Book Review African American Leisure Yesterday and Today
Historically, leisure and vacationing in the United States was solely the province of the wealthy. By the late 19th century, attitudes to leisure and vacations began to expand to more types of workers, including the lower economic classes. In the 1890s, companies and local councils and governments began to pay or even subsidize leisure and vacation time for their employees. But this period was also oppressed by the heyday of Jim Crow restrictions.
In 2020, historian and author Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson released her book, Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During the Jim Crow Era. In it, Jefferson examines how African Americans pioneered America’s “frontier of leisure” by creating communities and business projects in conjunction with their growing population in Southern California during this period.
This past month, Jefferson discussed her book with First Things First on KBLA TALK 1580 host Dominique DiPrima. They talked about the role of community and media in spreading awareness about social justice issues and the legacy of Bruce’s Beach. It was moderated by Los Angeles County Library director Skye Patrick and included Supervisor Janice Hahn.
The story of Bruce’s Beach provided a framework in this virtual discussion. In 2021, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn initiated efforts to return the Bruce’s Beach property to the descendants of Willa and Charles Bruce. The Bruces purchased the ocean-side property in Manhattan Beach and built the Bruce’s Beach resort between 26th and 27th streets.
Soon after, the Bruces and their customers were harassed and threatened by white neighbors including the Ku Klux Klan. Within one day of the resorts’ opening, local property owners acted through public power to contest the leisure of Bruce’s Beach patrons. Jefferson referenced a June 1912 Los Angeles Times article stating “landowner and city founder, George H. Peck, [of San Pedro’s Peck Park] staked off and installed ‘No Trespassing’ signs on his acreage between the Bruce’s property and the ocean.”
Jefferson noted that though Bruce resort patrons were warned not to cross Peck’s land to reach the ocean, the one-half mile walk
around Peck’s land did not deter Bruce’s Beach patrons from going to the breakers.
The Manhattan Beach City Council moved to seize the Bruce’s property as well as surrounding property using eminent domain in 1924, purportedly to build a park. The City of Manhattan Beach took possession of the property in 1929 and it remained vacant for decades.
In December 2021, the Board of Supervisors voted to accept from the state the amended land deed for the property that was once Bruce’s Beach Lodge to finally, legally transfer the property to the Bruce family.
Jefferson will continue to discuss these ideas in an upcoming California African American Museum exhibition in December 2022 about these leisure sites.
More Los Angeles county leisure locations Jefferson examines in her book include Santa Monica’s South Beach and Ocean Park, Venice and Eureka Villa in Santa Clarita. In Riverside county she includes Lake Elsinore and Corona’s Park Ridge Country club and others. Historical Travel Tour: Leisure sites that are still operating today:
Murray’s Dude Ranch
Sometimes called the Overall Wearing Dude Ranch, it was a guest ranch in Bell Mountain, California from the 1920s until the 1960s. The ranch was located in Apple Valley, just outside the city limits of Victorville.
Operated for nearly 20 years as a dude ranch with a pool, several small houses, tennis courts, and riding stables, the ranch was used by entertainment personalities and by ordinary families. It was open to all who could afford to come. Murray’s was a recreational favorite for African Americans and a marker in the history of Black recreation.
Highland Beach, Maryland
The oldest Black resort town in the country, this location was founded by Frederick Douglass’ son, Charles, and his wife Laura in 1893.
In 1922, Highland became the first black town incorporated in the state. Today in America’s first Black vacation-home community, prices for homes on the market range from $250,000 to $950,000.
American Beach, Florida
Located on Amelia Island near Jacksonville, American Beach was founded in 1935 by Florida’s first Black millionaire, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, who co-founded the Afro-American Life Insurance Co. American Beach attracted some of America’s most influential politicians, celebrities and athletes. It began to decline in 1964 after Hurricane Dora destroyed many homes and businesses. The American Beach Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The beach still exists, although many of the Black families that once owned homes there migrated to other areas.
Sag Harbor, New York
Located on the North Shore of Long Island in the towns of East Hampton and Southampton, Sag Harbor is one of the most expensive and exclusive of the Black vacation-home communities. Today, second and third generations of families still own homes in Sag Harbor, along with some affluent newcomers.
Idlewild, Michigan
“The Black Eden” was a resort where Black writers, business people, physicians and entertainers spent their summers in the 1940s to 1960s located amongst the wilderness. Today, you can still enjoy that open-air experience while exploring the town’s stores, restaurants and activities or traversing through Newaygo Park.
Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts
The community of Oak Bluffs has a long history. In the early 1900s when African-American professionals began looking for property to buy or build vacation homes, Oak Bluffs was the only town on Martha’s Vineyard that welcomed Black families. Oak Bluffs is famous for its Gingerbread houses, some of which have been owned by the same families for several generations. (The Obamas purchased a home on Martha’s Vineyard in nearby Edgartown.)
Details: Find Dr. Alison Rose Jefferson’s book at www.alisonrosejefferson.com and Living the California Dream: African American Leisure Sites During the Jim Crow Era, video link: www.youtube.com/living-the-california-dream