Ron Dungan

The Republic | azcentral.com

You hit the road with a full tank of gas. On longer trips, you packed a lunch, anything to keep you moving through small, segregated towns you might encounter along the way.

African-American travelers during the Jim Crow era never really knew what they would find when they traveled. Some began turning to published directories that would help guide them to places that did not segregate. The listings were brief — usually no more than a name and address — but the comforting message they carried spoke volumes.

“The Negro Motorist Green Book” had the longest publication run of all of these directories. It started as a guide to travel in the greater New York area in 1936, and was so successful that it expanded to a national audience the following year. It appears to have ended publication in 1966, Gretchen Sorin writes in The Ephemeral Journal, an academic publication.

Arizona’s entries in the 1939 edition of the “Green Book” were limited to a handful of businesses in Phoenix. A decade later, the book had added entries for Douglas, Nogales, Tucson and Yuma.

Most of the entries in these travel guides were small, mom-and-pop businesses, the buildings now long demolished. But a handful of businesses listed are still standing.

The Copper Queen in Bisbee and the Motel Du Beau in Flagstaff were listed then and both still welcome guests. The Swindall Tourist Inn, a Black boarding house in Phoenix that made the guide, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Fred Harvey Properties, located at the Grand Canyon and places such as La Posada along Route 66, were also not segregated.

In the entry for Phoenix in 1948, you could find one hotel: Winston Inn, 1342 E. Jefferson St., followed by three tourist homes: Mrs. L. Stewart, 1134 E. Jefferson St.; Gardener's, 1229 E. Washington St.; Mrs. G. Swindall's, 1021 E. Washington St. They were followed by similar entries for restaurants, beauty parlors and other services.

A sampling of the books are available online through the New York Library.

Did you, or someone you know, use the "Green Book" in your travels? Or do you know about a business in Arizona that was listed in the book? Tell us your story: ron.dungan@arizonarepublic.com, or 602-444-4847.

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