The segregation-era travel guide that saved black Americans from having to sleep in their cars

"The Green Book, which was published from 1936 to 1966,... was designed explicitly to help African-American travelers find hotels, restaurants, and gas stations that would accommodate them during the era of segregation.... Before the Civil Rights Act, a simple road trip could be life-threatening to a black tourist....  and the AAA, which was supposed to help motorists find accommodations, openly discriminated against accepting black members.... This is the problem that Victor H. Green, the editor and publisher of The Green Book (originally called The Negro Motorist's Green Book), had attempted to solve...."