Last updated: October 3, 2024
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The Magnolia House (Greensboro, North Carolina)
African American Civil Rights Network
The Magnolia House is a bed and breakfast in Greensboro, North Carolina. When it opened in the mid-1900s it was one of a few boarding places in the area that catered to African American travelers. It was listed in the "Green Book" and hosted many prominent African Americans.
Louise and Arthur Gist opened The Magnolia House as a hotel for African American travelers in 1949. Originally constructed in 1889, the home passed through a succession of white owners before the Gist family became its first African American owners. The hotel was one of just a few places African American travelers could stay between Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia due to Jim Crow laws and customs in the South. In 1955, the hotel first appeared in The Negro Motorist Green Book (the "Green Book"), a guidebook published by Victor Hugo Green for African American travelers. It became a popular stop for leading African American athletes, entertainers, writers, and scholars. Prominent guests at The Magnolia House included Lena Horne, Ruth Brown, Satchel Paige, James Baldwin, and Carter G. Woodson.
In addition to offering warm food and safe harbor for African American traveling across the South during Jim Crow, The Magnolia House served as a meeting place for activists during the modern civil rights movement. The hotel hosted events of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Democratic Club of Guilford County, and welcomed Freedom Riders.
The Magnolia House operated into the 1970s, converted to a boarding home, then later closed. Two decades later it was saved from demolition and today the hotel is one of a few sites listed in the "Green Book" still in existence and operational.
The Magnolia House became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.
The Magnolia House is a bed and breakfast in Greensboro, North Carolina. When it opened in the mid-1900s it was one of a few boarding places in the area that catered to African American travelers. It was listed in the "Green Book" and hosted many prominent African Americans.
Louise and Arthur Gist opened The Magnolia House as a hotel for African American travelers in 1949. Originally constructed in 1889, the home passed through a succession of white owners before the Gist family became its first African American owners. The hotel was one of just a few places African American travelers could stay between Atlanta, Georgia and Richmond, Virginia due to Jim Crow laws and customs in the South. In 1955, the hotel first appeared in The Negro Motorist Green Book (the "Green Book"), a guidebook published by Victor Hugo Green for African American travelers. It became a popular stop for leading African American athletes, entertainers, writers, and scholars. Prominent guests at The Magnolia House included Lena Horne, Ruth Brown, Satchel Paige, James Baldwin, and Carter G. Woodson.
In addition to offering warm food and safe harbor for African American traveling across the South during Jim Crow, The Magnolia House served as a meeting place for activists during the modern civil rights movement. The hotel hosted events of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Democratic Club of Guilford County, and welcomed Freedom Riders.
The Magnolia House operated into the 1970s, converted to a boarding home, then later closed. Two decades later it was saved from demolition and today the hotel is one of a few sites listed in the "Green Book" still in existence and operational.
The Magnolia House became a part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.
The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.