The Volunteer Orange Book
The Volunteer Orange Book serves as a resource for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It is modeled after The Negro Motorist Green Book, with an emphasis on resources for historically underrepresented populations. It is our desire that colleagues (graduate students, staff, faculty, and administrators) find this resource helpful.
While every effort was made to include as many underrepresented businesses, houses of worship, etc. as possible, some may not have been published in this edition. Please email the CEHHS A&E Office at cehhsae@utk.edu to recommend additional resources for inclusion.
The Green Book
The Green Book, 1940 edition
The Orange Book is based on The Negro Motorist Green Book—also known as The Green Book—published by Victor Hugo Green.
The Green Book was:
“An annual guidebook for African-American roadtrippers founded and published by New York City mailman Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1967. From a New York-focused first edition published in 1936, Green expanded the work to cover much of North America. The Green Book became ‘the bible of black travel’ during the era of Jim Crow laws, when open and often legally prescribed discrimination against African Americans and other non-whites was widespread. Green wrote this guide to identify services and places relatively friendly to African- Americans so they could find lodgings, businesses, and gas stations that would serve them along the road. It was little known outside the African-American community. Shortly after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed the types of racial discrimination that made The Green Book necessary, publication ceased and it fell into obscurity.” – Library of Congress
About the Area
University of Tennesse, Knoxville
What began in 1794 as a small college in the Southwest Territory has grown into Tennessee’s flagship university and premier public research institution. UT Knoxville, which includes the UT Space Institute and the UT Institute of Agriculture, serves the state by educating its citizens, enhancing its culture, and making a difference in people’s lives through research and service. We embody excellence in teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, outreach, and engagement.
Knoxville
Our home is a thriving Southern city known for its festivals, great outdoors, diverse music scene, and wide variety of eateries.
Nearby Cities
- Washington, DC – 8 hours, 500 miles
- Chattanooga, TN – 1.5 hours, 115 miles
- Asheville, NC – 2 hours, 110 miles
- Nashville, TN – 3 hours, 180 miles
- Atlanta, GA – 3.5 hours, 200 miles
- Charlotte, NC – 4 hours, 240 miles
- Cincinnati, OH – 4 hours, 250 miles
- Louisville, KY – 4 hours, 240 miles
- Memphis, TN – 6 hours, 390 miles
- Charleston, SC – 6.5 hours, 375 miles
- St. Louis, MO – 8 hours, 500 miles
Knoxville Facts
- Located at the crossroads of Interstate 75 and Interstate 40.
- Zoo Knoxville is the birthplace of more red pandas than any other zoo in the world.
- The Urban Wilderness boasts 1,000 forested acres plus lake and river access.
- Where the French Broad and Holston Rivers converge and the Tennessee River begins.
- Average annual temperatures: high 69° F and low 49° F.
- The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a 45-minute drive from campus!
Source: University of Tennessee, Knoxville (utk.edu)