Description
Starting during the Gold Rush and continuing through today, Black Californians have been part and parcel of rural areas. In this free-standing banner exhibit, little-known stories of African American farmers, ranchers, and rural residents challenge myths about California history.



While it is widely recognized that many Black people who migrated to California moved into booming cities, African Americans are not strangers to rural California. Rural Black residents opened schools, worked the land, and exercised vigilance about the equal rights of citizens. Over successive migrations in the 19th- and 20th-centuries, generations settled in agricultural and rural areas from as far north as Siskiyou County, to the Central Valley, to the Imperial Valley in the South.
Exhibit Themes:
- Farmers & Ranchers: Here from the Start
- Working the Land
- Independent Settlements
- Into the Modern Age
We Are Not Strangers Here is a collaboration between the Cal Ag Roots Project at the California Institute for Rural Studies; the California Historical Society (Susan Anderson); Exhibit Envoy; and Dr. Caroline Collins, Post-Doc Researcher from UC San Diego. This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the 11th Hour Project at the Schmidt Family Foundation.
Specs
- Audience:
- General
- Rental Fee:
- $1,000 + shipping via FedEx
- Size:
- 60 linear ft.
- Languages:
- English, Spanish via PDF
- Security:
- Limited
- Installation Images:
- View Here
Exhibit Components:
- 7 colorful banners each measuring 5’H x 7’W and installed using free-standing banner stands
- Cell phone audio tour featuring the voices of scholars and descendants of rural Black Californians
- Multiple podcasts featuring additional stories, produced by Cal Ag Roots
- PDF with Spanish translation of the full exhibition
- Programming suggestions and resource list
- Exhibition press kit with digital images
Schedule and Availability
Past Dates | |
July 12, 2020 – September 6, 2020 | AVAILABLE |
September 20, 2020 – November 22, 2020 | AVAILABLE |
December 5, 2020 – January 31, 2021 | AVAILABLE |
February 14, 2021 – May 16, 2021 | Sutter County Museum, Yuba City |
May 30, 2021 – August 1, 2021 | Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, Earlimart |
August 22, 2021 – October 17, 2021 | AVAILABLE |
October 31, 2021 – December 26, 2021 | AVAILABLE |
January 9, 2022 – March 6, 2022 | AVAILABLE |
March 20, 2022 – May 15, 2022 | AVAILABLE |
May 29, 2022 – July 24, 2022 | AVAILABLE |
August 7, 2022 – October 2, 2022 | AVAILABLE |
October 16, 2022 – December 11, 2022 | AVAILABLE |
Contact us for dates beyond 2022.