“Following the 1954 landmark decision Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka, which ruled “separate but equal” unconstitutional, one of the first goals of the Sarasota NAACP was the establishment of a Negro beach.
Because all north Sarasota beaches were for whites only, blacks had to go to an area adjacent to the Venice Airfield to swim. In 1955, the Sarasota Chapter of the NAACP was determined to correct this situation.
Sarasota voters approved a $250,000 bond issue to expand existing beach facilities, which included a Negro beach. Locations considered for locating the beach were the north end of Siesta Key at Big Pass, a strip of beach south of Siesta beach to Midnight Pass and an area on Longboat Key.”
Read more about the history of the integration of Sarasota’s beaches here:
https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/LK/20040301/News/605203432/SH/
