Atlantic Beach

Book excerpt: Atlantic Beach, once a mecca for African American vacationers in Myrtle Beach and other East Coast communities during segregation, remains one of a few African American-owned and governed oceanfront resorts in North America. In 1934, George W. Tyson and his wife, Roxie Ballen Tyson, began purchasing and developing land in the area. The Atlantic Beach Company, which was comprised of doctors from North Carolina and South Carolina, continued this process from 1943 until 1956, and the tiny safe haven fondly became known as the "Black Pearl of the Grand Strand." Visitors came by the busload for the fishing, swimming, R&B beach music, and popular dancing among African Americans that later became known as the shag. Thousands of tourists continue to flock to the area on their motorcycles each year for the popular Memorial Day weekend BikeFest.