On this day in 2008, Obama was elected President of the United States.

The fall 1956 Negro Travelers’ Green Book lists hotels, motels, and restaurants that were safe for black families on the road. The cover warns, “Carry your GREEN BOOK with you—you may need it.” The Negro Motorist Green Book (also The Negro Motorist Green-Book, The Negro Travelers' Green Book, or simply the Green Book) was an annual guidebook for African American roadtrippers. It was originated and published by African American New York City mailman Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1966, during the era of Jim Crow laws, when open and often legally prescribed discrimination against African Americans especially and other non-whites was widespread. Although pervasive racial discrimination and poverty limited black car ownership, the emerging African American middle class bought automobiles as soon as they could, but faced a variety of dangers and inconveniences along the road, from refusal of food and lodging to arbitrary arrest. In response, Green wrote his guide to services and places relatively friendly to African Americans, eventually expanding its coverage from the New York area to much of North America, as well as founding a travel agency. 🖋️if you love our content, please consider supporting our page on ko-fi.com/africanarchives (follow the ko-fi page too for weekly posts roundup)