American Beach, 1937
American Beach, 2021
AMERICAN BEACH, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA In times when nature was a privilege and beaches were racially segregated, this land in Florida was an oasis for many African Americans in the south. The American Beach was established in 1935 by the Afro-American Life Insurance Company (AALIC). They acquired a piece of land to build a beach resort and create a community that could provide a safe space for African Americans at the time, in an area where all the beaches and resorts around it had signs that screamed: “for whites only.” An oceanfront resort that was a “place for recreation and relaxation without humiliation” was how the founder, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, liked to describe American Beach. For nearly 30 years, the American Beach prospered, bringing thousands of African Americans from all over to enjoy high-quality entertainment and experience the beauty of summer by the shore. Sadly, large areas of the island were destroyed in the hurricane of 1964, and many homes and small businesses never recovered. This quaint seaside town in Florida has been gaining interest again in recent years, and a museum called “The American Beach Museum” was founded in 2014 to preserve this piece of golden sand history.
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