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Smithsonian traveling exhibition about ‘The Green Book’ 0pens at MTCC

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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.
Harlem postman Victor Green created “The Green Book” in 1936 to provide African American travelers with information on restaurants, gas stations, department stores and other businesses that welcomed Black travelers during the era of Jim Crow. The guide is highlighted in the “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” a new exhibition developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor. The exhibition is made possible through the support of Exxon Mobil Corp.
“The Green Book” was published and distributed nationwide until 1967. In an era of Jim Crow laws and “sundown towns”— communities that explicitly prohibited African Americans from staying overnight — “The Green Book” offered critical, life-saving information and sanctuary.
ExxonMobil predecessor Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey played a significant role in the distribution of “The Green Book” through its U.S. network of Esso stations, helping to provide motorists and their families opportunities for safer and more comfortable travel. Esso stations, including one in Arkansas, were the only major retail distributors of “The Green Book.” Esso employed many African American engineers, scientists and marketing executives and welcomed African American motorists at its stations.
An outdoor, opening reception for the exhibit is planned for 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 20, at MTCC at 501 W. Ninth St. The event will include venders, music, vehicle displays and more. Ninth Street between Broadway and Arch avenues will be closed for the event. All are welcome to attend and visit the exhibit. Pandemic-related safety protocols will be followed. MTCC plans to offer more events in May, June and July. For more information, visit the MTCC website at www.mosaictemplarscenter.com.



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