Overground Railroad by Candacy Taylor

I enjoyed this book immensely, and think it should be part of a high school curriculum for students learning American history. The subtitle is The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America, and it chronicles four decades of the role of the Green Book for black Americans traveling throughout the Jim Crow era South, as well as the nation as a whole. In my lifetime African Americans were not welcome many many places, and the Green Book allowed them to pick and choose where they ate, where they stayed, and to a great extent, where they could go. It unyoked them from the terror and humiliation that would otherwise be a part of travel away from home. The book is equal parts harrowing tales and positive stories about how the Green Book was successful. They got advertisers who welcomed black travelers, which was a win win that helped keep the Green Book financially viable and afloat. It is equal parts educational and horrifying, and well worth the read.