A state plan that proposed changes to a number of state parks includes , which was Broward's designated "Colored Beach" during the segregation era.
Stiff opposition to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has emerged in Broward鈥檚 Black community, who say the park's historic significance must be preserved.
鈥淟et鈥檚 have respect for the history that's there, and not try to gentrify the beaches.鈥� said Emmanuel George, a community archivist and historian who runs the Instagram account , which chronicles the county's Black history.
The history of Broward's "Colored Beach" begins in 1946, when a delegation from the Negro Professional and Business Men鈥檚 League petitioned the county for a public beach for black Broward residents. In 1954, the county acquired the land on a barrier island where the park now sits. Though they promised to improve accessibility, an access road was not immediately built.
In response to this lack of access, Dr. Von D. Mizell, Eula Johnson led around 200 civil rights activists in staging wade-in protests on Las Olas Beach in 1961. The protests eventually led the way for the desegregation of Broward鈥檚 beaches in 1962. An access road to the beach was built in 1965.
Previously known as John U. Lloyd Beach State Park, it was renamed in 2016 to honor the two civil rights activists who led the charge to desegregate the beaches.
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Ironically, after integration, black residents did not begin to use formerly white beaches, rather white residents began more frequently using the former colored beach.
鈥淭hey