Presentation: Black, White, and Yellow Taxis: Morris County and The Green Book
Free Educational Presentation by Janet Foster
Sunday, February 9 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Morristown United Methodist Church, 50 South Park Place, Morristown, NJ
Event Details:
The first edition of the “Negro Motorist Green Book” came out in 1936, published by a New Jersey postal carrier as a way to guide African-Americans to welcoming businesses during their travels across the country. Although the guide is popularly thought of today as being used in the Jim Crow South, it covered the entire country. The Green Book was published annually, and during the 30 years of its publication, New Jersey had some 581 individual businesses listed in 31 different towns. In Morris County, Madison had three listings, Morristown had two, and research into what those businesses were and who operated them illuminates a whole chapter of mid-20th century history.
Much of the physical record of the Green Book has vanished in New Jersey. Only about a quarter of the New Jersey buildings housing businesses listed in the Green Book remain standing (and none in Madison or Morristown).
Meet the Speaker:
Janet W. Foster has been working on the New Jersey Greenbook project for over two years, with a team of scholars from around the state, to identify all the sites listed in the Green Book in order to recover their histories. For her work in Morris County, Ms. Foster has used archival sources from local newspapers and maps to piece together a largely unrecorded story of work and leisure within the Black community.
Janet has taught at Columbia University, Drew University, and for the Madison Library “Mini-Courses” series. Her publications include Building By the Book: New Jersey’s Pattern Book Architecture and The Queen Anne House: America’s Victorian Vernacular, along with numerous smaller pamphlets, walking tours and articles
Recommendations:
“Janet Foster’s Green Book presentation was so good I had to experience it twice. The second time, she delivered the presentation to the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) – New Jersey. The group loved the presentation because Janet was an engaging presenter, and they learned a lot about the local history. They left feeling inspired to continue their own personal research.”
Celeste Lynn, 2024-25 President, Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society NJ
“The presentation was eye-opening, engaging, and left me wanting to know more. What I learned about one of the Green Book sites I drive past daily made me look longer, more curiously at both the site and its contributions to local African American history.”
Amy Curry, Executive Director, Morris County Historical Society
“Janet Foster has turned hours upon hours of research into Green Book sites in New Jersey into an informative illustrated talk about those sites with a focus on the operators of a Green Book site in Madison and sites in Morristown. I highly recommend Janet’s program and hope more people will hear it so they may learn about a part of Morris County and New Jersey’s past that will likely be surprising to many and enlightening for all.”
James Lewis, Department Head, Caroline Rose Foster North Jersey History and Genealogy Center
