The exhibit will showcase the history of Idlewild, an unincorporated community founded in 1912 in Lake County, just a couple hours’ drive from the museum.
13 On Your Side | July 28, 2023 | Emily Scarlett
HOLLAND, Mich. — The Holland Museum is opening its newest exhibit, Friday, called “Black Eden: Idlewild Past, Present and Future.”
The exhibit will showcase the history of Idlewild, an unincorporated community founded in 1912 in Lake County, just a couple hours’ drive from the museum.
The community was created as a safe haven for Black Americans, giving them an outlet from racism and being treated unfairly.
Ricki Levine, Holland Museum’s executive director, says it’s important that everyone’s story is told.
“It was – and still is – a haven for African Americans and it was a place for people to feel safe, to feel included, to feel welcome. They could own property there, they could entertain and stay there and some A-list entertainers that could perform in white communities but couldn’t stay in those communities – this was very different. This was an incredibly different experience for them,” said Levine.
Celebrities like W.E.B DuBois, Madame C.J. Walker, Duke Ellington, Etta James and Jackie Wilson are said to have stayed at Idlewild at some point. For some of them, it was during a time when they might have been invited to perform at mainstream establishments, but were stripped of the right to stay in the same hotels or use the same amenities as white citizens. This was the norm during the Jim Crow era. The conditions of the hotels, bathrooms and other amenities that were offered to African Americans were in most cases much worse in terms of upkeep and cleanliness.
Black Eden: Idlewild Past, Present and Future opens Friday, July 28, and will remain on display through Oct. 23.
