Celebrating the Spirit of Carr’s Beach
This misty oasis on the banks of the Niger River , was once part of the Songhai Empire, a West African empire anchored by two of the world’s greatest cities, Timbuktu and Gao. Celebrants from near and far, gathered at oases to worship, engage in commerce, discuss socio-political issues and be festive. There was a Message in the Music; There was a Message in the Mist.
Over time, millions of Africans were forcibly removed and enslaved on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. The Mist became enraged, transformed itself into a hurricane, whirled across the Atlantic and up the Chesapeake Bay. Settling in the salt marshes and slave communities along the Chesapeake, the Mist anointed the likes of Harriet Tubman, Fredrick Douglas, the Colonial Marines and the Black union soldiers of Unionville , MD to deliver this message- “Let My People Go.” The rest is history.
The beginning of the 20th century brought changes and The Mist composed another message, ”Rise Up, Establish your own”. Two former Maryland slaves answered the call.
In 1892, John Murphy of Baltimore, righted the sails of the Afro-American newspaper, and plotted its course to Success.
In 1902, Fred Carr bought 180 acres of Annapolis beachfront property. He and his family farmed and created an oasis on the Chesapeake Bay, Carr’s Beach, where blacks in the Baltimore-Washington area could seek respite from the pain and humiliation of Jim Crow segregation. In 1948 William “Little Willie” Adams, a Baltimore businessman, and the Carr Family formed the Carr’s Beach Amusement Company. They developed The Beach, into how it is remembered today – a multi-faceted amusement park and entertainment venue that showcased nationally and internationally renowned Black musicians that created rock ‘n’ roll and other forms of American dance music in the 1950’s and 60’s. Ordinary people record company executives, philanthropists, Wall Street businessmen, politicians, and future Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall, all got some sand in their shoes at The Beach.
Another consciousness , a very powerful one, started percolating in the souls of the celebrants at Carr’s Beach. This Message in the Mist would be codified into words by James Brown years later.
“I don’t want nobody to give me nothing, Open up the door, I’ll get it myself.Don’t give me integration give me true communication, Don’t give me sorrow, I want equal opportunity to live for tomorrow. Give me schools, and give me better books, So I can read about myself, and gain my truly looks I don’t want nobody, to give me nothing, Open up the door, I’ll get it myself.”
Carr’s Beach was Black Power in song, in dance, in Unity.
The Beach like The Oasis was sacred ground.