MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) — Longtime Mount Pleasant residents are sharing the history of two landmarks they say were among the few Lowcountry sanctuaries where African Americans could safely relax, gather and enjoy leisure time.
Some residents, though, say the sites are not getting the recognition they deserve.
John Wright grew up near Riverside Beach and White’s Paradise.
“This was just like this when I was a kid. These trees,” Wright said. “We could ride down here at 100 degrees but still had a little bit of shade and then the closer you got to the water – the cooler it got.”
On what is now 5th Avenue, the same street as Remley’s Point public boat landing, longtime Mount Pleasant residents say there used to be a beach just a few feet down.
“Where that white house is and where this house is, is where the pavilion was,” Wright said.
Johnny Robinson held his wedding reception at White’s Paradise.
“We were able to walk over, walk on the sand, and go to the water. They had their walkway there for us,” Robinson said.
“No other beaches were available to Black residents at the time. So Riverside Beach became the beach,” Wright said.
Riverside Beach opened in 1930. Neighbors who grew up near the beach say the self-sustaining area could be compared to Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Black Wall Street.
“This community had everything economically that would drive a community and sustain a community,” Wright said. “Not only was Riverside Beach the first Black beach east of the Cooper in Mount Pleasant, just on the other side of those walls, but in this community they had White’s Paradise, the first Black nightclub and hotel attached.”
“We got married at Holy Trinity AME Church and we had our reception at White’s Paradise,” Robinson said.
Johnny and Carrie Robinson have been married for 60 years. Carrie Robinson says her relatives owned White’s Paradise. They opened the nightclub in 1943.
“Time was so much different back then than it is now,” Carrie Robinson said.
“James Brown appeared there, Clyde McPhatter, Lloyd Price, B.B. King; all of these people performed at White’s Paradise,” Johnny Robinson said.
“Duke Ellington, James Brown, Fats Domino,” Wright said. “I can remember as a kid in the 70s watching Smokey Robinson walk in that building.”
White’s Paradise was located about a mile away from Riverside Beach.
Longtime Mount Pleasant residents are sharing the history of two landmarks they say were among the few Lowcountry sanctuaries where African Americans could safely relax, gather and enjoy leisure time.(Live 5)
“This was your entryway to White’s Paradise,” Wright said. “My mom’s window was at the entryway. And everybody came running to my mom’s window. We were pushing everybody aside to get a chance to see Smokey Robinson.”
Residents say they are grateful for the town of Mount Pleasant acknowledging the history of Riverside Beach and White’s Paradise, but they say the location of the marker does not represent where the sites were actually located.
“The sign is in the wrong location,” Wright said.
Mount Pleasant leaders say the county sold the beach to developers in 1975. White’s Paradise was demolished in 1993.
“I don’t know if we realized what this community was and what we had growing up here,” Wright said. “We also didn’t have those folks in our community that would have made us realize the value of the land saying, ‘Hey, purchase.’”
The two separate historical sites are now marked by one double-sided marker.
“It’s very important that we know our history,” Johnny Robinson said. “It’s very important to have whatever you possess, to have something for your children, to love one another and to be able to share what we have.”
The Town of Mount Pleasant says leaders were not aware of any concerns about the marker’s location. Town leaders say they are planning to learn more about the concerns residents have raised and better understand the history and context behind the request.
They say they will then determine what role the town may be able to play in helping address it.
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