Missouri Avenue Beach

Missouri Avenue Beach, sometimes referred to with the racial epithet "Chicken Bone Beach",[1] was a racially segregated section of the Atlantic Ocean beach at Atlantic City, New Jersey (between Missouri and Mississippi Avenues).[2] During segregation and the Jim Crow era other area beaches did not allow African American visitors. It was given its colloquial name by locals due to the chicken bones presumably found in this segregated area during regular clean ups, although by all accounts the reports were simply unfounded.[3]

Missouri Avenue Beach

History

Blacks and whites lived in the area side by side with few problems after the American Civil War.[4] It was not until 1900 that the beach became segregated, due in part to pressures by local businesses. It remained a blacks only beach until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.[5]

While there were no signs nor laws prohibiting blacks from enjoying the entirety of the beach, the segregation was rigidly enforced by local authorities or more commonly, white beachgoers.[3] The Atlantic City Beach Patrol was officially desegregated, but its black members were in practice consigned to Missouri Avenue Beach.[6] Desegregation came in the 1960s.[7]

Legacy

The New Jersey State Library posted a video about the beach on YouTube.[8] There is a commemorative marker. A marker about "How it Got Its Name" was removed.[9]

References
  1. NJ.com, Bill Duhart | For (February 14, 2021). "N.J. beach was the only one that allowed Black tourists, but they made it a hip place to be". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Stansfield, Charles A. (2004). Vacationing on the Jersey Shore: Guide to the Beach Resorts: Past and Present. Stackpole. p. 88. ISBN 9780811729703.
  3. Hopper, Dale. "Our History: Black History". ChickenBoneBeach.org. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  4. "N.J. Beach was the only one that allowed Black tourists, but they made it a hip place to be". July 13, 2019.
  5. Stephens, Ronald J. (February 12, 2014). "Chicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1900- )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  6. Cunningham, John T.; Cole, Kenneth D. (2000). Atlantic City. Arcadia. p. 50. ISBN 9780738504261.
  7. Jones, Jae (December 1, 2022). "Atlantic City: How Missouri Avenue Beach Came to Be Known As".
  8. "Chicken Bone Beach: A Pictorial History of Atlantic City's Missouri Avenue Beach" – via www.youtube.com.
  9. "How Chicken Bone Beach Got Its Name Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org.

39.3541°N 74.4362°W / 39.3541; -74.4362


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