American Beach Historic District - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
American Beach Historic District - Credit: Wikimedia Commons
American Beach is a historic beach community in northeastern Florida once popular with African-American vacationers. It is located north of Jacksonville on Amelia Island in Nassau County. During the time of segregation and the Jim Crow era, African Americans were denied access to many public amenities such as public pools and beaches in order to increase the value of nearby real estate, among other reasons.Kahrl. (2012). The land was ours : African American beaches from Jim Crow to the Sunbelt South. Harvard University Press. In view of this Abraham Lincoln Lewis, Florida's first black millionaire and president of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, founded American Beach as a community that was visited mostly by African Americans, though all were welcome.Mike Clary. (1998). National Perspective; American Album; Preservationists cherish beach’s black heritage; End of segregation meant decline of seashore haven for African Americans. Fight is on to protect it: Home Edition. The Los Angeles Times. It contains the American Beach Historic District, a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. Read more on Wikipedia
Source: en.wikipedia.org