Sag Harbor

Azurest, the historically Black beach community of Sag Harbor, has provided a summer destination since the 1940s for Black families who were not allowed on nearby white beaches due to Jim Crow segregation. While Benji and his friends are used to considerable privilege, the older generation of grandparents who founded the community and built the houses remind the younger generations of how lucky they are to have this community. One of the grandparents tells Benji, “It’s nice to see the young people following in the tradition” (239). Benji and his friends spend most of the school year in mostly white prep schools. Benji enjoys those social circles, but when he comes home to Azurest, he also clearly enjoys the safety, nostalgia, and traditions it offers him as he reconnects and relaxes with his friends whom he has known all his life.

The rock is a landmark for the children so that they are aware of the boundaries of “their” beach. Past the rock, they enter the white beach. The rock serves two purposes. It not only keeps the Black people on their own beach, but it keeps the white people away as well.