Victor Hugo Green               Alma Green

Born November 9, 1892, in Manhattan, New York, Victor Hugo Green—named after a French author of the same name. He was the eldest of three, and his family would move to Hackensack, New Jersey where he and his siblings would grow up. By 1913, he would begin labored as a postal carrier in Bergen County, New Jersey. Infamous for developing and writing what became known as The Green Book—a travel guide for Black people in the United States—during a period of mass racial segregation, hostility, and lynching. The period, known as Jim Crow Apartheid, culturally and politically disallowed Black people from participating in many aspects of civil society, including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc. The Negro Motorist Green Book and later The Negro Travelers' Green Book were continually updated and republished from 1936 to 1966. Alma Duke was born in the Jim Crow south of Richmond, Virginia in 1889. At just 18, she worked as a dressmaker and became a part of the Great Migration, a period where approximately six million Black Americans moved from southern states to northern states. During which Alma would live in and through some of the most culturally and historically important regions and events of late-19th and early-20th century African American history. While traveling, she was exposed to the horrors of racial exploitation and violence Black people experienced while on the road. Duke would move to New York in 1915, and then New Jersey shortly after, where she would involve herself in the local Black community in Hackensack, New Jersey—where Victor also lived at the time. A few years later (1918), the two would get married, Alma Duke would become Alma Green, and one year later Victor would be drafted for World War I. After returning from the war, the couple moved back to New Jersey, then to Harlem, New York in 1929. The Harlem move is where the idea for the Green Book would be born. Alma—alongside the predominantly female staff—served as an editor throughout The Green Book’s existence—but was only credited for her work on the publication in 1959. The Green Book mass-reviewed hotels, restaurants, service stations, and other businesses that served Black travelers. and printed 15,000 copies a year where he documented their treatment and tolerance of Black people as a means of protecting them from anti-Black abuses and run ins. The work began in the early 1930s, where they would compile data on stores, lodges, gas stations, etc., and their treatment of Black people specifically in New York City. The first guide was published in 1936 and became so popular that they immediately expanded the coverage to other regions in the US, as well. Even after retiring from the Postal Service, Green continued updating and expanding the coverage of the Green Book, leading to the development of a travel agency business in 1947. The development of the Green Book helped Black people navigate both America’s landscape and deeply understand its structural racism. The book which shed light on the “white-only” establishments like hotels, restaurants, and gas stations, and even exposed entire towns where Black people were told in explicit terms to leave before sundown, helped Black travelers travel the United States in relative safety and comfort. After her husband’s death in 1960, Alma maintained their legacy and continued editing and publishing until 1962. “The Green Book ceased” to be published in 1966 after the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The inaugural publication stated that “There will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published. That is when we as a race will have equal rights and privileges in the United States. It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go wherever we please, and without embarrassment. But until that time comes, we shall continue to publish this information for your convenience each year.” Alma Green would pass away in 1978.

His final words, Victor Green, were simple but unforgettable.

The most documented and poignant of Victor Hugo's last communications is a note he wrote just two days before his death from pneumonia on May 22, 1885. Found in his personal journal, these final written words were the simple but profound statement: "To love is to act."

This wasn't just a sentimental thought; it was the culmination of a life spent as a fierce human rights activist. Hugo spent his career championing the causes he wrote about, calling for free education for all children and an end to poverty. This final note perfectly encapsulates his core belief that true compassion for humanity must be paired with real, tangible action