Racial discrimination was not limited to the Jim Crowe laws of the South in the early 1900s. It was present in Philadelphia, too – just not quite so openly. "In the South, you would have colored only, whites only, so you had the visible signs of discrimination," said Faye Anderson, who runs All That Philly Jazz, a project dedicated to telling and preserving the history of jazz in Philadelphia.
"Whereas in the North, you did not have those signs, but it was discrimination nevertheless." Many Black people, particularly when traveling, relied on "The Negro Motorist Green Book," as depicted in the 2018 movie "Green Book." Published from 1936 to 1966 and created by Harlem postal worker Victor Green, the book listed hotels, restaurants, night clubs, beauty parlors and barber shops considered safe spaces for the Black community.
On Saturday, Nov. 9, All That Philly Jazz will host a Green Book Walking Tour that includes about 15 stops at Center City and South Philadelphia sites once listed in the publication. They include high-end hotels and other establishments that weren't reflected in the movie.
"If you just saw the movie, you would think the Green Book listings were greasy spoons and run-down hotels," Anderson said. "But in Philadelphia, as in cities across the country, you had luxury hotels listed in the Green Book, you had first-class restaurants." The tour includes hotels where jazz legend Billie Holiday spent the night and the Warwick Hotel, where the Brooklyn Dodgers began.
