harlem, MS

We head to Jackson, Mississippi where we hear local residents and a former Motown musician reminisce about the vivacity of Farish Street—the historic Black business district also known as “Little Harlem.”

Transcribed - Published: 28 September 2020

Victor and Alma

Alma and Victor Hugo Green created The Negro Motorist Green Book to reduce the frustrations of African Americans traveling by car around the country.

Transcribed - Published: 22 September 2020

In the Time of the Green Book

Host Alvin Hall and associate producer Janeé Woods Weber take you on a trip from Detroit to New Orleans, stopping at locations listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book along the way.

Transcribed - Published: 14 September 2020

Introducing: Driving the Green Book

What was it really like to travel as a Black person in America during the era of Jim Crow laws and segregation?

Transcribed - Published: 1 September 2020

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