The Negro Motorist Green Book
The history of “The Green Book,” the annual guide created in 1936 by Harlem postman Victor Green that provided African American travelers with information on restaurants, gas stations, department stores and other businesses that welcomed Black travelers during the era of Jim Crow, will be highlighted in the “The Negro Motorist Green Book”, a new exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor. The exhibition, made possible through the support of Exxon Mobil Corporation, will be on view at Irving Archives & Museum from October 16, 2022 – January 8, 2023.
“The Negro Motorist Green Book” will offer an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class. The exhibition will include artifacts from business signs and postcards to historic footage, images and firsthand accounts to convey not only the apprehension felt by African American travelers, but also the resilience, innovation and elegance of people choosing to live a full American existence. It will bring focus to a vibrant parallel world of African American businesses, the rise of the black leisure class in the United States and the important role “The Green Book” played in facilitating the second wave of the Great Migration.
“The Green Book” was published and distributed nationwide until 1967, providing African American travelers with information on restaurants, gas stations, department stores and other businesses that welcomed black travelers. In an era of Jim Crow laws and “sundown towns”—communities that explicitly prohibited African Americans from staying overnight— “The Green Book” offered critical, life-saving information and sanctuary.
ExxonMobil predecessor Standard Oil Company of New Jersey played a significant role in the distribution of “The Green Book” through its U.S. network of Esso stations, helping to provide motorists and their families opportunities for safer and more comfortable travel. Esso stations were the only major retail distributors of “The Green Book.” Esso also employed many African American engineers, scientists and marketing executives, and welcomed African American motorists at its stations.
This exhibition was made possible with funding from Humanities Texas and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the federal ARP Act.
On view October 16, 2022 through January 8, 2023.
Upcoming Events and Programs for The Negro Motorist Green Book:
Saturday, October 15, 2022
Friends of the Irving Museum Sneak Peek and Pasta Dinner
Food served 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Exhibition open 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Get your tickets here!
Saturday, October 16, 2022 through January 8, 2023
Regular Museum Hours
The Irving Black Arts Council (IBAC) exhibition "A Local Green Book" is on display at IAM and runs concurrently with the Green Book Exhibition.
This special programming is offered in collaboration with the City of Irving and will enhance patrons’ understanding of the period which ran from the 1920s to the 1960s. Insights will be gained into the challenges and hardships the Black community encountered in travel, education, entertainment, and services at a time of “so-called separate but equal."
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Exhibition Grand Opening
12 – 4 p.m.
Free Museum admission
Sunday, October 16, 2022 – Sunday, January 8, 2023
Free Museum Admission Every Sunday
Open 12 – 4 p.m.
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Film Screening “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom”
7 p.m. (in auditorium)
Free event
See how The Negro Motorist Green Book helped African Americans navigate the roads of a segregated nation.
Saturday, November 5, 2022
Remembering Black Dallas, Green Book Bus Tour
DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Free Event
This bus tour takes travelers around the often-hidden history of Black Dallas. A tour guide will point out the sites, sights, and stories of Dallas' African American history, including locations of Green Book sites, Freedman Towns, and other places of interest. Tour will end at the Green Book exhibition at Irving Archives and Museum.
Sunday, November 6, 2022
Irving Black Arts Council Panel Discussion
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Free Event
The Irving Black Arts Council will host a facilitated panel discussion of Bear Creek, Dallas and Fort Worth residents who lived during the Jim Crow era.
The star-studded panel will be headlined by the Honorable Judge L. Clifford Davis (retired) and and Ms. Opal Lee, Grandmother of Juneteenth, along with three other notable local citizens who resided in the area during the segregation and Jim Crow era. Rounding out the panel will be Mrs. Imogene W. Rogers from the Bear Creek community in Irving, Texas, Mrs. Gloria O. Sights from the Bear Creek community in Irving, Texas and Dallas, Texas and Ms. Mary Ann Turner Blackmon from the Lake Dallas area of Dallas, Texas. The panel discussion will include personal stories from each of the participants and a period for questions and answers. WATCH THE RECORDING HERE!
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Scholar’s Talk with Dr. William Dulaney Event
2 p.m.
Free Event
Join us for A Scholar’s talk about the Green Book with Dr. W. Marvin Dulaney. Dr. Dulaney is President of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the nation’s oldest African American historical association and the founders of Black History Month. For the past two years, he has also served as Deputy Director and Chief Operations Officer for the Dallas African American Museum. He is also an Associate Professor of History Emeritus, former Interim Director of the Center for African American Studies, and the former Chair of the Department of History at the University of Texas, Arlington. Dr. Dulaney has published and edited four books and is currently completing a history of African Americans in Dallas for Texas A & M University Press.
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Remembering Black Dallas, Green Book Bus Tour
DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Free Event
This bus tour takes travelers around the often-hidden history of Black Dallas. A tour guide will point out the sites, sights, and stories of Dallas' African American history, including locations of Green Book sites, Freedman Towns, and other places of interest. Tour will end at the Green Book exhibition at Irving Archives and Museum.
Saturday, December 17, 2022
Remembering Black Dallas, Green Book Bus Tour
DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Free Event
This bus tour takes travelers around the often-hidden history of Black Dallas. A tour guide will point out the sites, sights, and stories of Dallas' African American history, including locations of Green Book sites, Freedman Towns, and other places of interest. Tour will end at the Green Book exhibition at Irving Archives and Museum.
Wednesday, January 4, 2022
Virtual screening of “The Green Book: Guide to Freedom”
7 p.m.
Free Event
See how The Negro Motorist Green Book helped African Americans navigate the roads of a segregated nation.
Send an email to
chulfish@cityofirving.org to register and receive the link to the virtual screening.
Saturday, January 7, 2022
Scholar’s Talk with Leslie Wolfenden
2 p.m.
Join us for A Scholar’s talk about the Green Book and HBCUs with Leslie Wolfenden. Leslie Wolfenden is the Historic Resources Survey Coordinator for the Texas Historical Commission where she manages the Historic Texas Highways and Historic Resources Survey programs. Leslie has a Master’s in Historic Preservation, a Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Texas system. THC’s Historic Resources Survey Coordinator Leslie Wolfenden has been researching and documenting over 780 sites based on 34 African American travel guides that includes 43 Texas communities.
Sunday, January 8, 2022
Last day of the exhibition
12 – 4 p.m.
