Missouri Avenue Beach

Missouri Avenue Beach, often referred to as "Chicken Bone Beach," is a lifeguarded beach on the Jersey Shore. It was an early and mid-twentieth-century Black resort destination and racially segregated section of the Atlantic Ocean beach near the Northside neighborhood of Atlantic City, New Jersey (between Missouri and Mississippi Avenues). The name was initially most likely a pejorative or condescending reference to the packed lunches brought by beachgoers who were not permitted by unspoken sentiment in many dining establishments, but the Black community has reclaimed the name as a point of resistance and pride. The beach is now home to swimming, sunbathing, jazz and other local events.

History
Blacks and whites lived in the area side by side with few problems after the American Civil War. It was not until 1900 that the beach became segregated, due in part to pressures by local businesses. It remained a blacks only beach until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During segregation and the Jim Crow era other area beaches did not allow African American visitors. It was given its colloquial name by locals due to the chicken bones presumably found in this segregated area during regular clean ups, although by all accounts the reports were simply unfounded. While there were no signs nor laws prohibiting blacks from enjoying the entirety of the beach, the segregation was rigidly enforced by local authorities or more commonly, white beachgoers. The Atlantic City Beach Patrol was officially desegregated, but its black members were in practice consigned to Missouri Avenue Beach. Desegregation came in the 1960s.

Black showgirls at Club Harlem were said to have called the beach "Sunshine Row" during midcentury, when stars like Sammy Davis, Jr., Louis Jordan, the Mills Brothers, and Jackie “Moms” Mabley performed in the city.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was photographed on a family vacation to the beach in 1956.

Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation
The Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation, founded by Atlantic City native Henrietta W. Shelton, installed a commemorative marker to mark Chicken Bone Beach in 2015.

Chicken Bone Beach Jazz
The Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation offers weekly Chicken Bone Beach Jazz concerts. In the summer, they are held next to the beach, at the Kennedy Plaza outdoor amphitheater. In the cooler months, Chicken Bone Beach Jazz plays at the Claridge Hotel.

Chicken Bone Beach Youth Jazz Institute offers free music lessons.