Dear Mike Pooky Brown,
I am not on Facebook, but your question regarding the Green Book era of Naperville was brought to my attention. The Oscar-winning film, “Green Book” tells the story of an African-American musician and his white driver as they travel throughout the country using a travel book written to help black travelers through a segregated America. Your question, “Does it [the Green Book era/segregation] still exist [in Naperville]?” My answer is a resounding “No.” It is true that in our past, negro deliverymen, workers, and domestic help were encouraged to leave town after dark, but there were exceptions.
The Negro Motorist Green Book was originally published by Victor H. Green from 1936-1966. I became familiar with green books several years ago and read them on-line through the digital collection of the New York Public Library. I could find no mention of Naperville, or DuPage County in the books. As a small town during 1936-1966, Naperville would not have had hotels nor many restaurants for travelers. The last hotel to operate in downtown Naperville was Staffeldt’s, which operated from 1928-1939. Besides the YMCA and motels along Ogden Avenue, there would have been few opportunities for any accommodations, white or black, and few if any records to prove what race those guests may have been.
It is true that Naperville was traditionally a small, white, farming town with little opportunities for African Americans; unlike Aurora. Dennis Buck’s, From Slavery to Glory tells the rich story of black Aurora and the many economic, social and cultural opportunities that Aurora afforded its black citizens. Some Napervillians were known Abolitionists before and during the Civil War but black residents were a rarity. The first county history (1857), the 1860 census, and the Naperville Cemetery records all prove that Sybil Dunbar, a Vermont, negro born into freedom, lived and was buried (1868) here in Naperville. Seventy years would pass however, before another mention of African Americans living in Naperville. In the 1940 census, Nettie Randolph and Ora Rogers were living with Naperville families as domestic help.
North Central College educated black students from all around the United States and the world, but those students lived on campus and were not allowed to use Centennial Beach. Genevieve Towsley and others rallied to desegregate Centennial beach. Though there were no official village or city ordinances that banned people of color from swimming or buying homes in Naperville, real-estate contracts were written to prohibit non-white ownership of homes. Six years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Naperville city council passed a Fair Housing Ordinance which opened its vast sub-divisions to people of all races. Since 1970, the diversity and talent of people from all backgrounds, faiths and races have increased Naperville’s population and added to its rich story. The many languages and happy, smiling people one notices on any walk through any neighborhood, or downtown sidewalk, or the Riverwalk proves how diverse and welcoming Naperville is. Our home is your home.
