A virtual reality exhibit in McLean, Virginia, wants to let audiences feel some of the discomfort of racism in America in a new way.
Ben’s Chili Bowl, in D.C., is the setting for the ‘Traveling While Black’ virtual reality exhibit.
Screenshot from ‘Traveling While Black’
Ben’s Chili Bowl, in D.C., is the setting for ‘Traveling While Black.’
Screenshot from ‘Traveling While Black’
Ben’s Chili Bowl, in D.C., is the setting for ‘Traveling While Black.’ Here, co-founder Virginia Ali speaks in the film.
Screenshot from ‘Traveling While Black’
Deputy County Executive for Health, Housing and Human Services Chris Leonard and County Manager Bryan Hill participated in the VR experience.
Courtesy McLean Community Center.
A virtual reality exhibit in McLean, Virginia, wants to let audiences feel some of the discomfort of racism in America in a new way.
“Traveling While Black,” a virtual reality movie, is set in D.C. at Ben’s Chili Bowl, “a safe place for the Black community to stop and eat when they couldn’t before stop in other major restaurants and venues,” said Daniel Singh, the executive director of the McLean Community Center, where the show is opening on Wednesday.
As you watch the movie while wearing a virtual reality headset, it feels like you are at a table in the restaurant, with a 360-degree view. ”So you can look at the floor,” Singh said. “You can look at the ceiling and watch the fans swirling around.”
And you can take part in conversations with people about their experiences with racism while traveling.
One of the women in the film talks about riding the train out of the District in the early 1950s: “When we would leave Washington, D.C., on the train, we could sit anywhere on the train until you got to the Virginia line. When you get to the Virginia line, you had to go to the last train in the back,” the woman said.
But that was just the beginning of her story. “We couldn’t relieve ourselves on the train. You either had to hold it or relieve yourself sitting there and then you’re wet when the train stopped,” she recounted in the movie.
When you got off the train, the restrooms were often white-only.
“You would get off the train and then you would relieve yourself outside, almost like you would if you were a dog,” she recalled.
The movie extends the experience to the present time in …….