With "DRIVING THE GREEN BOOK: A Road Trip Through the Living History of Black Resistance" join award-winning broadcaster Alvin Hall on a journey through America’s haunted racial past using "The Green Book" as your guide. 

For countless Americans, the open road has long been a place where dangers lurk. In the era of Jim Crow, Black travelers encountered locked doors, hostile police, and potentially violent encounters almost everywhere, in both the South and the North. From 1936 to 1967, millions of people relied on The Negro Motorist Green Book, the definitive guide to businesses where they could safely rest, eat, or sleep. 

Most Americans only know of the guide from the 2018 Green Book movie or the 2020 Lovecraft Country TV show. Alvin Hall set out to revisit the world of "The Green Book" to instruct us all on the real history of the guide that saved many lives. With his friend Janée Woods Weber, he traveled from New York to Detroit to New Orleans, visiting motels, restaurants, and stores where Black Americans once found a friendly welcome. They explored historical and cultural landmarks, from the theatres and clubs where stars like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Aretha Franklin performed to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Along the way, they gathered memories from some of the last living witnesses for whom The Green Book meant survival—remarkable people who not only endured but rose above the hate, building vibrant Black communities against incredible odds.

"DRIVING THE GREEN BOOK" is a standalone book, not a companion book to Hall’s award-winning podcast series. The book contains more contextual information as well as truly moving stories and personal recollections. Reading this book will expand readers’ understanding of America’s racial history and its connections to incidents, proposed legislations, and policy issues very much in the news today.

Containing 25 outstanding black and white photos and ephemera, "DRIVING THE GREEN BOOK" is a vital work of national history that navigates the astounding, heartfelt, and disturbing past of the United States.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ALVIN HALL is an award-winning television and radio broadcaster, author, political activist, and renowned financial educator. His numerous radio programs include The Tulsa Tragedy That Shamed America (2021, BBC Radio 4), The Green Book (2016, BBC Radio 4), and Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Board Room (BBC Radio 4). For five years on the BBC, he hosted the highly rated and award-winning series, Your Money or Your Life, on which he offered both practical financial and psychological advice. https://alvinhall.com/