More than 80 years ago, postal service worker and travel writer Victor Hugo Green had the foresight to create The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide that was initially the go-to source for black American travelers.

As advertised in the Green Book from 1949 to 1957, this new liaison was not only meant to encourage African-Americans to travel abroad, but also to provide an underserved community with travel logistics, from applying for passports and visas to booking travel via airline, railroad, and at the time, steamship.

In 1954, Freddye Henderson, who later founded Henderson Travel Service, the nation’s first African-American-owned travel agency, took a group of black female fashion designers to Europe.

Their decision to focus on trip planning and tours to Africa would not only become a revenue generator for the company, but it would also serve an underserved travel market and forge valuable connections in the black community.

Celebrating 65 years in the travel business this year, Henderson Travel Service lives on through Freddye and Jacob’s daughter, as she and the agency continue to provide travelers with unique experiences in Africa.