The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC) has a resource called The Green Book of SC, a website that allows you to find over 300 African American historic landmarks, making it the first mobile travel guide for black cultural sites across the state.
The purpose of the website is to increase awareness of African American tourism destinations + to encourage people to immerse themselves in the rich history of our state.
So, why is it called The Green Book?
Well, the title actually pays homage to the original Green Books. In the 1930s, a NY mail carrier named Victor Green began creating guides called, “The Negro Motorist Green Book” to help African Americans travel without fear. These books listed safe hotels, restaurants, gas stations + other travel accommodations that would welcome black patrons.
They were even described as, “the bible of every Negro highway traveler….you literally didn’t dare leave home without it.”
Green Books were popular for almost 30 years. Publication ceased shortly after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and racial segregation in hotels, restaurants + other public places was banned.
There are 24 sites on the Peninsula, and over 50 in the Lowcountry. Here are a few in the area that caught our attention:
○ “Bench by the Road” at Fort Moultrie, 1214 Middle St., Sullivan’s Island
Toni Morrison – Pulitzer + Nobel Prize-winning author – led an effort for a bench to be placed near Fort Moultrie as a memorial to 200,000+ West Africans that were brought into the Charleston Harbor during the Middle Passage before international slave trade was abolished in 1801.
○ Kress Building, 281 King St.
Originally a five-and-dime store, this building was where Charleston’s first sit-in during the civil rights movement took place, beginning when black students were denied service + refused to leave.
○ Judge J. Waties Waring Statue, 83 Broad St.
Julius Waties Waring became a federal judge in 1942, and he used his position to make a positive impact in the lives of African Americans. His rulings include equal pay for African American school teachers in SC, access to a state-funded law school + permission to vote in SC’s party primaries. He also played a role in Briggs v. Elliott in 1951, which later became a part of the public school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education.
You can find over 300 locations using The Green Book website, here.
