The Corridor is inviting you to help preserve Buffalo's Green Book history!

History isn't just found in museums and archives. Sometimes, it's tucked away in family photo albums, newspaper clippings, or stories passed down from one generation to the next.

The Jalen Law Collection and the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor are

inviting the community to help preserve Buffalo's Black history by contributing photographs, memories, documents, and other historical materials for a new digital public history project exploring sites once featured in The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Created between 1936 and 1967, The Negro Motorist Green Book helped Black travelers safely navigate a violently segregated America by identifying hotels, restaurants, businesses, and community spaces where they would be welcomed. Today, the locations that remain are powerful reminders of Black entrepreneurship, resilience, and community life.

Jalen A. Law, a Buffalo artist and researcher, recently received a 2026 Statewide Community Regrant from the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by Arts Services Inc., to develop the Buffalo Green Book AR Pilot: A Mobile Heritage Experience. Launching within the Corridor, the project will use mobile-based augmented reality technology to bring Buffalo's Green Book history to life. Visitors will be able to stand at historic locations, scan a QR code with their mobile devices, and experience archival photographs, historical narratives, and audio storytelling that reveal the stories behind these important sites.

Community Call for Historical Materials

The pilot project will initially focus on three historic locations: The Little Harlem Hotel, the Mary B. Talbert House, and the Historic Colored Musicians Club & Jazz Museum.

Melvin “Trey” Bankhead

Director, ANANSI: A Strategic Narratives Firm

anansinarratives.com