Ricardo Guthrie, associate professor of Ethnic Studies, was awarded $7500 from the Road Ahead Partnership’s “Route 66 Black Experiences Grant Program,” for his research and preservation of stories of African American “pathbreakers and waymakers” who settled in Flagstaff’s Southside during the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s—highlighting selected sites from the Green Book Negro Travelers’ Guide during this period.
The “Flagstaff Lived Black Experience on Route 66” project includes research and interpretation of the oral histories that Guthrie has collected over the past several years, including historiographies of Ms. Cleo Wilson Murdoch, NAU Alumnus Wilson C. Riles, Louise Phillips Riles and other Black residents who provided leadership and encouragement to Southern migrants to create the most racially and ethnically diverse communities in Flagstaff. The project will allow Guthrie and student interns Naomi Sanders (Honors 2023) and Ty Holliday (First-Year GPR student) to complete internships and entrepreneurial projects creating virtual tours and physical artifacts connected to Green Book heritage sites—including NAU Campus locations.
To learn more about the Black Experiences Grant Program visit: http://route66roadahead.com/black-experiences-grant-program/.