WACO, Texas (KXXV) — “There was no other resource available at that time that would be able to guide Blacks as they traveled across this country," said the president of Central Texas African-American Heritage Foundation, Don Wright.
Don Wright, president of the Central Texas African-American Heritage Foundation, said the Green Book was first published in 1936 by Victor Hugo Green and became a traveling guide for Blacks during and after segregation.
“That would give them information about where they could stay overnight, where they could eat, get their hair done, where they could go for entertainment, a variety of different resources," said Wright.
The Green Book was a safety guide for Black people who traveled outside of their neighborhoods. Many feared discrimination when traveling to different areas or states.
The Dr Pepper Museum kicked off Black History Month with a mapping history presentation outlining the green book, HBCUs in Central Texas, and urban renewal.
Leslie Wolfenden is Historic Resources Survey Coordinator for the Texas Historical Commission.
“Some of Americans don’t know much about the modern Jim Crow area and the difficulties African-Americans had in traveling, not just traveling on the roads but where do you stay? For me it’s an important part of American history, we’re all colors, and it should be told," said Wolfenden.
African-Americans flocked to Waco after the relocation of Paul Quinn College from Austin in 1877. By the 1900s, rural Blacks moved to Waco opening their businesses due to Jim Crow.
"This allows us to understand where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we need to go. So it’s important to understand all of our history, the good, the bad, and the progressing history that we have," said the president of the NAACP of Waco Dr. Peaches Henry.
"The number one thing we need to do is unite as a community and get out and vote," said Wright.
