VIRGINIA BEACH NEGRO BEACH #1338

Caption from poster__       DAD COUNTY PARKS VIRGINIA BEACH COLORED ONLY     Historic Virginia Key Beach Park truly is one of the special places on Earth. It is located on one of the two southernmost barrier islands (with Key Biscayne) in the United States. Virginia Key is the only waterfront location within the Miami city limits where scenic views of nature and water are unspoiled by tall buildings. Its unique barrier-island ecology of animal and plant life has been largely preserved by an absence of large-scale residential or commercial development. The park also is a place with a remarkable history. During the Jim Crow era of segregation, it was a place that could not be visited or enjoyed by a large portion of the population, for no other reason than that they were white. Virginia Key Beach was strictly reserved for ''colored only.'' On the other hand, African Americans, the ''colored'' population, were restricted to this half-mile of beachfront, with the often dangerous currents o