Here’s a fascinating opinion piece on the history of Virginia Key Beach (in South Florida) by Bea L. Hines for the Miami Herald.
Eighty years. That’s how old Virginia Key Beach, formerly known as the “Colored Beach,” is.
When the beach opened on Aug. 1, 1945, I was 7. Too young to know about the brave men who staged a “wade-in” at the then whites-only Haulover Beach, protesting how Blacks weren’t allowed to go to beaches in South Florida.
Three months after the wade-in, the county opened the tiny sliver of beachfront property just north of the then all-white Crandon Park, to Coloreds (as we were referred to at the time). I didn’t know about segregation and what it meant back then. But I still remember the summer days when my mom and her friends gathered us children, packed a lunch – usually fried chicken – and gave us each a rolled towel. Off we went to the Miami River dock where we boarded a boat that took us across the bay to our very own beach. (At the time, you could only get to Virginia Key Beach by boat as the causeway to Key Biscayne was not completed until 1947.) The 25-cents-a-head, round-trip ride across the bay (50 cents for adults) was fun for us children. [. . .]
Once the boat docked near to where the Rickenbacker Causeway is today, we’d run over the hot white sand to a perfect spot near the water. Mom would spread the blanket over the sand and place our belongings along its edges so the wind wouldn’t blow it up. [. . .]
Growing up, Virginia Key Beach was where we held celebrations – birthdays were celebrated there, graduation parties and family reunions were held there. We danced barefoot on a smooth concrete circle to music blasting from juke boxes that were nailed to the coconut trees. [. . .]
In 1979, the county transferred the beach to the city of Miami, which closed the park in 1982, citing high maintenance costs. But many of us saw the handwriting on the wall. The beach was prime property and where there used to be families enjoying the sun, sand and surf; some developers only saw dollar signs. [. . .]
The park was closed for 26 years, not reopening until 2008. For 26 years, Blacks had no access to the beach/park that held so many wonderful memories for them. It was about that time when a group of citizens, led by the late M. Athalie Range, organized the Virginia Key Beach Park Civil Rights Task Force. In 1999, Miami city commissioners established the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust to oversee the beach’s development. It took thousands of volunteer hours and millions of dollars to restore the neglected beach. The carousel and mini train still need to be restored. [. . .]
For full article, see https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/community-voices/article311610179.html_local
Here’s a fascinating opinion piece on the history of Virginia Key Beach (in South Florida) by Bea L. Hines for the Miami Herald. Eighty years. That’s how old Virginia Key Beach, formerly known as the “Colored Beach,” is. When the beach opened on Aug. 1, 1945, I was 7. Too young to know about the
