Beach to Bay Heritage Area Uncovers African American History

The Beach to Bay Heritage Area is one of 13 Maryland-certified heritage areas. Located on the state’s lower Eastern Shore, it extends from Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay to Assateague Island along the Atlantic Coast and from the Nanticoke River to the Pocomoke River. It’s a place of incomparable shorescapes, storied spiritual history, and culture defined by water. As an organization, the Beach to Bay Heritage Area (BBHA) works to promote, preserve, and protect the wealth of historic, cultural, and natural resources in this rural region.

Sunset on Deal Island, Maryland

Since its beginnings, life in the Beach to Bay Heritage Area has depended on the Atlantic Ocean, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, and the marshes and land between. It’s no wonder that we associate this region with its rich Native American, agricultural, and seafaring history. Yet BBHA is so much more. Lesser known but equally important is its African American and Civil Rights heritage.

Celebrating Unsung Heroes

Currently, BBHA is partnering with the Rural Maryland Council to invest in a broad project designed to spotlight the African American heritage of the region, including the celebration of unsung heroes and recently uncovered history. BBHA is in the process of capturing and sharing these historical treasures through a variety of interpretive signs, murals, and public art.

One of BBHA’s recent projects is celebrating the life Rev. Dr. Charles Albert Tindley, a pastor and composer born in Berlin, MD, in the 1850s. Born into poverty, Dr. Tindley taught himself to read and write. Now considered a gospel music icon, he wrote the hymn “I Shall Overcome Someday,” widely considered to be the basis for the U.S. Civil Rights anthem “We Shall Overcome.” He went on to found the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia, which became one of the largest Methodist churches in the United States. 

As part of the celebration of Dr. Tindley, BBHA commissioned a large mural project in the downtown Berlin Arts and Entertainment District. Painted by Washington, D.C., mural artist Jay Coleman, the artwork has just been unveiled on the side of the Bruder Hill building. 

The unveiling of the Dr. Tindley mural

When the project received approval from the Historic District Commission to go ahead, Lisa Challenger, executive director of BBHA, recalls that the announcement was emotional for everyone. “Everybody cried,” she says. “Dr. Tindley has never gotten the recognition he deserved, so it was heartwarming to see how a project like this really brings people together. The community rallied in support, and many of the Tindley family came in from all over the country for the unveiling. It was one of the coolest projects we’ve ever done.”

Uncovering a Historical Treasure

The Beach to Bay Heritage Area continues to dig into the region’s African American history and bring to light little-known historical facts. A researcher that BBHA hired, for example, discovered how a chance photograph uncovered in California opened the door to a little known connection between the Eastern Shore and Civil Rights history.

It took place in Crisfield, MD, on Christmas Eve,1961. The country was stirring with unrest over racial inequality. In what would ultimately become known as the Crisfield protests, 10 college students from Baltimore, MD, came to town to stage a sit-in over segregation. Charged with trespassing, the students—both Black and White—were arrested, precipitating a series of events that ultimately triggered the march toward change. Many of the protestors went on to become leaders of Civil Rights movements and organizations elsewhere in the country.

For 43 years, very little was known about the Crisfield protests until a series of photos was uncovered in California. Several of the photos included a sign that read Crisfield, Maryland. Tim Howard, a graduate student at Salisbury University, purchased some of the photos and had the opportunity to show them to the late Congressman John Lewis, who was a guest lecturer at the university. To Howard’s surprise, Congressman Lewis knew a number of the protestors personally and was able to identify them.

Photo of the Crisfield protestors

Today, one of those photographs, along with the protestors’ names, has become an interpretative sign erected by BBHA to mark the location’s significance. “This is an event that many people don’t know about, and it’s so gratifying to shed light on this amazing piece of history,” says Challenger.

The Beach to Bay Heritage Area continues to invest in these and other historical and cultural preservation projects, including the development of virtual video tours and a self-guided app so visitors to the area don’t miss a thing. Want to get involved or learn more? Visit BBHA’s website at beachesbayswaterways.org.

Sustainably,

Bobby Firestein


For our 2022 Ecoprint calendar, Protecting the Natural Beauty of the Chesapeake Bay, we have partnered with 13 different organizations, all dedicated to helping solve the environmental challenges in this important ecological hub. Beach to Bay Heritage Area is our featured partner for the month of July. To get your own 2022 Ecoprint calendar, click the button below.