Things That Matter @ Boone County History & Culture Center

Free admission! Join us for a compelling conversation examining Black travel and community life in Missouri during the Jim Crow era.

Things That Matter is a free, conversational-style speaker series hosted monthly at the Montminy Gallery inside the Boone County History & Culture Center in Columbia, Missouri. Designed to spark meaningful conversations, the series features real people sharing stories that connect us to our community’s past and present.

For our March program, we welcome Liz Nahach for “The Green Book: Exploring Black Travel Experiences and Neighborhoods”. This talk explores how the automobile, often associated with freedom, offered a very different reality for Black travelers during the Jim Crow era. With The Green Book as a guide, Black travelers were able to navigate Missouri’s roads more safely by identifying essential resources such as restaurants, gas stations, and hotels. Using the Green Book as a starting point, the program examines Missouri’s Black neighborhoods and small-town Green Book sites across the state, highlighting how these places were used, who operated them, the communities they supported, and the historic preservation efforts surrounding the few sites that remain today.

Liz Nahach is a Jefferson City native and a master’s student in public history at Middle Tennessee State University, where she works with the Center for Historic Preservation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Truman State University and is pursuing a career in historic preservation.

This free public event is open to anyone interested in Missouri history, African American history, and the everyday experiences that shaped travel and community life.

Free admission

The Things That Matter series is presented by LaBrunerie Financial. Financial assistance for this program has been provided by the City of Columbia, Office of Cultural Affairs.

Event by Boone County History & Culture Center