How Sag Harbor Became a Haven for Black Creatives
Article by Robyne Robinson for Artful Living Magazine | May 17, 2023
If you’re invited to spend the weekend in Sag Harbor, you’ve just won summer’s golden ticket. This Hamptons hamlet is what getaway dreams are made of. A two-square-mile village on the outstretched fringe of New York City, it was once an international whaling port, a remote place where writers like John Steinbeck could rent solitary bungalows on the cheap to pound out legendary novels on portable typewriters.
Today, vacationers flock to what has become the seasonal mecca for the rich, the famous and those who want to rub elbows with them. Whitewashed shingle-style homes with sweeping porches share the white sandy beaches with contemporary mansions sporting $26-million price tags (like the 12,000-square-foot compound that Bey and Jay-Z acquired in 2017). Movie stars are regularly spotted shopping at the high-end boutiques; even a president or two has been spied licking a double-scoop cone at the local ice cream parlor.
But for centuries, Sag Harbor remained an elusive dream for African Americans, who worked for wealthy white families but couldn’t actually live there because of their skin color. Instead, Black and Native American families resided in nearby Eastville in tiny clapboard houses. Some had been living in the small enclave since following the path of the Underground Railroad to the East Coast, working on whaling ships at the port with other runaways and free Black men. But by the 1940s, times were changing. Having experienced greater freedoms overseas, Black soldiers home from World War II wanted to create better lives for themselves and their families. Many earned college degrees on President Roosevelt’s G.I. Bill, which led to prominent, well-paying jobs.