AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. – American Beach has a storied history of being a safe place for Black Americans, and one woman made sure the beach’s history wasn’t erased.
MaVynne Betsch, affectionally known as The Beach Lady, was a former Opera Singer turned activist, whose loud and boisterous demeanor, was one to remember.
The beach was known in its heyday during the Jim Crow era as a place for “Recreation and Relaxation without Humiliation,” and held a special place in Betsch’s heart until her death.
Betsch was the granddaughter of the beach’s founder A.L. Lewis. Her efforts to preserve and restore American Beach, earned Betsch the nickname, The Beach Lady.
Her sister, anthropologist Dr. Johnetta Betsch Cole, said the Beach Lady fought to save American Beach until she took her last breath.
“The Beach Lady, came back and I’m going to use a heavy term, became possessed by the necessity to save American Beach,” Cole said. “They thought it was a little eccentric there. Six feet tall, with one dreadlock, from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. To carry that dreadlock on your arm, with buttons saying all sorts of social justice messages, but they embraced her.”
READ PART 1 | The history of American Beach: ‘Recreation and relaxation without humiliation’
Betsch would give tours about the beach’s history out of her car, making sure people remembered how Black families overcame adversity.
“What was that nonsense about an ocean that no human being made, could not welcome people of differences. We’ve got to keep telling that story,” Cole said.
The Beach Lady’s fight to preserve the American beach and prevent overdevelopment lives on. The largest sand dune in Florida that she named Nana, is now protected by the National Park Service.
Before that, author Marsha Phelts remembered the creative way The Beach Lady would make sure Nana was free from outsiders.
“To keep you off of her dune, she’d go out and make a poster, that said ‘Danger rattlesnakes.’ So when you see that danger rattlesnake, you know, oh, I don’t think I want to go up there,” Phelts said. “You don’t want to get in no fight with The Beach Lady, Black or white. You don’t want to have to fight for her because if you do, you will come up losing.”
The A.L. Lewis Museum debuted nine years after her passing in 2014, where her iconic hair is encased in glass.
Museum Coordinator Austin Porter shares the stories and history, that can only be found at the museum.
“This museum being here gives you a base, almost like a library to give you the history of Jacksonville and Florida, from this perspective. Most of this information is not on the internet,” Porter said. “MaVynne, I think she would be super proud because this is one of the things that she fought for. She used her voice to make sure she made an impact wherever she was.”
After living and traveling the world for several decades, Dr. Cole now calls American Beach home and uses her influence to make sure her sister’s efforts were not in vain.
“This beach must never ever, ever lose its history, herstory, of being centered of African American life,” Cole said.
MORE | North Florida Land Trust unveils interpretative signs at Little NaNa Dune in American Beach
The A.L. Lewis Museum is open on weekends and by appointment.
Three interpretive signs have now been placed at Little Nana Dune by the North Florida Land Trust, to continue telling the story of American Beach and how the dune system protects wildlife.