Newton, NC – Navigating Jim Crow: The Green Book and Oasis Spaces in North Carolina traveling exhibit is now at Catawba County Library.
The N.C. African American Heritage Commission (AAHC), a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, has created a traveling exhibit featuring sites important to, and personal memories about, African American travel during the “Jim Crow” era of legal segregation. The Catawba County Library is honored to be one of the chosen sites for presenting this special exhibit.
The exhibit will be on display at the Main Library in Newton, 115 West C Street, from January 9 through February 28. The exhibit is available to the public for free and can be enjoyed during normal business hours of Monday through Thursday from 9 am to 8 pm and Friday through Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm.
“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. This 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.
Eight vibrant panels form the traveling display, 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.
Along with exploring this pop-up panel display, the library will offer programs the community can attend to learn more about the Green Book, including a virtual reality experience. On Tuesday, January 24 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm, the Main Library in Newton will offer a Green Book VR Experience to view short virtual reality videos focusing on travel using the Green Book. For more information, and to sign up for your time slot, please call 828-465-8665.
This exhibit was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MH-00-17-0027-17.
For details about Catawba County Library’s services and resources, please visit www.catawbacountync.gov/library, call 828.465.8665, email [email protected], or visit them at www.facebook.com/catcolibrary.
