SAVING AMERICAN BEACH The Biography of African American Environmentalist MaVynee Betsch

Listeners will enjoy the sound of waves that accompanies Lynette Freeman’s stirring narration of environmentalist MaVynee Betsch’s life. During segregation and Jim Crow, American Beach, located on an island near Jacksonville, Florida, was one of a few Black seaside resorts. Freeman’s tone swells with Betsch’s love of the place where she swam and played as a child, and quiets with sorrow when she finds it abandoned and neglected after integration. As the “Beach Lady” becomes a part of the local culture, growing her hair long and marching on the governor’s office to protest commercial development of the beach, the narration turns slyly playful and firmly confident. Freeman captures the spirit of a woman who knows that her mission is to save a priceless piece of history. N.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]