The fight to save a historic Black beach town from climate change
By Ayana Archie
Published February 29, 2024 5:00 AM ET
American Beach, Fla. – The waves are getting closer to the pastel-colored cottages and the historic american Beach Museum. Erosion is threatening to swallow this once-thriving Black beach town whole.
founded in 1935 by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, the Black millionaire founder of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, American Beach was created as a haven for African Americans during the Jim Crow era, when many beaches were segregated. For decades, it was a vibrant resort community, attracting Black professionals, entertainers and families.
But now,climate change is rapidly reshaping the coastline,and American Beach is on the front lines. Rising sea levels, stronger storms and increased erosion are eating away at the island, threatening homes, businesses and the town’s cultural heritage.
“This beach is everything to us,” says bethany DeLoach, a fourth-generation resident and the museum’s director. “It’s where my grandparents met, where my parents spent their summers, where I grew up. Losing it would be like losing a part of ourselves.”
The town is fighting back, but the challenges are immense.Nassau County has been working on a beach renourishment project, pumping sand onto the eroding shoreline. But these projects are expensive and temporary, offering only a short-term fix.
“Renourishment is like putting a band-Aid on a broken leg,” says Dr. Andrea Rutledge, a coastal resilience specialist at Jacksonville University. “it doesn’t address the underlying problem of sea level rise and erosion.”
Some residents are advocating for more drastic measures, like building a seawall or relocating the town inland. But these options are also controversial,with concerns about cost,environmental impact and the disruption of the community.
“There are no easy answers,” says John griffin,the mayor of American Beach. “We’re a small town with limited resources, facing a huge problem. We need help from the state and federal government to protect our community and preserve our history.”
The fight to save american Beach is not just about protecting a town; it’s about preserving a legacy. It’s a story of Black entrepreneurship, resilience and community, and a reminder of the importance of protecting our cultural heritage in the face of climate change.
“we’re not going to give up without a fight,” DeLoach says. “We owe it to our ancestors, and to future generations, to save this special place.”
“There’s Treasure Everywhere,” the tenth collection of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, published in March 1996.
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jackie Ellis/Alamy
40 years ago – on November 18, 1985 – a new comic strip appeared in the newspaper: Calvin and Hobbes.
Hobbes was a stuffed tiger, but in the mind of 6-year-old Calvin he was a wryly observant companion for his day-to-day challenges and wildly imaginative adventures.
Adventures of the beloved duo lasted just a decade. Their creator – cartoonist Bill Watterson – walked away from Calvin and Hobbes at the height of its popularity.
Watterson – who has given few interviews – seamlessly combined the silly,the fantastic and the profound in his strip. That slightly demented quality captured editor Lee Salem, who spoke with NPR’s Renee Montagne in 2005.
The following exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Lee salem: I remember it when I first read it, and it all…it literally took my breath away. And I circulated it in the office, and the response was immediate. It was fresh, it was funny, the art was strong, and here’s this archetypal little boy living a life that some of us lived or wanted to live or remembered living