Louisville native writes 'The Modern Green Book,' a rewrite of painful chapter in US history

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Negro Motorist Green Book was a book that literally helped guide Black people during a painful chapter in American History, a traveler's guide in a hostile time for people of color.

The book included the names of hotels, taverns, garages, night-clubs, restaurants, service stations, automotive shops, tourist-homes, roadhouses, barber-shops, beauty-parlors and other businesses that would accommodate Blacks.

In the late 1930s, the original Green Book provided a guide to safe places that Black people could travel and dine in the segregated south.

Theo Edwards-Butler, an actress and Louisville native, has delved into the history of The Green Book. And it motivated her to create the modern version.

"There were parts of the country where Black people had to look over their shoulder in case. They needed to leave a town before the sun started to go down," Edwards-Butler said. "I just find that interesting that it's a part of our history that a lot of people tend to forget."

The racism of the late 1930s inspired postal worker Victor Green to create the original book. The goal was to provide a guide to businesses that welcomed Black travelers who were often confronted by hate.

"It started in New York, and as the years went on, I think by the fourth edition, it had spread to Alabama," Edwards-Butler said.

The book also included Louisville's Allen Hotel, which is featured at the Roots 101 African American Museum in downtown Louisville.

"I have the actual marquee that came out of the building," said Lamont Collins, CEO and founder of the museum.

Collins said the museum also includes a replica of one of the rooms at The Allen Hotel.

"It's very close to the hotel. I have a washbowl," Collins said. "Some people used the washbowl if they didn't get to the restroom. I have an actual pullout bed that came from the hotel."

Both Collins and Edwards-Butler agree that the original book was a crucial tool for Blacks during segregation and "separate but equal" laws. In fact, each year's edition came with a warning: "Carry your green book with you, you may need it."

In 2018, Hollywood made a movie about the Green Book. The movie stars Mahershala Ali as Don Shirley and Viggo Mortensen as Tony Lip. In the movie, Shirley is a world-class Black pianist who is preparing for a concert tour in the deep south in the early 1960s. Shirley hires Lip, a street-smart tough guy to be his driver and bodyguard.

Meanwhile, more than 50 years after the original book ended, Edwards-Butler is creating The Modern Green Book.

"I just felt like it made sense to bring this back, like a yellow pages for Black-owned businesses across the country and some parts of the world," Edwards-Butler said.

Although the times are different, Edwards-Butler said there are a lot of similarities and still a need to provide support and a road map to Black-owned businesses.

"When the book was created, Black people were starting to get cars. There was a huge automotive boom during that time," Edwards-Butler said. "And that book represented the freedom that people were able to have on the road. And so I kind of wanted to bring that back and modernized in a way that entrepreneurs could tap into those resources of being supported by their community and outside community, and I wanted to make sure people could find them."

The book will include several hundred businesses from across the country and is scheduled to be released in June.