The Green Book in St. Augustine with Regina Gayle Phillips

The Friends of the Main Library St. Augustine is pleased to welcome Regina Gayle Phillips, Executive Director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, to discuss an upcoming new exhibit at the museum about the Green Book in St. Augustine. Published between 1936-1967, the Green Book, or in full The Negro Motorist Green Book, The Negro Travelers’ Green Book,  or The Travelers’ Green Book, was a travel guide published during the Jim Crow era in the United States to identify hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that accepted African American customers, making travel both more comfortable and safer for African Americans. The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, an African American history museum located in the Lincolnville neighborhood of St. Augustine, is housed in the historic Excelsior School Building, which served as the first public Black high school in St. Johns County in 1925. Ms. Phillips will discuss the history and importance of the Green Book for African Americans, the businesses in St. Augustine that were featured in the travel guides, and the upcoming exhibit at the Lincolnville Museum.

This program is free and open to the public and will take place at The Waterworks, 184 San Marco Ave., which shares a parking lot with the Main Library. Seating begins at 12:00 pm, and the presentation starts promptly at 1:00 pm. No reservations are required. For more information, please call the Main Library at 904-827-6940.

Ms. Phillips currently serves as Executive Director of the Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, housed in the historic Excelsior High School. She began at the museum as a volunteer in 2015 and has been instrumental in its transformation and development over the past five years. Under her leadership, the museum has established a regular schedule of operations, curated new exhibits, and developed coalitions with other institutions. A Jacksonville native, Ms. Phillips graduated from Wolfson Sr. High School, Florida Junior College, and the University of Florida School of Journalism. She is also a graduate of the First Coast Technical Institution Culinary Program. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum and the St. Augustine Historical Society, and was recently appointed to the St. Johns County Tourism Development Council. She lives in St. Augustine with her husband of 35 years, Floyd, who also serves as president of the museum’s Board of Directors.

The Waterworks is available through the generosity of the City of St. Augustine and the St. Johns Cultural Council.