American Beach Negro Ocean Playground Plaque

This plaque is an important artifact for Shirley Kinsey; this was the only beach where her family was allowed to go. It also symbolizes the subversive spirit common in African American communities facing segregation up and down the Atlantic seaboard. Whites designated this Florida beach a segregated space, keeping their own beaches “whites only,” and black communities responded by making their beach community a thriving and celebratory space.