JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — All month long we are celebrating and honoring Black history and culture across our area. On Jekyll Island, Georgia, you can get a glimpse into how Black history shaped the culture of the island through the Dolphin Club Days tour happening February 11 and 25.
I went to the island to learn more.
Rhythm and blues sang through the island during its first years as a state park.
“Music is integral to this history," said Allison Dupuis, Mosaic Museum Educator. "This was part of the draw that brought people here. We were a part of this huge musical venue, especially for locals from the area. We have several oral histories in our collection where people who were teenagers at the time talk about coming over here just to go to these dances at the Dolphin Club. Just to listen to these musical performers.”
Performers like BB King and Otis Redding performed on the island. They are icons in blues and Black history.
“One of the coolest things about Jekyll island is that during the 1950s and 60s, we were home to the Dolphin Club," said Tom Alexander, Director of Historic Resources on the island.
The original pavilion from the Dolphin Club is still standing, and it is now enjoyed by all.
“The Dolphin Club was a venue for African-American performers. It was on what was called the Chitlin circuit," Alexander said. "The Chitlin circuit were venues primarily in the south that were hospitable to African-American performers during segregation.”
Black musicians putting Jekyll Island on the map as a safe place for African-American leisure in the years leading up to Martin Luther King Junior’s March on Washington.
The Dolphin Club dismantled a few years after desegregation and today it is a youth center.
This Saturday, February 11th and 25th, take part in the Dolphin Club Days tour as museum guides dive deeper into the Black culture that shaped the island with live music where the greats once played.
Jacksonville's Ace Winn will be playing music where the greats once did.