Fighting for Beach Access in Connecticut; Historic Black Summer Enclaves Of Sag Harbor, Martha's Vineyard

By James Szkobel-Wolff,

Zshekinah Collier, Catie Talarski, Khalilah Brown-Dean

Published July 21, 2021 at 12:37 PM EDT

1 of 3 — Shearer family and guests including composer Harry T. Burleigh (far right) enjoying Oak Bluffs town beach circa 1920.

Shearer family and guests including composer Harry T. Burleigh (far right) enjoying Oak Bluffs town beach circa 1920. (Photograph courtesy of The Inn at Shearer Cottage, Martha's Vineyard)

Photograph courtesy of The Inn at Shearer Cottage

2 of 3 — Shearer family and guests, including a young Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (standing, far left), opera singer Lillian Evanti (top row, fifth from left) and Charles Shearer (standing, third from right) at Shearer Cottage circa 1931.

Shearer family and guests, including a young Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. (standing, far left), opera singer Lillian Evanti (top row, fifth from left) and Charles Shearer (standing, third from right) at Shearer Cottage circa 1931. (Photograph courtesy of The Inn at Shearer Cottage, Martha's Vineyard.)

3 of 3 — Shearer family and guests at Shearer Cottage 1918.

(Photograph courtesy of The Inn at Shearer Cottage, Martha's Vineyard.)

As summer heats up, people across New England flock to the beach. But there’s been a long battle in Connecticut for access to the shoreline. This week on Disrupted, we learn about the history of exclusion on Long Island Sound. And we hear from descendants of the historically Black communities of Oak Bluffs and Sag Harbor.

Guests

Andrew Kahrl: Professor of African-American Studies and History at The Carter G. Woodson Institute at the University of Virginia and author of Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America's Most Exclusive Shoreline

Lee Jackson Van Allen: Innkeeper at The Inn at Shearer Cottagein Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.

Erica Stanley-Dottin: 3rd generation resident of the Azurest Neighborhood in Sag Harbor.

Disrupted is produced by James Szkobel-Wolff, Zshekinah Collier, and Catie Talarski. Our interns are Maisy Carvalho and Kelly Langevin.

Disrupted is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!