Planning A Road Trip? These Apps Have Teamed Up To Spotlight Safe And Tasty Black-Owned Stops
Green Book Global, the first Black travel review mobile app, and EatOkra, an app for discovering Black-owned restaurants, are collaborating to add over 2,500 Black-owned restaurants into Green Book Global’s Driving While Black Road Trip Planner.
With this new partnership, travellers will be able to use the Green Book Global app or website to add Black-owned restaurants from EatOkra straight to their road trip commutes across the US.
“This collaboration is about more than food. It’s about culture, safety, and creating a network of trusted spaces for Black travelers as they explore the country,” said Lawrence Phillips, Founder of Green Book Global, in a press release. “We’re proud to build on the legacy of the original Green Book in a way that speaks to today’s travelers.”
Green Book Global
The platform helps Black travellers with confidence and ease. It also allows Black travellers to intentionally plan their travels whilst staying informed.
Its founder, Phillips, worked at Accenture for eight years before building Green Book Global. After visiting over 30 countries across all seven continents, he developed a desire to create a travel review site, according to AFROTECH.
“With Green Book Global, we want to be everything to a Black traveler so we want to get travel advisors on there and talk about Black-owned businesses on there — Black-owned hotels on there,” Phillips said.
EatOkra
EatOkra was co-founded by husband and wife Janique and Anthony Edwards. When the pair moved to Brooklyn, they struggled to find Black-owned restaurants. So, Anthony used his computer science degree to create EatOkra, a platform that helps users find Black-owned eateries.
In 2024, CNBC reported that the app had 20,000 monthly active users and generated approximately $700,000 in revenue.
This new collaboration will help Black users travel and find safe Black spaces. Currently, the Driving While Black Road Trip Planner helps users avoid dangerous areas, such as historical Sundown towns, along their routes, find safe rest stops and cities rated by Black travelers, and book hotel stays, rental cars, and activities at their destination.
Image: Lawrence Phillips
