By Zuri Anderson
Photo: Getty Images
Summertime means vacations, getaways, beaches, and new adventures after long months of work and school. After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most vacation areas last summer, people are eager to get out and explore again in 2021. While it s easy to venture out to different places, such actions weren t easy for Black people decades ago.
Shut out due to segregation, Jim Crow laws, and other oppressive measures, Black people weren t able to stay at hotels, visit resorts or even enjoy the same beaches as their white counterparts.
In response, affluent Black Americans started opening their own resorts, vacation home areas, and beaches across the nation in the 1890s and early 1900s. They would flock to these summer destinations to escape racism and enjoy some community. While some resort towns have been lost to gentrification and land grabs over the years, others continue to persevere their heritage and popularity today.
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