Bethune Beach

Bethune Beach. Swimming Freely. Welcome to Volusia County's Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park, once part of a nationally known African-American resort. Named for a noted educator and presidential advisor, this spot gave black people a place of their own when most Florida beaches were closed to them by segregation. Bethune had seen her own students turned away from local beaches, and in the 1940s she and other investors bought 2.5 miles of oceanfront plus lands along the Indian River. After all, she reportedly said, this was "God's water" for everyone to enjoy., People did enjoy themselves here. By the 1950s, Bethune-Volusia Beach (its corporate name) was a popular destination for swimming, fishing, picnicking, and car racing. Crowds also came for live music, dancing, and, as more than one informant recalled, dressing to be seen. Central Floridans made up most of the day users, but others journeyed great distances to stay in a motel and private houses. From New Smyrna to Atlanta and Pittsburgh, black Americans knew about Bethune Beach., Bethune herself envisioned a big, year-round resort controlled by African Americans but opened to "all people." yet the larger development never really took off, and by the 1970s the dream had faded. Most black landowners, by choice or economic necessity, gave up their property over time, and the coming of integration meant that beachgoers had other places to go. Even so, during its heyday Bethune Beach became a beloved site for people of color. It was that rare place on Florida's Atlantic coast where they could gather, relax, and swim freely.