Atlantic Beach, South Carolina

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Author Message   Kola Moderator Username: Kola Post Number: 2604 Registered: 02-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Sunday, December 18, 2005 - 11:44 pm:        I love this town and everything it stands for. Atlantic Beach, South Carolina. In the 1970's, they all but pronounced the town DEAD...as desegregation took away its economic viability and more than 75% of its population. But now "the Black Pearl" is making a comeback. Visit this town, read the history of it and do all you can to help preserve this tiny Oasis for "authentic blacks"...and other towns like it. http://www.atlanticbeachsc.com/asps/index.asp If you know of other such towns, please post them and information about them.   Roxie "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Roxie Post Number: 442 Registered: 06-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 08:53 am:        Topsail, North carolina: My grandfather built the family's only summer beach house there in 1955. Of course due to segregation, he and all the other well-invested black people had no choice BUT to build there houses there. But from what I could remember, by my time, the town was STILL geographically segregated, with all the whites somewhere situated near the hotels and commercial businesses southward towards Surf City. However the white side was nothing special , for all it WAS were hotels and RV's. I only remember two or three whites with an actual home on Topsail. Our side appeared more residential. Some residents lived there year-round, others stayed in their houses for the summer while returning home in the winter. My mother and her family spent only 5 or 6 days before returning back to the regular house and for me and mom, back to our own home up north. However, the house, being settled on the beachfront, has seen it's share of challenges in a hurricane and stood strong. But by 1997 it could not withstand the impact of Hurricane Bertha. Later Hurricane Bonnie completely wiped out the whole town as Rita did the Mississippi coast. The state will no longer allow development on the ithsmus due to the extremely high insurance risks, and the fact that the Topsail Island itself is in a state of errosion. Within 100 years (estimating) the island may be fully submerged, as will the remains of a glorious past. But as for a little irony, In 1980, the state declared that any property (commercial or otherwise) tht was built in 1980 or after was ineligable for insurance coverage, considering they warned many of the unstable nature of the island. In the end many blacks (of the majority whose property preceeded 1980) did not ome out of the situation empty-handed. Since the loss, my mother and I have found a comforting replacement in Rehoboth beach, Delaware. My other relatives, Wrightsville beach and Kure Beach (it's only an hour-long drive for them anyway). But those respective beaches will never recreate what we had at Topsail. But we'll always have the photographs. Rest in Peace, little inlet 1959-1998 http://www.topsailbeach.org/ [Yes, I know the sign says "Incorporated in 1963." We have several photos( with printed dates) that show the house and my mother and uncle playing in front of it in 1959. They had arrived before there was even a official town itself. Besides the site may be outdated, I'm not sure.)   Roxie "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Roxie Post Number: 443 Registered: 06-2005 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Monday, December 19, 2005 - 08:59 am:        If one looks at the site's photos alone, they'd get the impression that a black community never even existed there to begin with.