Where is idlewild mi

It was a safe haven. A roller rink opened, as well as additional motels, gas stations, and even bigger and more elaborate nightclubs. By the early s, according to Stephens, as many as 25, guests converged there in the summer months. At the time it gave you a sense of belonging.

Braggs got cabins for us and paid a decent salary. Idlewild was fabulous, like New York or Paris. She said that her grandmother took her and her cousins to the Paradise Club on Sunday afternoons for the family-friendly matinees. Idlewild also became a welcomed stop for many legendary black performers.

Many also arranged extended stays so that they could enjoy the place or vacation there with their families. But soon after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of , interest in Idlewild waned. With the new world of opportunities suddenly open to them, black vacationers began exploring locales they had previously only dreamed of visiting.

She said black vacationers branched out to faraway, previously restricted places such as Florida, Las Vegas, and elsewhere. Today, Idlewild is home to a dwindling population of fewer than 1,, most of them retirees with fond memories of summers spent there in their youth.

More recent revitalization campaigns driven by the local community have led to the creation of the African American Chamber of Commerce in , the Idlewild Historic and Cultural Center in , and the installation of several historical plaques in Idlewild, like other all-black resorts, would not survive the civil rights movement.

As formerly whites-only clubs and resorts across the nation integrated in the late s, Idlewild went into decline. Its clubs and hotels closed as blacks began to frequent other resorts. Today, Idlewild is a struggling retirement community with fewer than half a dozen businesses. Despite this decline, Idlewild symbolized the heyday of the combination of race, leisure, and geography to create a briefly prosperous community through niche tourism.

Ronald J. Skip to content "Come to Idlewood" brochure, ca. Do you find this information helpful? A small donation would help us keep this accessible to all. That decline in popularity eventually opened the door for the growing presence of prostitutes, especially during deer-hunting season—an embarrassing truth exposed to the nation on the Johnny Carson Show on Thanksgiving Day, Over the last twenty years, Idlewild has made small steps toward revitalizing itself, including identifying 35 historic structures along with recognizing the homes of Joe Louis and Dr.

The plan was completed in , and students at MSU have since built a traveling museum exhibit that pays homage to the community. David Weible was the content specialist at the National Trust, previously with Preservation and Outside magazines. Join us in protecting and restoring places where significant African American history happened.