Mary McLeod Bethune in Florida by Ashley N. Robertson

Author:Ashley N. Robertson [Robertson, Ashley N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626199835
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 25955163
Publisher: History Press, The
Published: 2015-06-29T00:00:00+00:00

For Bethune, it was important to keep Bethune-Volusia Beach in the hands of the African American community, although it was open to all people. She saw the property as a place where a marginalized people could show the nation a model of racial cooperation. She intended to make the beach inclusive, unlike Daytona Beach, which had once barred her students and staff. Economically, she wanted it to be a place where African Americans could pool together their resources to have a shared space, a place that would exist in a time period when African Americans faced restrictions due to Jim Crow policies. When she made the call for assistance, the beach was flourishing in terms of popularity; however, it was struggling to stay afloat financially. According to the 1952 annual audit report, there were operating deficiencies, and more money was going out than coming in.

On May 18, 1955, Bethune-Volusia Beach lost its founder and Welricha Corporation lost its first vice-president when Mrs. Bethune passed away quietly in her home. From the very beginning, she had been an advocate for the expansion of the beach, and seeing her dream come to fruition was a lifelong goal fulfilled. For her, the beach was a safe haven where she spent birthdays, worked on her biography and watched her great-grandchildren play without the harsh realities of racism. Bethune used her influential position as a presidential advisor and women’s club leader to promote Bethune-Volusia Beach, causing African Americans from around the nation to draw to it as investors and visitors. Her death was a striking blow to the place for which she had helped lay the foundations.

Over the next few years, Bethune-Volusia Beach continued to struggle, but in 1959, the stockholders came to a decision to obtain support from Volusia County. Several lots were deeded to the county with the agreement that it would build facilities—to include a pier, bathhouses, picnic areas and an auditorium—according to the late George Engram, treasurer and property manager during that time. For over two decades, the property sat without the promised accommodations being built. He fought for the city to return the property, but it never happened. Finally, in 1985, the city council agreed to allocate $34,000 toward the construction of the park, with the remaining $120,000 coming in from grants from the State Department of Natural Resources and the Ponce DeLeon Inlet Port Authority. In January 1986, the park was dedicated, and Engram was deemed honorary mayor.

With integration and the opportunity to visit beaches that had not previously been open to African Americans, Bethune-Volusia Beach began to lose its popularity. Many of the owners of the properties lived in states other than Florida, and the necessity of traveling to Florida was no longer there. Bethune’s dream for the beach to remain in the hands of the African American community faded over time. Wealthy whites from the Orlando area begin to purchase properties, and many of the longtime investors who had bought lots for a few hundred dollars sold them for a few thousand.

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