Chicken Bone Beach was a

racially segregated Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

section of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

beach at

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

(between Missouri and Mississippi Avenues) known for attracting many

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s. It was given this name by the locals due to the volume of chicken bones presumably found in this segregated area during regular clean ups although by all accounts the reports were simply unfounded.

Background

Blacks and whites lived in the area side by side with few problems after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. It wasn't until 1900 that the beach became segregated, due in part to pressures by local businesses. It remained a ''blacks only'' beach until the passing of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

. While there were no signs nor laws prohibiting blacks from enjoying the entirety of the beach, the segregation was rigidly enforced by local authorities or more commonly, white beachgoers. The Atlantic City Beach Patrol was officially desegregated, but its black members were in practice consigned to Chicken Bone Beach.

References

External links

Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation
at chickenbonebeach.org African-American history of New Jersey Atlantic City, New Jersey Beaches of Atlantic County, New Jersey Beaches of New Jersey Civil liberties in the United States Neighborhoods in Greater Atlantic City, New Jersey {{AtlanticCountyNJ-geo-stub