As we were putting together , "Songs Of The Summer", we wanted to make sure that the cover for this playlist stood out but also told its own story as well. We researched about what Summer was like for Black Americans throughout history and stumbled upon black owned vacation spots and beaches that were birthed at a time of segregation, a time when black people were not granted access to the same spaces as white Americans during the early to mid 1900's. In short the S.O.S. playlist cover was inspired by Black Vacation spots and beaches as seen below.
https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/american-beach-florida.html
The American Beach resort was founded by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, a wealthy African American businessman and insurance executive.Lewis established the beach resort in 1935 as a place where black Americans could enjoy a beach vacation free from the discrimination they faced at other beach resorts."
https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/american-beach-florida.html
"The great-grandaughter of Abraham Lewis was an opera singer who came back to Florida in the 1970s. "
"She decided to stay in American Beach and became known as "The Beach Lady"although her real name was MaVynee Oshun Betsch."
"American Beach, the only beach in Florida that welcomed black Americans and offered safe, secure overnight accommodations during Jim Crow segregation, was founded in 1935 by the Afro-American Life Insurance Company (AALIC) which was established in 1901 to provide the Jacksonville, Florida black community with life insurance. " Full article above.
"In the 1950s and '60s, Idlewild was just what working-class blacks were looking for: a resort that was reasonable driving distance from places like Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit — yet invisible enough so black Americans could retreat from the ugliness of discrimination and Jim Crow." click above to read the full article.
"The “Black Pearl” is one of the remaining Black-owned beaches in America, located between popular Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. Black Americans from all over South Carolina liked to flock to this destination to be around each other." Full article above.
"American Beach Car and People"
https://www.florida-backroads-travel.com/american-beach-florida.html
"For more than three decades, this small tract of land was a bustling vacation destination for hundreds of Black travelers and one of the few places where Black people could experience the ocean in a segregated South. It was known as “The Black Pearl.”"
"Those who remember the height of Atlantic Beach say the community has become a ghost town after years of decline. For decades, residents, city officials and property owners have debated on the best ways to preserve the town’s history while also reinvigorating tourism and returning the town to the shining pearl it once was."
To learn more about how you can help revive this historical place, read full article. Link above.