New Jersey View Establishments by New Jersey Cities
New Jersey
Green Book listings in Northern New Jersey tell the story of how African-Americans built new lives in New Jersey’s suburban communities. As The Green Book was beginning its publication run, service jobs in already established African-American communities in Montclair, Englewood, and the Oranges began attracting those looking to move out of New York and the South. The area’s thriving nightlife also appealed to tourists, who found entertainment in Newark’s clubs, including Club Caravan, Hi Spot, and Little Brown Derby. The Green Book helped African-American musicians find tourist homes in Elizabeth and Newark as they moved along the club circuit.
In Southern New Jersey, Green Book sites can be grouped into “Rivershore Industrial” and “Seashore Recreational”. The absence of listings for hotels, tourist homes, theaters, vacation resorts, and night clubs in the Rivershore Industrial communities of Salem, Bridgeton, Woodbury, Camden, and Lawnside suggest that The Green Bookprimarily served the area's resident workers. Black Seashore Recreational communities along the Atlantic Ocean within Cape May, Wildwood, Ocean City, and Atlantic City, were enclaved a few blocks from the beachfront, providing a vital labor force for the nearby resort hotels. Satellite accommodations for African-Americans vacationing in Atlantic City were located in Pleasantville, Absecon, New Gretna, and Egg Harbor.
While many of these African-American communities continue to thrive in the twenty-first century, little survives of the rich commercial landscape documented in The Green Book. The variety and density of The Green Book’s listings give witness to the entrepreneurial success of black families who made New Jersey their home.
