Tulsa Library Presents Virtual Road Trip Using The 'Green Book'

Some Tulsans were able to go on an interactive, virtual road trip across 1950's America using Victor Hugo Green's "Green Book" to experience the resilience of traveling as a Black person.

The presentation was at Rudisill Regional Library and showed people what it was like when America was segregated.

The Green Book is a list of spaces where black people could get gas, eat, use the restroom, and spend the night.

"Mr. Green was a Postman who lived in Harlem and just came up with this one day and it’s sold millions of copies eventually," said Mike McUsic, Program Host and Curator. "It wasn’t just the places that had the hotels, the softest beds, the best steak, it’s where they could be accepted and treated with equality."

If the Green Book is a collection of places Black people could go, there was a bookshelf full of places they couldn't during segregation.

"There were certain places that weren't allowed to go. Even go shopping. Cause it was a small town and they were very segregated," said Hattie Powell, 99-year-old.

Mrs. Hattie Powell was born in 1923, grew up near Beggs and said traveling was tough. Hattie didn't do it often, but remembers when she did.

"I had a four-month-old baby. It was in the winter time," said Hattie. "I got on this bus. It was night. I was scared to death."

The event "A Resilience Ride -- traveling while Black" welcomed everyone.

"For so long the things that were important for Black History and Black Culture were kind of delegated to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and that's kind what we knew and what was taught to us. [...] I kind of did that research myself because no one was giving it to me," said Larissa McNeil, African American Resource Center Coordinator for the Tulsa Library. 

Now, McNeil is teaching others. 

"Come to the events. Go to the places that feel uncomfortable because for a long time Black people felt uncomfortable in your spaces and sometimes still do," said McNeil.

It was an immersive, educational experience where Green Book was their guide.

Folks got to see where Black people thrived, as well as learning about the dangerous places like sundown towns.

The last edition includes more than 10,000 places, including about two dozen in Greenwood.

"It meant safety. It meant freedom," said McNeil.

Hattie said be patient as you lean in, listen and learn.

"I advise everybody to be calm about it and not resentful, so we have to look forward. Be friendly. Be kind. Be honest. Number 1: be honest. When you're up against situations that are not pleasing to you, have to be patient and work through them. That's really something that our younger people need to focus on because sometimes they are so belligerent. They don't realize what's necessary to get to where you want to go or to get situations changed," said Hattie. "Sometimes you need to look back to know where you need to go."

You can map your own trip with the Green Book. You enter the city you want to go from and the city you want to go to; the app will map the trip with Green Book places along the way. 

Click here for the map.