Black History Month: Freeman Park

CAROLINA BEACH, N.C. (WECT) - WECT is proudly celebrating Black History Month and highlighting the people, places and events that shaped black history.

One of the only two beaches in North Carolina for African Americans was Freeman Park, called Seabreeze during the Jim Crow Era.

Carolina Beach was for white visitors while Seabreeze was for African Americans.

The property and the park itself are named after the Freeman family and most of the land was initially owned by Bruce Freeman.

Family members developed the oceanfront as what came to be known as Freeman Beach, and it became a popular destination for African Americans when much of the coastline of the South was segregated.

It was divided among Freeman family heirs until the mid-2000s when private parties began purchasing the land from the family.