Nov. 2, 2024 - Mar. 2, 2025 | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
About the Exhibit
Upcoming Events
Opening Weekend Celebration
Saturday, Nov. 2 and Sunday, Nov. 3, 1 - 4 p.m. | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Celebrate the opening of The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibit at DC Public Library with a weekend full of immersive activities, live performances, local history and more.
- Saturday, Nov. 2 | Get a first look at this exciting new exhibition with activities for all ages, including a children's sock hop, screenings of historic musical performances, a unique recreation of a Green Book era diner and an opportunity to meet representatives from organizations featured in the Green Book in D.C. exhibition.
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Sunday, Nov. 3 | Enjoy a beautiful day at the MLK Library with a vintage car show that will bring to life the stories of how families traveled during the Green Book era, a throw-back 1960's Teenarama Dance party hosted by the African American Music Association and a variety of local food trucks.
Guided Exhibit Tours
Wednesdays, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Saturdays, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Dive into the stories of The Green Book with a guided tour of The Negro Motorist Green Book and its complementary exhibit The Green Book in D.C.: A Particular Place for Particular People. Tours are held four times weekly, on Wednesdays at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. At the end of the tour, visitors will be directed to additional displays and activities inspired by The Green Book throughout the library. Click the link above to sign up for a tour today.
Documentary Screening and Talkback | The Green Book: Guide to Freedom
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
In partnership with the Double Exposure Film Festival and the DC Public Library Foundation, learn how The Negro Motorist Green Book helped African-Americans navigate the roads of a segregated nation. Immediately following the film, join us for a conversation with documentary film director and screenwriter Yoruba Ruchen.
Family Movie Day: The Watsons Go to Birmingham
Saturday, Dec. 1, 2 p.m. | Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
Based on the bestselling book, The Watsons Go to Birmingham, the film chronicles the ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African American family living in Flint, Michigan, and how they are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963.
Green Book Sites of Washington, D.C.
Between its debut in the Green Book and the guide’s final edition, D.C. became a bustling, majority-Black city, attracting Black travelers to galleries showcasing Black artists, a diverse restaurant and nightclub scene, glamorous hotels, and the fellowship of its growing Black middle-class community.
D.C.’s unique role as the nation’s capital meant opportunities for Black workers to earn family-sustaining wages in federal jobs, and federal laws furnished some sanctuary in the Jim Crow era. Many Black Americans visited family who had moved to D.C. during the Great Migration, or to explore tourist sites, including the National Mall, many of which were open to all.
However, traveling to, from, and within D.C. was difficult for Black Americans, and the Green Book offered an essential tool for safe and dignified journeys. Its pages listed more than 150 businesses and organizations supplying a spectrum of services—from Apex Beauty College to the “Ys”. Orbiting largely around Howard University, they formed a nexus of vibrant culture in an atmosphere of safety and security.
Learn more about the role of the Green Book at the Green Book in D.C. exhibit at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and at a capsule version of the exhibit located at eight neighborhood libraries, including:
Books for Kids and Teens
Books for Adults
The Negro Motorist Green Book was created by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with Candacy Taylor and made possible through the generous support of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
The Arts & Exhibits Program is made possible in part through the generous support of the DC Public Library Foundation.
Green Book in D.C. was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.