‘Traveling While Black LIVE’ exhibit on display through Feb. 28

By David Winship What would it have been like for Black travelers in the segregated American South in the twentieth century? An exhibit at Union Station, 300 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., that is available to the public through Feb. 28, will give visitors a glimpse into that experience.  “Traveling While Black Live”provides a cinematic experience, immersing the visitor in a documentary and virtual reality technology examining the long history of traveling restrictions for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era of segregation. The Negro Motorist Green Book, published from 1936 to 1966, became a lifeline for Black motorists to find safe spaces and establishments where they would be welcomed rather than threatened or turned away.  The exhibit at Union Station is presented by The Magnolia House Foundation of Greensboro, North Carolina. The exhibit is a re-creation of Ben’s Chili Bowl, a Black diner in Washington, D.C. Accompanying the representation is a 25-minute program, viewed through a Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality (VR/AR) headset. There are 26 Virtual Reality goggles available for individual and group visitors. According to the director of the creator and director of Traveling While Black experience, Roger Ross Williams, “The project started as a way to talk...