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Celebrating
100
years of
"America’s
Black
Eden":
Idlewild,
Michigan’s
Centennial
Dedication
and
Grand
Opening
of John
Meeks
Park
IDLEWILD,
MI (Tell
Us USA)
- Long
considered
the
"Black
Eden",
Idlewild
will
mark its
100th
year
with the
dedication
of John
Meeks
Park,
named in
honor of
educator,
successful
businessman,
historian
and
longtime
resident.
An after
party
will be
held
like
this
area has
never
seen
before.
The
ceremony
will be
held
from
11:00 am
to 1:00
pm
August
4, 2012
at M. L.
King &
Idlewild
Boulevard
in this
historic
and
beautiful
northern
resort
setting.
The
celebration
will
continue
with
guest
speakers,
entertainment
and
activities
for all
ages,
from
1:00 pm
– until,
so don’t
forget
your
coolers,
blankets
and lawn
chairs.
Idlewild,
a
vacation
and
retirement
community
in Yates
Township
located
in a
small
rural
northwestern
part of
Michigan,
was one
of only
a few
resorts
in the
country
where
African-Americans
were
allowed
to
vacation
and
purchase
property
before
this
discrimination
became
illegal
in 1964.
Upper
and
middle
class
African
American
professionals
from
Detroit,
Chicago,
and
other
Midwestern
cities
were
drawn to
this
rustic
community
a
hundred
years
ago with
residents
the
likes of
NAACP
co-founder,
Dr. W.
E. B. Du
Bois,
cosmetic
entrepreneur
Madam
C.J.
Walker,
Lemuel
L.
Foster,
president
of Fisk
University,
Dr.
Albert
B.
Cleage,
Sr. of
Detroit,
and the
famous
African-American
novelist
Charles
Waddell
Chesnutt.
Famous
entertainers
who
performed
in
Idlewild
were
Della
Reese,
Al
Hibbler,
Bill
Doggett,
Jackie
Wilson,
T-Bone
Walker,
George
Kirby,
The Four
Tops,
Roy
Hamilton,
Brook
Benton,
Lottie
"the
Body"
Graves,
Sarah
Vaughan,
Cab
Calloway,
Louis
Armstrong,
Dinah
Washington,
B.B.
King,
Aretha
Franklin,
Sammy
Davis,
Bill
Cosby,
Moms
Mabley,
Fats
Waller,
and
Billy
Eckstein
and many
other
performers,
entertained
thousands
of
Idlewilders
and
white
citizens
in
neighboring
Lake
County
townships
throughout
the
1950s
and
early
1960s.
For more
information
on this
historic
centennial
or Free
Picnic
Table
Reservation
call:
IAACC at
231-745-4742
or
email:
johnmeekssr2@gmail.com
For
rooms
call
Paradise
Lake
Motel:
231-745-9695
SPONSORED
BY
IDLEWILD
AFRICAN
CHAMBER
OF
COMMERCE
PO BOX
435
IDLEWILD,
MICHIGAN
PHONE:
231-745-4742
www.iaacc.com
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