Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Black, White, and Yellow Taxis: Morris County and The Green Book

October 10 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

The Morris County Historical Society and The Morristown and Morris Township Library present Janet W. Foster’s Black, White, and Yellow Taxis: Morris County and The Green Book, on Thursday, October 10th at 7:00 p.m. in the library’s Reference Department.  The first edition of the “Negro Motorist Green Book” came out in 1936, published by a New Jersey postal carrier as a way to guide African-Americans to welcoming businesses during their travels across the country.  Although the guide is popularly thought of today as being used in the Jim Crow South, it covered the entire country.  The Green Book was published annually, and during the 30 years of its publication, New Jersey had some 581 individual businesses listed in 31 towns.  Madison had three listings, Morristown had two, and research into what those businesses were and who operated them illuminates a whole chapter of mid-20th century history.

The Green Book created by a New Jersey postal carrier and published for 30 years beginning in 1936.

Janet W. Foster has been working on the New Jersey Greenbook project for two years, with a team of scholars from around the state, to identify sites listed in the Green Book.  Through research into those businesses, we can learn more about African-American communities throughout the state.

Janet W. Foster, May 2024. Courtesy of Janet W. Foster.

Janet has taught hat Columbia University, Drew University, and for the Madison Library “Mini-Courses” series.  Her publications include Building By the Book and The Queen Anne House: America’s Victorian Vernacular, along with numerous smaller pamphlets and articles.  Trained in historic preservation at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, she has prepared numerous National Register nominations, Historic Structures reports, and investigated hundreds of old buildings, focusing on vernacular architecture of New Jersey.

 

 

 

Details

Date:
October 10
Time:
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Event Categories:
, ,
Event Tags: