Chicken Bone Beach: A Pictorial History of Atlantic City’s Missouri Avenue Beach – Virtual Author Talk

The beaches and communities that line the Jersey Shore are filled with history. From historic people, to landmark buildings, to iconic rides, the Jersey Shore is at the core of New Jersey’s identity. However, the Jersey Shore was not immune to societal norms, including segregation. Please join us as Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks talks about her book, Chicken Bone Beach, which dives into the history of the Missouri Avenue Beach in Atlantic City. Missouri Avenue Beach was Atlantic City’s racially segregated beach during its heyday from the 1920s through the 1960s. She will also discuss the residents who lived on the northside near the Established Missouri Ave., Beach. Despite racial division in America, Chicken Bone Beach functioned as an African-American resort, attracting celebrities, civic leaders, and other races.

Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks, MBA/MA completed her first book, Chicken Bone Beach: A Pictorial History of Atlantic City’s Missouri Avenue Beach (Sunbury Press) in 2017, which was nominated for a 2017 Literary Award with the Schomburg Center in New York City, used in classrooms at Purdue University, referenced in The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies and libraries in Johannesburg, South Africa. Cheryl’s second book, Golden Beauty Boss: The Story of Madame Sara Spencer Washington & the Apex Empire, was released three weeks after the Pandemic, which is the first biography written about an African-American woman who became a self-made millionaire in the 1940s. Cheryl’s third book, The Story of Chicken Bone Beach was released in 2021 and is a children’s version of her debut book, Chicken Bone Beach. It was awarded the 2021 Suny Award for being the best-selling children’s book with her publisher. This year, Cheryl has released a children’s version of Golden Beauty Boss and Cheryl’s first independent release, When I Look into the Sea is a rhyming children’s book designed to encourage kids to believe in themselves and their dreams.

This is presented by the New Jersey State Library. Click here to register for this virtual author talk.