New online tool identifies former Green Book sites in Winston-Salem
The Lincoln Hotel sits to the left of Wachovia Bank and Trust. The hotel was one of 18 sites in Winston-Salem listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book from 1938 to 1967. Photo courtesy of the Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission.
Forsyth County's Historic Resources Commission has launched a new online tool to identify former Green Book locations in Winston-Salem.
The new website identifies 18 businesses that were listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book from 1938 to 1967. None of the buildings remain standing in the city today.
Historic Resources Officer Heather Bratland says the tool will help people learn about local stories.
"I think it's very important that people recognize the history of Winston-Salem is really unique and that we were a city that had a really large and thriving Black middle class and Black professional class as well," she says.
Bratland says news clippings alongside photos were used to illustrate this history.
The website provides a story map of people who owned and ran the businesses, what they looked like, and where they were located. An exhibit called Oasis Spaces: The North Carolina Green Book Project is opening on Oct. 6 at The Enterprise Center in Winston-Salem on this subject.
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