I virtually grew up on the beaches of Southern California. And even as a young kid I noticed a lack of black people at the beach. There were a few from time to time. But all in all, the beaches were lily white. This stood in stark contrast to my neighborhood and school on the Compton border. And from time I time I wondered why this was so. I recall stupid jokes used to explain it but nothing that ever made sense, For the first time I learned why this was true. In years past, black people weren't allowed on the beach; at least in some areas! This all came to light when the story of Bruce's Beach hit the news. Back in the early 1900s, a black couple bought some beach property in Manhattan Beach, Ca, and made it available for black people to use. Eventually the land was seized and the beach for black people was closed. Recently the land was returned to the family to which it rightfully belonged. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/18/us/bruces-beach-manhattan-california.html It seems that beach going never became a part of the black culture in Southern Ca because for many years they weren't allowed on the beach.
I ran into what may be a similar bit of discrimination in Mākaha, Oahu, Hawaii. Anyone who has spent time in Hawaii knows there are a lot of hard feelings towards people not from Hawaii - Haoles. In fact, a certain segment of the Hawaiian population hate people from the mainland like a racist hates immigrants coming across the borders. Makaha is famous for its surf and a place I wanted to go. I hadn't surfed in a long time but I figured I could at least do some serious Boogie Boarding on a good day. And I was there on a good day! The surf looked great. I saw another older guy who was obviously a surfer and a local. I started a conversation and explained my situation. I explained that I wasn't in the greatest shape but had a lot of experience.. Did he think I would be safe to go out? He said I could probably manage the surf alright, but not the locals. The people who live there basically figure they own the beach and Haoles are not welcome. They will hurt you, he explained. I would imagine it was like this for blacks in Southern Ca bad in the day. I even saw some territorial behavior like that among surfers where I mostly went in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach.
Not for nothing but why is this in casual chat? I mean you’re absolutely right, which is also where the stereotype black people cant swim comes from. They were excluded from pools during desegregation either through them closing down or privatization.
When Bruce's beach opened for black people, it was successful until it was seized by the city. We may need to consider what countries you are thinking on a one by one basis. I'm sure it all makes sense. In many cases it could still be due to the history of cultures and possibly oppression. In others it may have more to do with the local biology. For example, there are many areas where you wouldn't want to go to the beach in Australia. I'm sure the locals knew that long ago.
Seeing black people enjoying South Africa’s beaches still isn’t a normal sight. It should be Seeing throngs of black bodies on a beach has elicited racist remarks on social media more than once. One woman who compared black people to monkeys was charged and fined for racism under South Africa’s hate-speech laws, while a more recent case is still under scrutiny... https://qz.com/africa/879865/racial...black-people-flocking-to-the-countys-beaches/
Yeah i am thinking about african shore lines. Granted i haven't done a ton of research. But its seems like you dont see any beach towns they live a little distance away from the shore line where white people build right up on the beach.
when I worked in Charleston SC there were blacks on beach every weekend, what I thought was strange they BBQ in the sand!!
I'd suggest all that proves is that the idea black people aren't as smart as white people is wrong. If you build a house on the beach, be prepared to live in the sea.
Wow! Its almost as if the world starts and ends in the United States! Perhaps Black Americans aren't seen at beaches, but Caribbean nations have mostly Blacks at their beaches (with the exceptions of White tourists).
When I worked at the navy yard actually the weapons station , I went to Ferry Beach and there were hundreds of people of all colors So I say there they are
When I was in the Army (74-77) I was stationed in Hawaii on Oahu. I spent about a year of my time living and working just down the road from Makaha at the Waianae Army Recreation Center. It was a little strip of land along the beach right in the middle of Waianae. What you say about Makaha is true, and it was also true in Waianae. In all the time I spent there, we never left the base for casual reasons. We never just walked around in Waianae, day or night. Since we cooked our own food there, we would drive all the way to Schofield Barracks to shop for food and bring it back. We also knew better than to do anything in Makaha. I'll say one thing about the experience, though - sort of a silver lining for personal development. It was an education. Being white and from the mainland, it gave me the experience of being a racial minority that was hated by the racial majority, many of whom would hurt you for little or no reason.
Here's a related story. When I was in the Navy, we had to pass a swimming test in boot camp, if you can't tread water, you can't be in the Navy. Of course, having been raised in CA, I learned to swim and tread water when I was four years old. This was a slam dunk for me. The next day, for a reason I forgot, I had to walk past the guys who were in remedial swimming, the guys who never learned to swim or tread water, and i noticed that there were about 20 guys in the pool, being instructed. All but one were black, and the one guy was latino. I found this odd, why is it that black fellows can't swim, I wonder? I never really understood it, but I guess it's a cultural thing.
