We are very excited to announce that on Nov. 5, Somerset Place will open a new traveling exhibit, "Navigating Jim Crow: The Green Book and Oasis Spaces in North Carolina.”
Did you know that 327 businesses in North Carolina were listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book? Published from 1936 to 1966, The Green Book was used as both a travel guide and a tool of resistance to confront racial discrimination in the United States. Restaurants, hotels, beauty salons, and other types of businesses were listed in The Green Book, which helped African-American communities thrive and identified safe places to African-American travelers.
Developed by the African American Heritage Commission and designed by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, “Navigating Jim Crow” will be open at Somerset from Nov. 5-Dec. 17. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MH-00-17-0027-17. The views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Stop by our Visitor Center for free admission into the exhibit.
Somerset Place is a representative state historic site offering a comprehensive view of 19th century life on a large North Carolina plantation. The plantation once encompassed more than 100,000 acres. Over its 80-year history, more than 861 enslaved African Americans lived and worked at Somerset.
For additional information, please call (252) 379-6020. Somerset Place is located at 2572 Lake Shore Road, Creswell. It is administered by the Division of State Historic Sites in the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.