Once crucial for Black Coloradans on the go, the Green Book contains lasting lessons

During Jim Crow and even after those laws were overturned in the 1960s, green book sites were safe havens — places where Black Americans could stop when they were traveling without fear of discrimination or violence. The sites bear the namesake of what’s known as the Green Book. It contained listings for hotels, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and more. Terri Gentry says her grandparents never left home without that book. 

“We were traveling around the country, we were out exploring. We wanted to go see family members,” she said. “We felt like as citizens and with the National Park Service, we wanted to start engaging in different places and spaces around the country, but we had to navigate it very differently.”

Gentry is with History Colorado. She and her team are working to register green book sites throughout the state and add to the list of 160 places so far. She sat down with In The NoCo’s Robyn Vincent to discuss Colorado’s recent past — and the ways that this history has touched her personally.