LITTLE ROCK – The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and Arkansas Heritage are excited to announce the opening of the exhibition, “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” with a special, opening reception at 6 p.m. May 20. The exhibition will be open May 20 through Aug. 1 and is free. Arkansas Heritage is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.
“The Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism strives to preserve and showcase Arkansas’s Black history and heritage and find new ways to allow all residents and visitors to engage, explore and learn from it,” said Stacy Hurst, department secretary. “We are excited to have the opportunity to present this nationally recognized exhibit.”
“This exhibit delves into the impact of travel and segregation while highlighting hopes and successes of African American communities throughout the South,” said interim Director Quantia Fletcher. “Arkansas has direct ties to ‘The Green Book,’ including sites across our state that were listed in the guide and served as safe places for Black travelers.”
“The Negro Motorist Green Book” exhibition will offer an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class. The exhibition will include artifacts from business signs and postcards to historic footage, images and firsthand accounts to convey not only the apprehension felt by African American travelers, but also the resilience, innovation and elegance of people choosing to live a full American existence.
The exhibit spotlights a vibrant, parallel world of African American businesses, the rise of the Black leisure class in the U.S. and the important role of “The Green Book” in facilitating the second wave of the Great Migration.