People

Victor Hugo Green published the first issue of The Green Book while working as a mail carrier in New York City. He initially partnered with George L. Smith on the venture, but Smith died soon after the publication of the first issue. Green’s brother, William, then joined the firm and worked with Victor until 1945. Victor’s wife, Alma Duke Green, assisted with the venture and took over management of the publication when Green retired in 1952. Green presumably retired due to health issues, but stayed on board as an advisor until his death at age 67 in 1960.

 

In the 1950s and 1960s, Alma Green presided over an all-female staff, a rarity in that era. The 1961 issue included photos of staff members Edith Greene, Dorothy Asch, Evelyn Woolfolk, and Novera Dashiell. In 1962, Alma sold the business to Langley Waller, a Harlem businessman, and Melvin Tapley, a cartoonist from the New York Amsterdam News, who continued the publication until it ceased in 1966/1967.

TitleRelated EstablishmentsRelated Issues

Alberta Northcutt

Billy Martin

Captain Joshua Watts

1939

7083 - Chevy Chase Motel Proprietor

Chevy Chase Motel (Business Owner)1963, 1964, 1966

Clayton Bates

Pegleg Bates (Business Owner)

Dallas Nicholas

Monumental1940, 1941

Earl Warren, Chief Justice

James Cecil Toomer

Tippin Inn (Building Owner)

Kirsten Flagstad

Mae Baker

La Mae (Business Owner)

Marian Anderson

Test person

Abner Virginia Motel (Occupant)1947

Robert Taft, Senator

Test person #2

1947

Trunnis Goggins

The New Skateland (Business Owner)

Victor Green

1947, 1954, 1955

Wilbur Smith

Glove Valley Dude Ranch (Business Owner)

William "Coochies" Wilcox

Wilcox Cafe (Building Owner)

William Taft, President

Willie Adams

Casino Club (Building Owner)

Elzata Johnson Pitts

Rena's (Business Owner)

Billy Mitchell