[Sammy Davis, Jr. on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey]
Item
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Title
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[Sammy Davis, Jr. on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey]
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Description
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Entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990) having fun with friends on Chicken Bone Beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Sammy Davis Jr. was an actor and musician famous for being a part of the famed "Rat Pack" in the 1950s and 1960s.
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This 1950s beach photograph features Sammy Davis Jr. with friends, gathered in laughter and style around a plaid cooler. It was a carefree day by the sea, that reflected Black leisure culture — moments of joy and visibility in a segregated era.
“Chicken Bone Beach” (also dubbed “Sunshine Row” by showgirls or simply “the place to be”) was famously popular and frequented by local and visiting families of all classes, celebrities, entertainers, and politicians in and of the Black community. It was a place of fun, rest, resilience, pride, and leisure (Stephens, “Chicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1900- ).”). The beach location, and other hot spots including Kentucky Ave in the surrounding area at the time, can be viewed below, courtesy of University of Maryland, Baltimore County (see “Chicken Bone Beach”).
From the early 1900s until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the beachfront accessible from Missouri Avenue was the only space that African Americans were permitted to use due to segregation and the desire of resort/hotel owners to restrict African Americans from their beachfront properties (Stephens, “Chicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1900- ).”). It was a place of fun, rest, resilience, pride, and leisure. The beach location, and other hot spots including Kentucky Ave in the surrounding area at the time, can be viewed below, courtesy of University of Maryland, Baltimore County (see “Chicken Bone Beach”). From the early 1900s until the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the beachfront accessible from Missouri Avenue was the only space that African Americans were permitted to use due to segregation and the desire of resort/hotel owners to restrict African Americans from their beachfront properties (Stephens, “Chicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1900- ).
This photo is part of the John W. Mosley Collection at the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University Libraries, which was acquired in the late 1980s from the Mosley family. John W. Mosley (1907-1969) was a Philadelphia-area African American photographer who photographed many prominent figures, places, and culture between the segregation period of the 1930s to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s (Temple University Libraries, “John W. Mosley Photographs.”). He moved to Philadelphia in 1934, and photographed frequently in Atlantic City, NJ amongst other areas in the region.
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Sammy Davis, Jr. Biography
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Rights
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This material is subject to copyright law and is made available for private study, scholarship, and research purposes only. For access to the original or a high resolution reproduction, and for permission to publish, please contact Temple University Libraries, the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection (blockson@temple.edu; 215-204-6632).
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Creator
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Mosley, John W.
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Format
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Image
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Spatial Coverage
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Atlantic City, NJ
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Publisher
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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Contributor
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Temple University Libraries, Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection
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Extent
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1 image
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Identifier
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BPA001X0319540800006
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Date Created
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(c. 1950's)
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Is Part Of
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John W. Mosley Photograph Collection
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Subject
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Photography
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African American entertainers
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African Americans
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Atlantic City (N.J.)
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Leisure
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Bathing suits
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Beachgoers
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Fashion--African American influences
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Bibliographic Citation
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Temple University Libraries. “John W. Mosley Photographs.” Accessed January 13, 2026. https://digital.library.temple.edu/digital/collection/p15037coll17.
Stephens, Ronald J., contributor. “Chicken Bone Beach, Atlantic City, New Jersey (1900- ).” BlackPast, February 12, 2014. https://blackpast.org/african-american-history/chicken-bone-beach-atlantic-city-new-jersey-1900/.
