Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book
During a time when taking a trip across the nation could be dangerous for Black Americans, one man crafted a guide that changed the lives of millions.
In the late 1930s when segregation was legal and Black Americans couldn't visit every establishment or travel everywhere they wanted to safely, a New Yorker named Victor Hugo Green decided to do something about it. Green wrote and published a guide that listed places where his fellow Black Americans could be safe in New York City. The guide sold like hot cakes! Soon customers started asking Green to make a guide to help them travel and vacation safely across the nation too. With the help of his mail carrier co-workers and the African American business community, Green's guide allowed millions of African Americans to travel safely and enjoy traveling across the nation.
In the first picture book about the creation and distribution of The Green Book, author Keila Dawson and illustrator Alleanna Harris tell the story of the man behind it and how this travel guide opened the road for a safer, more equitable America.
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Keila V. Dawson was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Crescent City has remained close to her heart in spite of her many travels abroad. She began her career working as a local community organizer, but she found her passion working with children as an early-childhood special-education instructor. In this, her first book, Dawson combines her love for children and her desire to keep alive the traditions of her hometown.
"A compelling picture book that introduces the history of segregation and its impact in the U. S. to young readers." --School Library Journal
"This intricately illustrated and inspiring book reveals the courageous spirit of Victor Hugo Green and reminds us that within us all lies the power to change the world." --Oge Mora, author and illustrator of Thank You, Omu; Saturday; and The Oldest Student
"Opening the Road is a story of resilience in the Black American tradition of 'making a way out of no way'--that is, challenging the limits of racism through ingenuity, community, and hope." --Veronica Miller Jamison, illustrator of A Computer Called Katherine
"In Opening the Road, author Keila Dawson opens children's eyes to the dangers of segregation and the power of the human spirit to resist and find detours around injustice." --Nancy Churnin, award-winning author of Manjhi Moves a Mountain and The William Hoy Story
"This road trip into history detailing Victor Green's efforts to bypass racial discrimination when traveling is a welcome companion to the stories of Rosa Parks and Elizabeth Jennings." --Beth Anderson, author of Lizzie Demands a Seat and An Inconvenient Alphabet
