Girls Talk Books Conversation at Gilmore Uncategorized by Sonya Bernard-Hollins - June 16, 2026June 16, 20260 HICKORY CORNERS (MICH.) – Opening day for Driving into History: Black Women, Cars, and Courage included a special Girls Talk Books podcast conversation with two of the exhibition’s key partners: Elizabeth “Liz” Burns of the Burns Archive and Nick LaCasse, executive director of the Gilmore Car Museum, the largest car museum in North America. Hosted by author and publisher Sonya Bernard-Hollins, the interview offered a behind-the-scenes look at how photographs, automobiles, history, and community collaboration came together to create the youth-produced exhibition. The exhibition was inspired by Picturing Freedom: African Americans and Their Cars by the father-daughter historian team, Dr. Stanley B. Burns and Liz Burns. Their joyous images of Black girls and women with cars during the 20th century provided an important starting point for exploring how automobiles represented far more than transportation. For many African American families, cars offered mobility, safety, independence, pride, and access to opportunities that were not always available through public spaces or transportation systems. Picturing Freedom: African Americans and Their Cars by the Burns’ was used as the inspiration behind the exhibition. The Gilmore Car Museum played an essential role by serving as the setting for the production to recreate the poses in the original photographs. Historic vehicles from the museum’s collection allowed the Explorers to step visually into the eras they researched. LaCasse provided a pre-production tour of the Gilmore history to allow the Explorers to learn about the cars they would pose with to tell their stories. Explorers listen to Nick LaCasse who shares the history of cars at the Gilmore Car Museum. LaCasse is the executive director of the Car Museum. During the conversation, Burns and LaCasse discussed the power of preserving photographs, the stories automobiles can carry, and the importance of helping young people see history as something they can investigate and interpret for themselves. The interview also highlighted the collaborative spirit behind Driving into History. Museums, photographers, educators, historians, media professionals, stylists, volunteers, and community partners worked together to help bring the exhibition to life. Juliana poses on this classic 1950s car during her recreation of a photo from the Burn Archive. Photo Copyright- Merze Tate Explorers The special opening-day conversation can be viewed on the Girls Talk Books podcast, which highlights diverse voices, books, publishing, history, and the people working to preserve important stories. Driving into History: Black Women, Cars, and Courage is on display at the Gilmore Car Museum through September 30, 2026. The project was made possible through the generous grants provided by America250MI, Motorcities.org, Bronson Healthcare Group, Kalamazoo Community Foundation, and the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. To learn how to bring this exhibition to your school, museum, library, or gallery, email contact@merzetate.org or call 269-359-7895.
