Where Black America Went to Rest, Belong, and Build
By Mood Magazine NYC
There is another map of America.
One marked by beaches, cottages, summer nights, family reunions, music, cookouts, homeownership, and generations of Black families who understood something important:
Rest matters too.
During segregation, Black Americans were routinely excluded from beaches, resorts, hotels, and vacation communities.
So we created our own.
Some became legendary. Others have nearly disappeared from public memory.
Mood Magazine NYC is going looking for them.
Welcome to The Black Resort Project.
SAG HARBOR, NEW YORK
The Hamptons Story Everyone Should Know
On Long Island, the communities of Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest, and Ninevah Beach, known collectively as SANS, became a place where Black families could own summer homes, enjoy the waterfront, and build community during an era of housing discrimination and segregation.
Professionals, families, artists, and generations of vacationers created something more important than a summer destination.
They created belonging.
Why Go: Beaches, history, architecture, Sag Harbor village, and a remarkable piece of Black New York history.
The Mood: Weekend elegance with a story.
OAK BLUFFS, MASSACHUSETTS
Martha’s Vineyard, But Know the History
Martha’s Vineyard may now conjure images of beautiful homes and famous summer visitors, but Oak Bluffs has a particularly important place in Black vacation culture.
Generations of Black families have gathered here, creating a summer tradition that became part of the cultural identity of the Vineyard.
Today, that legacy continues.
Why Go: Beaches, cottages, restaurants, biking, summer culture, and generations of Black history.
The Mood: Bring the family. Stay awhile.
HIGHLAND BEACH, MARYLAND
A Beach Community Built on Possibility
Near Annapolis sits a small community with an enormous history.
Highland Beach was established in the late nineteenth century after Charles Remond Douglass, son of Frederick Douglass, encountered racial discrimination at a nearby resort.
Black families built something of their own.
The community became associated with generations of prominent Black educators, leaders, professionals, and families.
Why Go: Chesapeake Bay beauty, history, and a remarkable story of Black ownership.
The Mood: Quiet, reflective, historic.
IDLEWILD, MICHIGAN
Where Black America Came to Play
There was a time when Idlewild was one of the most celebrated Black resort communities in America.
Black travelers came for the lakes.
But they also came for the nightlife.
Music.
Dancing.
Entertainment.
Community.
At its height, Idlewild became a destination where Black leisure and Black entertainment existed on their own terms.
Why It Matters: Idlewild reminds us that Black resort history wasn’t only about escaping discrimination.
It was also about having a very good time.
The Mood: History with a soundtrack.
AMERICAN BEACH, FLORIDA
Recreation and Relaxation Without Humiliation
Founded on Amelia Island in 1935, American Beach provided Black vacationers access to an oceanfront resort environment when segregation barred African Americans from many Florida beaches.
It grew into a destination with vacation homes, guest houses, restaurants, nightlife, swimming, fishing, and community.
American Beach wasn’t simply somewhere Black people were permitted to go.
It was somewhere Black people built for themselves.
Why Go: Amelia Island, Atlantic beaches, NaNa Dune, and one of America’s significant surviving Black beach communities.
The Mood: Sunshine, history, freedom.
WHY MOOD IS GOING
These places tell a story we don’t hear often enough.
Black history is not only struggle.
It is also joy.
It is vacation.
It is romance.
It is the family photograph on the beach.
It is owning the cottage.
It is putting on something beautiful for dinner.
It is children spending summers with cousins.
It is music coming through an open window.
It is doing absolutely nothing because you finally have nowhere you need to be.
That history deserves to be remembered.
But more importantly, these communities deserve to be experienced.
Through The Black Resort Project, Mood Magazine NYC will continue exploring historic Black vacation communities across America, telling their stories while showing you how to experience them today.
This isn’t a history lesson.
It’s a travel invitation.
Pack your bag.
We’re going.
QUESTION OF THE DAY
Did your family have a place where everyone went during the summer?
A beach?
A lake?
A family home?
A particular town?
Tell us where Black families have been vacationing, gathering, and making memories.
You may help us discover the next destination for The Black Resort Project.
STAY IN THE MOOD
Travel somewhere with a story.
Let Mood Magazine NYC be your cultural and travel concierge, connecting you to places worth experiencing and the history that makes them matter.
Listen to WHRL Mood Radio. Watch Mood Television. Experience Harlem Collective Opera, Harlem Boys Choir, and Harlem Chamber Orchestra.
Then follow Mood Adventures and The Black Resort Project as we discover where Black America has rested, traveled, gathered, and belonged.
Read. Listen. Watch. Experience. Go.
Live Your Mood.
Mood Magazine NYC
Mind. Body. Spirit. Culture. Harlem to the World.
