Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era

The NAACP Image Award-Nominated book, Hidden Hospitality: Untold Stories of Black Hotel, Motel, and Resort Owners from the Pioneer Days to the Civil Rights Era, is a visual and narrative celebration of a vital but often overlooked chapter of African American history.

Throughout America’s history of slavery and segregation, Black travelers faced not just unwelcoming environments but the challenge of finding safe places to rest and recharge. In response to this basic human need, courageous Black entrepreneurs carved out spaces within the dominant culture, creating a network of Black-owned establishments that offered comfort and safety to Black travelers.

Through rare archival photographs, personal accounts, and historical context, Hidden Hospitality uncovers how Black entrepreneurs built spaces of refuge, dignity, and self-determination within the American hospitality industry—often during times of extreme racial exclusion and violence. It is a Black history book told through a hospitality lens, centering stories that were nearly lost to time.

Hidden Hospitality highlights the immense challenges they faced and the enduring impact of their establishments, showing how their spaces became vibrant hubs of Black culture, where people could gather, find joy, and be their true selves.