LEWES, Del. (KYW Newsradio) — Not far from where passengers disembark the Cape May-Lewes Ferry on the Delaware side, you’ll find what is known as Beach 1 and Beach 2.
Many decades prior, during the era of segregation, numbers weren’t used to differentiate between the two.
“Beach 1 was the ‘white beach’ and Beach 2, when I was growing up, was called the ‘colored beach,’ ” recalled Dee Lott.
She used to go to the “colored beach” back in the day. There wasn’t too much fun to be had there — up until a man named Johnny Walker came along.
“He built a little restaurant on the colored beach, and people from all over came,” Lott remembered.
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Today, Lott is a member of the African American Heritage Commission in Lewes. The group has been asked by the Parks and Recreation Commission to make suggestions to rename Beach 1 and 2.
The current top choice for Beach 2: Johnny Walker Beach.
She said everyone was invited to events put on by Walker back in the ’60s — it didn’t matter the color of your skin. There were Fourth of July parties and other celebrations, plus a variety of delicious foods. And, people visited from all over, not just from Delaware.
“You could go, feel accepted, feel comfortable with people like yourself because we weren’t allowed to go to the other beach,” she said. “They had signs at the bathroom: ‘whites only.’ ”
The commission will make its formal pitch this month. Parks and Rec will then pass the proposal to City Council and the mayor.
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If Beach 2 ultimately becomes Johnny Walker Beach, Lott said she will be “running and shouting and screaming.”
“I think he deserves this honor because he saw a need and he fulfilled that need for the African-American community,” Lott added.