A new Chesapeake map highlights 65 historically Black beaches and other places of Black historical significance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation (BOCF) and Chesapeake Conservancy collaborated on the study that includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The new story map was created to strengthen conservation efforts of these historic locations and to make sure stories of the Chesapeake’s Black history are amplified.
“The story map highlights places spanning from the landing of the first enslaved Africans in English-occupied North America to the creation of Black entertainment venues during the time of Jim Crow,” reads the press release announcing the map.
BOCF and Chesapeake Conservancy used a variety of resources to construct the map, including newspapers, blogs, state web pages, and the Negro Motorist Green Book. The map points out beaches, parks, and landmarks that have significance in Black history related to the Chesapeake Bay. Even after their extensive research, the two groups acknowledge the list is not complete.
“It’s so important that we continue to do the hard work of ensuring that the story of the Chesapeake is told through ebony eyes,” said Vince Legget, President and Founder of BOCF. “African American land conservation and heritage preservation has become the ‘gold standard’ for measuring the future success of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation.”
“Black of the Chesapeake Foundation’s work has become a national case study for heritage preservation and the application of traditional and local ecological histories,” Legget said. “We are equally sensitive to the sea level rise, climate change and the effects of environmental hazards. Many of the sites identified in this study are situated on the water’s edge, and our elders, truth-tellers and griots are disappearing at a rate far surpassing vanishing shoreline.”
“After partnering with Blacks of the Chesapeake and others to conserve the historically Black Elktonia Beach for a public park in Annapolis, we knew we couldn’t stop there,” said Mark Conway, Executive Vice President of Chesapeake Conservancy. “There are so many other places in the Chesapeake that are significant to Black history. Some are painful reminders of the dark days of enslavement, while others are more joyous stories of recreation, entertainment, and culture. All of these stories need to be told. We hope the study will lead to other Black history and conservation success stories.”
The BOCF has made it a goal for nearly 20 years to preserve what remains of “The Beaches,” of which Elktonia Beach is one. The Beaches represented the “heart of entertainment” in the mid-Atlantic region from the 1930s to the 1970s, welcoming Black people during segregation. Elktonia is the last remnant of an 180-acre property purchased by freedman Frederick Carr in 1902. Carr’s daughters, Elizabeth Carr Smith and Florence Carr Sparrow owned and operated nearby Carr’s and Sparrow’s Beaches, resorts that catered exclusively to African Americans during segregation.
In 2022, Elktonia Beach became an Annapolis City Park. According to the press release, “A year and a half later, Elktonia-Carr’s Beach Heritage Park expanded to the adjacent property when the city of Annapolis finalized the acquisition of the one-time home of educator and former Coppin State University President Dr. Parlett Moore.”
The story map can be found on the Chesapeake Conservancy’s website by clicking this link.
