Onsite Program: The Green Book in Chicagoland and the Midwest
For Grades 7-12
Illinois Holocaust Museum’s special exhibition The Negro Motorist Green Book highlights the history of “The Green Book,” the annual guide created in 1936 by Harlem postman Victor Green, that provided African American travelers with information on restaurants, gas stations, department stores and other businesses that welcomed Black travelers during the Jim Crow era.
This workshop will explore the historical context of the Green Book and its significance to Black life in Chicagoland and the Midwest. From the local and regional institutions listed in the Green Book to sites of Black vacationing and leisure to Sundown towns, this workshop will encourage teachers and their students to explore how travel shapes our understandings of who we are, where we are welcome, and who we are connected to.
Presenter:
Marcia Walker-McWilliams is a public historian, who specializes in African American history. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) where she provides strategic leadership for the consortium’s activities and works to facilitate the discovery, preservation, and use of Black historical collections in Chicago. Marcia received a Ph.D. in American History from the University of Chicago and an undergraduate degree in Social Policy and African American Studies from Northwestern University. She is the author of Reverend Addie Wyatt: Faith and the Fight for Labor, Gender, and Racial Equality (University of Illinois Press, 2016) and co-author of The New Civil Rights Movement Reader: Resistance, Resilience and Justice (University of Massachusetts Press, 2023) with Traci Parker.
Prior to the BMRC, Marcia taught courses in American history and African American Studies at the college and university level. She has curated exhibits at the Chicago Public Library and the University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center and sits on the board of several organizations including the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA).
Workshop Includes:
- Breakfast and Lunch
- Classroom Resources
- 5 Clock Hours
- Substitute Reimbursement (upon request)