Green Book Project

Did you know that over 300 businesses in North Carolina were listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book? In fact, there were 327. 

Over the course of several months, Green Book Project staff will research each of these sites before developing an interactive web portal that will allow visitors to explore each site in depth through historical vignettes, stories and images. A traveling exhibition and a series of public programs will be produced to highlight the experiences of African American travelers during the Jim Crow Era in North Carolina, too.

Navigating Jim Crow: The Green Book and Oasis Spaces in North Carolina

“The Negro Motorist Green Book,” published between 1936 and 1966, was both a travel guide and a tool of resistance designed to confront the realities of racial discrimination in the United States and beyond. The book listed over 300 North Carolina businesses—from restaurants and hotels, to tourist homes, nightclubs and beauty salons—in the three decades that it was published. The exhibit highlights a complex statewide network of business owners and Green Book sites that allowed African American communities to thrive, and that created “oasis spaces” for a variety of African American travelers.

Two identical traveling exhibits feature eight vibrant panels showcasing images of business owners, travelers, and historic and present-day images of North Carolina Green Book sites. The words of African American travelers and descendants of Green Book site owners are featured prominently in the exhibit. Each of these stories are from oral histories collected by the AAHC in 2018 and 2019.

This exhibit was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MH-00-17-0027-17.

 

Schedule:

International Civil Rights Center & Museum | March 2-April 23, 2020

Hayti Heritage Center | March 12-May 7, 2020

Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum | May 1-June 12, 2020

NC Transportation Museum | May 15-July 7, 2020

Historic Stagville State Historic Site | June 19-July 31, 2020

NC State Capitol | August 14-October 9, 2020

 

This schedule will be updated periodically. Exhibit will be available to book beginning in December 2020. Please contact greenbooknc@ncdcr.gov for all schedule or booking inquiries.

 

 

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