"The Black Pearl"

When my grandparents wanted to visit the coast, they drove 200 miles from Kannapolis, N.C., in the Piedmont region of the state, to "The Black Pearl," also known as Atlantic Beach, S.C., just north of Myrtle Beach in the Lowcountry. "The Black Pearl" was part of the legacy of segregation and Jim Crow laws in America, a legacy that included other coastal destinations for Black folk such as American Beach on Amelia Island in Florida, Highland Beach in Maryland, and a resort community known as "The Ink Well," at Oak Bluffs Beach at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. Gullah-Geechee communities on barrier islands were also popular places where African Americans could gather to enjoy the beach. Like many "Black beaches and resort communities," Atlantic Beach also was a stop on the Chitlin Circuit, and welcomed touring African American performers such as James Brown, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Billie Holiday, and many more. The photo above is my maternal grandfather, Daniel George McCree (1918-2000), looking sharp at Atlantic Beach.

Courtesy of South Carolina Library, University of South Carolina, 

and the Town of Atlantic Beach, Fair use image.

Source: ETVRoadShow. Atlantic Beach. (Video). YouTube.

 Learn more:

• Atlantic Beach. (2022). The Green Book of South Carolina. https://greenbookofsc.com/locations/atlantic-beach/
• Bush, G. W. (2016). White sand black beach: Civil rights, public space, and Miami's Virginia Key. University Press of Florida.
• Cruz, B., Berson, M., & Falls, D. (2012). Swimming not allowed: Teaching about segregated public beaches and pools. Social Studies, 103(6), 252-259.
• Gibson, J. (2015). Atlantic Beach: Historic African-American Enclave in South Carolina. National Trust for Historica Preservation. https://savingplaces.org/stories/atlantic-beach-historic-african-american-enclave-in-south-carolina#.YkULLOhKjIU
• Oglesby, C. (2022). How black beaches were developed to combat Jim Crow segregation. Eath Curiosity. https://earthincolor.co/earth-curiosity/how-black-beaches-were-developed-to-combat-jim-crow-segregation/#:~:text=In%20the%20South%2C%20Black%20beaches,entry%20for%20people%20of%20color.
• John Skeeter's Documentary on Atlantic Beach, S.C. (2013). Prince Domoniquie on YouTube. https://youtu.be/oLb8LVV6w2o
• Karhl, A. W. (2018). Free the beaches: The story of Ned Coll and the battle for America's most exclusive shoreline. Yale University Press.
• Kahrl, A. W. (2016). The land was ours: How black beaches became white wealth in the coastal South. University of North Carolina Press.
• King, H. T. (2021). Saving American Beach: The biography of African American environmentalist MaVynee Betsh. G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers.
• Phelts, M. D. (2010). An American Beach for African Americans. University Press of Florida.
• Stephens, R. J. (2014). Atlantic Beach, South Carolina (1966- ). Black Past. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/atlantic-beach-south-carolina-1966/
• Stephenson, F. (2006). Chowan Beach: Remembering an African American resort. The History Press.
• Town of Atlantic Beach, S.C. (n.d.). http://www.townofatlanticbeachsc.com/