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Many Americans are flocking to the country’s beaches this weekend to celebrate the Fourth of July.
These sandy retreats hold a special place in the history of Black people, who were enslaved when the country declared its independence in 1776 because multiple beachfronts across the nation are sites of Black relaxation and resistance.
Black Joy rounded up a few of those locations to honor the ways Black Americans reveled in their liberation despite the rising tide of racism. Here are some of their stories:
Chicken Bone Beach, New Jersey
Before 1900, both Black and white beachgoers in Atlantic City enjoyed Missouri Avenue Beach together. That changed when hotels started serving Southern white segregationists. To appease their new clientele, business owners began pushing African Americans to a separate area, which later became known as Chicken Bone Beach. Black families and friends transformed the segregated area into a retreat of joy, packing picnic baskets with fried chicken, and frolicking in the sand and sun with their beach balls and fashionable swimwear. After their meal, Black patrons would bury the chicken bones in the sand, hence the beach’s name.
Black celebrities, entertainers and movement workers added to the area’s popularity during the 1940s. Actor and performer Sammy Davis Jr., comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley and boxing legend Sugar Ray Robinson were frequent visitors of the area. In 1956, photographer John Mosley snapped a picture of civil rights leader the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. taking a stroll along the shore.
This all-Black beach disappeared after the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed segregation. Local leaders and musicians have since memorialized the area in various ways. In 1997, a city ordinance made the beach a historic landmark. Today, the Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation preserves the cultural significance of the area through jazz music.
Atlantic Beach, South Carolina
When segregation kept Black families away from multiple waterfronts along the East Coast, Black entrepreneur George W. Tyson had a vision to start a beach community for his people. In 1934, he established Atlantic Beach after purchasing 42 acres of land in Horry County, S.C. Tyson first built a nightclub for Black Americans who were forbidden to visit the other white-only clubs in Myrtle Beach.
He then encouraged other Black citizens to join his investment. By March 1936, Black entrepreneurs had bought 10 parcels of land, prompting Tyson to purchase more property to keep pace with the growth. The beach community, known as “the Black Pearl,” was soon bustling with restaurants, homes, entertainment venues, banks and other establishments. In the early 1940s, Tyson sold the area to a coalition of Black professionals known as the Atlantic Beach Company. The group continued to develop the land into the 1950s.
Amusement park rides, arcade games and a movie theatre entertained Atlantic Beach residents.
Soul legend James Brown and rock and roll pioneer Fats Domino relaxed in the community after performing for crowds at the Myrtle Beach clubs. An open-air pavilion became the stage for Tina Turner and Ray Charles. West and Central African culture mingled with the area’s cuisine, music and arts after the descendants of the Gullah Geechee people began settling in the area.
But in October 1954, Atlantic Beach was devastated after Hurricane Hazel, a Category 4 storm, ripped through the community’s wooden structures and destroyed the pier. During the 1960s, tourists started venturing off to other vacation spots when desegregation became the law of the land. Despite these setbacks, Atlantic Beach remained resilient. In 1966, Atlantic Beach became an incorporated city, resulting in the establishment of a fire department and a city council. Today, the Black Pearl remains one of the last remaining all-Black beach communities in the country.
Biloxi Beach, Mississippi
Down on the Gulf Coast, beaches became battlegrounds for social justice. In 1955, Black physician Gilbert Mason moved to Biloxi, Miss. A well-traveled man who enjoyed many integrated spaces, Mason was troubled by the segregation of public areas and other civil rights issues of the time. He started organizing a series of “wade-in” protests in response to the injustice.
On May 14, 1959, a Black teen and his family joined Mason during the first wade-in at Biloxi Beach. Police officers commanded the protesters to get out of the water, citing the state’s segregation laws. In October of that year, after citizens petitioned county officials to give beach access to Black Americans, a supervisor asked if they would be satisfied with a segregated portion of the shore. Mason said no.
On April 17, 1960, police arrested Mason during a second wade-in, angering Black Biloxi residents who vowed to participate in his protests. A week later, 125 Black citizens of all ages joined Mason in what became known as Bloody Wade-In Day. White supremacists staged a counter-protest by throwing rocks at the Black beachgoers and shooting guns in the air. Law enforcement failed to respond to the chaos, resulting in injuries to numerous people. Eight Black men and two white men suffered gunshot wounds. Mason was the only demonstrator arrested. He was later convicted of disturbing the peace.
County leaders continued to keep the shores segregated despite lawsuits filed by local civil rights leaders and the U.S. Justice Department. On June 23, 1963, about two weeks after a white supremacist assassinated NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers in front of his Jackson home, African Americans held their last wade-in. More than 2,000 white residents injured dozens of Black demonstrators and vandalized police cars. Black people made up the majority of the arrests by police that day.
Before Evers was murder, he wrote to Mason in a letter, “If we are to receive a beating, let’s receive it because we have done something, not because we have done nothing.”
About five years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, Biloxi Beach was finally integrated. Although justice was delayed, the wade-ins became a resounding example of the resilience of Black Mississippians. Mason was later honored for his leadership during the protest’s 50th anniversary.
If you would like to continue on this road trip of Black history, dive into a Black Joy story detailing the legacy of five historically Black lakefronts.
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