A new Green Book helps guide Black travelers in the digital age. - Travel Weekly

Nadia "Sparkle" Henry

Victor Hugo Green's "The Negro Motorist Green Book" was published from 1936 to 1966, during the era of Jim Crow laws, to help Black Americans traveling through the South navigate safely through towns where businesses discriminated against Blacks, refusing lodging and food.

It's hard to believe that, in 2024, Black travelers still have to be concerned with racism when traveling domestically (and internationally, as well).

Thankfully, Lawrence Phillips, a Georgia Tech grad, needed a break from his IT consultant job and decided in 2015 to travel the world. He visited 30-plus countries and all seven continents in under a year. Along the way, he experienced the fears and concerns of going into destinations without foreknowledge of what it would be like to be traveling while Black in various destinations.

He came to realize that Black travelers in the U.S. and elsewhere still need tools to help them navigate their travel safely. Although American Black travelers spend more than $100 billion each year, there was no trusted resource catering specifically to the Black travel experience.

And so he created the Green Book Global, a Web- and app-based review platform to empower and enable Black travelers to plan trips with confidence by referencing a database of user-generated content and reviews that amounts to a collection of insights from Black travelers about destinations worldwide. 

Black travelers share ratings and insights on various aspects of a trip, including things to do, adventure and local food. There are over 6,500 destination reviews spanning hundreds of cities. Each destination is rated on a five-star scale, giving a numerical score based on the perspective of thousands of Black travelers. There are additional categories that take into account things like affordability and romance. Generally speaking, a 4.5 score or above is considered excellent, 4-4.5 is average and less than 4 is poor.

Phillips' business model offers users three levels of engagement: At the lowest, reviews can be accessed or posted for free, and certain tools are accessible; for a $15 gold membership (potentially refundable in the first year), users receive cash for visiting the site, leaving reviews or booking through affiliate websites; and platinum, for $30, offers gold benefits plus access to extra research tools.

The destination reviews highlight the good, the bad and the ugly of what it's like traveling while Black in certain locales. Of course, one person's experiences doesn't mean it will reflect your own, but if safety is a concern, that's what Green Book Global intends to address. Here are some examples of reviews:

The good, from Tahiti: "As a middle-aged Black woman on her own, I was concerned about how I would be treated, but there was no concern to be had. Every person truly treated me like a queen and was elated that I would come visit their part of the world!"

The bad, from Beijing: "The constant stares and sneaky photos from the locals can be a bit annoying. But don't let that stop you from visiting."

The ugly, from Istanbul: "It got to the stage where I spent the last three days in my hotel. I remember asking someone in the hotel how men in Turkey see black women; he responded by saying they love them. But loved wasn't the right word, more like fetishized. I was constantly groped by locals. There wasn't a day that went by where I wasn't touched."

Green Book Global hopes to be a platform rooted in truth, community and empowerment, a consumer-based platform that is also an ideal way for travel advisors to discover Black-friendly destinations, accommodations and activities appealing to Black travelers.

A travel advisor review feature coming this year will enable users to share their overall experiences with a trip organized by an advisor.