The Breakfast Club - IDKMYDE: Carr and Sparrows Beach

Episode Date: February 25, 2024

On this episode of #IDKMYDE, Get ready to dive into a piece of history you might not have heard before! Join us as we explore the vibrant heyday of Carr's Beach and Sparrow's Beach, two black-owned retreats that flourished during segregation. Find out how changing times led to the demise of these iconic resorts, leaving behind memories of a bygone era. IG: @_idkmyde_ | @BdahtTV | @blackeffectSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. During segregation, every Sunday from Memorial Day

to Labor Day, black folks would travel far and wide to Carr's Beach and Sparrows Beach. And I didn't know. I didn't know. Maybe you didn't. I didn't know. I didn't know. Maybe you didn't. I didn't know.

I didn't know. Maybe you didn't. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. I didn't know. Two sisters, Lizzie Carr Smith and Florence Carr Sparrow. See, in 1902, their parents, who were formerly enslaved, Frederick Carr and his wife, Mary Wells Carr,

they bought 180 acres of waterfront farmland in Annapolis. By 1926, it was Carr's Beach, a retreat for black families. By 1932, their daughter, Elizabeth Carr Smith, was operating Carr's Beach, and her sister, Florence Carr Sparrow, had created the adjoining Sparrows Beach. See, they operated two resorts side by side as separate business. Now, the height of Carr's Beach was in the 50s and the 60s. Thousands would travel 200, 300, 400 miles to Carr's Beach just for one day. See, whenever a black artist was on the Chitlin' Circuit,

do you remember the Chitlin' Circuit? That when black entertainers had to navigate around that Jim Crow South to perform at venues that accepted black entertainers? Yeah, that's the Chitlin' Circuit. Well, that DC, Maryland, and Baltimore run, Cars Beach, that was usually the last stop. Now, there were a couple things

that made Cars Beach successful, but I'll give you three. One, it was black-owned. It was a refuge for black folks in a segregated country. Two, the beach had slot machines and a nightclub called Club Benghazi. See, Anna Rundell was the first Maryland county to legalize slot machines. And three, was a very popular radio personality named Hoppy Adams. See, Hoppy Adams convinced the radio station to do live broadcast at Cars Beach, and it was beneficial to both of them. See, allpy Adams convinced the radio station to do live broadcast at Cars Beach, and it was beneficial to both of them. See, all the top acts came to Cars Beach. Billie Holiday,

Lil' Richard, The Shirelles, The Temptations, Ike and Tina Turner. They said July 21st, 1956, 70,000 people came to see Chuck Berry, but only 8,000 were lucky enough to witness it. Shoot, a 1962 performance by James Brown brought 11,000. Unfortunately, Carr's Beach is no longer around. Why not? Desegregation pretty much destroyed it. See, when the Jim Crow era ended, venues that were once white only began to open up to black performers and attendees. And we just couldn't wait to neglect the beaches and facilities and universities that have provided for us for decades. For those now accepting good old white spaces, just so we could show that we belong.

The popularity of the black owned beaches declined. And now we're Cars Beach and Sparrows Beach once stood or high end condominiums. And I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. I didn't know. Maybe you didn't either. and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast Post Run High is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.