New SC Travel Guide Highlights African American Sites

By Mike Switzer

Published June 29, 2017 at 5:14 AM EDT

81 years ago, a travel guide was published for African-Americans listing safe harbors and welcoming establishments across the United States. It was known as The Green Book. Now it has been published again, but this time for travelers in our state as the first mobile web travel guide to African American cultural sites across South Carolina.

Mike Switzer interviews Dawn Dawson-House, a member of the SC African American Heritage Commission, creators of The Green Book of SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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