Fort Lauderdale Wade Ins: Swimming for Civil Rights

Nowadays, people come from far and wide to enjoy Florida’s famous beaches. But prior to the early 1960s, the majority of these beaches could only be enjoyed by white people. The Fort Lauderdale Beach off Route 1 stands as a historic milestone in the Civil Rights movement. At this beach, activists fought for the desegregation of beaches—an effort that led towards African Americans sharing equal access to the Floridian shores and more. The Segregated History Fort Lauderdale’s Beaches Fort Lauderdale began fighting for equal access to public swimming resources in 1946. At that time, Florida beaches were reserved for white people only, while African Americans had to swim in segregated swimming pools on a single strip of uncultivated land. The Negro Professional and Business Men’s League, an organization dedicated to African American business and civil rights, made the first steps towards change by petitioning the county for a “public bathing beach for colored people.” The proposal was met with little support, and subsequent attempts to push for a beach similarly floundered. In 1952, a small breakthrough arrived when the Fort Lauderdale Hotel Association supported the campaign. This triumph, however, was almost immediately met by a setback. The next year, developers bought out the single beach available to African Americans, stranding them with no public beach options. Broward County eventually compensated the loss by purchasing a narrow strip of land in the Everglades. However, this beach lacked both proper amenities and adequate access. No roads existed, causing beachgoers to rely upon a single ferry, captained by one man. Upon arrival, bathers were expected to make do without bathrooms, picnic tables, and shelter. The Civil Rights Battle for Desegregated Beaches After ten years of waiting for a road and not receiving one, activists took stronger action. The popular counter sit-ins of the Civil Rights movement inspired NAACP leaders Dr. Von Mizell and Eula Johnson to organize “wade-ins:” a nonviolent protest that entailed African Americans entering the water on white-only beaches. Other areas of Florida had already begun wade-ins; those led by Dr. Von Mizell and Eula Johnson would prove to be tide-turners. On July 4th, 1961, Mizell and Johnson organized and led Fort Lauderdale’s first wade-in at a white-only beach on Las Olas Boulevard. African Americans of all ages were invited to attend. Police showed up at the wade-in, as well as Ku Klux Klan members with axes and white beachgoers with weapons and insults. Although no violence occurred, the police arrested black waders. They cited disturbing the peace and inciting chaos as the reasons, despite the fact that the waders did not demonstrate against the threats of counter-protestors. Undeterred, Mizell and Johnson continued leading wade-ins. After much perseverance and community organization, their efforts won out. In 1962 the state judge ruled against segregated beaches. However, while the battle was won for that particular Fort Lauderdale beach, the movement still faced obstacles in other parts of the state. Wade-ins throughout the early 1960s led to violence and arrest, reaching their climax right before the passing of the Civil Rights bill. On June 18th in 1964, a wade-in at a hotel swimming pool involved a manager pouring a bottle of acid into the pool filled with African American bathers. One week later, 75 waders were attacked by police and white counter-protestors, while later that night another clash occurred when 500 white people attacked demonstrators in St. Augustine, leading to the hospitalization of 19 people. On July 2nd, 1964, after months of filibuster delays, the Civil Rights Act passed. African American bathers could enter desegregated beaches across the country. The efforts of Dr. Von Mizell, Eula Johnson, and countless other unnamed African American activists had helped secure that freedom, for themselves and all generations to come.