File:The Negro Motorist Green Book, 1949 - DPLA - 0714b2993c48adf98a5a592c7468d23e (page 5).jpg

The Green Book was published annually between 1936 and 1966 by Victor H. Green, a postal carrier who lived in New York City. It served as a guide for Black travelers hoping to find hotels and other businesses that were considered friendly in an age of discriminatory Jim Crow laws. Automobile travel was popular because it helped Black travelers elude the segregation present on public transportation. However, it held it's own dangers as there were many hotels, service stations, restaurants and automotive repair shops and other business that refused to serve them. By providing listings of Black-owned and non-discriminatory businesses, the Green Book offered travelers a way to more safely navigate through the country. The Green Book ceased publication in 1966 due in part to the 1960 death of Victor H. Green and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which outlawed racial discrimination. The 1949 edition of the guide includes a variety of Seattle hotels, restaurants, beauty parlors, barbershops, nightclubs, liquor stores, taverns, service stations, garages, tailors, and drug stores - most located in the International District and Central District.