We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Rural California

“We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Rural California,” is on display at the Healdsburg Museum from July 20 - November 19, 2023. Created by Susan Anderson of the California African American Museum, this traveling exhibition highlights stories of Black farmers, ranchers and rural residents. These untold stories challenge myths about early California and create new narratives about freedom, self-governance, and civic culture.

African Americans are not strangers to rural California; the culture of cultivating the earth runs deep. Over successive migrations, generations of African Americans settled in agricultural areas from as far north as Siskiyou County to the Central Valley and Imperial County in the South. Black residents had a favorable impact on their rural communities, opening schools, building churches, and exercising vigilance about the equal rights of citizens. Some African Americans pursued lives and work in all-Black communities, away from the limits and discrimination found in society at large. Today, Black agricultural stewardship continues at farms and ranches across the state, and urban farms thrive in many cities across the state.

 A comprehensive exhibition also titled We Are Not Strangers Here is on view at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles from August 5, 2023 – January 21, 2024.

Exhibition Support

We Are Not Strangers Here: African American Histories in Rural California is a collaboration between the Cal Ag Roots Project at the California Institute for Rural Studies; Susan Anderson of the California African American Museum; the California Historical Society; 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. Local support includes funding from: Healdsburg Tourism Improvement District (HTID) and a 2023 City of Healdsburg Public Art Grant.