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Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America’s Most Exclusive Shoreline
The story of our separate and unequal America in the making, and one man’s fight against it
During the long, hot summers of the late 1960s and 1970s, one man began a campaign to open some of America’s most exclusive beaches to minorities and the urban poor. That man was anti-poverty activist and one‑time presidential candidate Ned Coll of Connecticut, a state that permitted public access to a mere seven miles of its 253‑mile shoreline. Nearly all of the state’s coast was held privately, for the most part by white, wealthy residents.
This book is the first to tell the story of the controversial protester who gathered a band of determined African American mothers and children and challenged the racist, exclusionary tactics of homeowners in a state synonymous with liberalism. Coll’s legacy of remarkable successes—and failures—illuminates how our nation’s fragile coasts have not only become more exclusive in subsequent decades but also have suffered greater environmental destruction and erosion as a result of that private ownership.
During the long, hot summers of the late 1960s and 1970s, one man began a campaign to open some of America’s most exclusive beaches to minorities and the urban poor. That man was anti-poverty activist and one‑time presidential candidate Ned Coll of Connecticut, a state that permitted public access to a mere seven miles of its 253‑mile shoreline. Nearly all of the state’s coast was held privately, for the most part by white, wealthy residents.
This book is the first to tell the story of the controversial protester who gathered a band of determined African American mothers and children and challenged the racist, exclusionary tactics of homeowners in a state synonymous with liberalism. Coll’s legacy of remarkable successes—and failures—illuminates how our nation’s fragile coasts have not only become more exclusive in subsequent decades but also have suffered greater environmental destruction and erosion as a result of that private ownership.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
376 pages, Hardcover
Published March 20, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 10, 2019
Ned Coll was a visionary who wanted to eradicate the injustices he saw in Hartford CT's North End. He founded the Revitalization Corps, inspired by President Kennedy and his brother Robert. Ned's best known action was to challenge wealthy coastline towns and beachfront property owners to allow more public access to Connecticut's beaches. His campaigns of attack were creative and well publicized. While they did a lot to bring the issues to a larger and larger public, they did not result in making beaches more available to the public - especially segments of the public who were poor and darker in complexion. However, Ned's campaigns shone a blinding light on Connecticut's disparity between its wealthiest citizens and its poor - and on the incredible lengths wealthy communities would go to to keep others out.
Over the years Ned became more opinionated, less willing to compromise, and slowly but surely drove most of his supporters away. Andrew Kahrl documents the years the Revitalization Corps was in existence, and some of the long range results of the issues Ned initiated. Through interviews with supporters, detractors and people served by the Corps, Kahrl develops a picture of one man, and of an era.
I lived in Hartford during those years and I knew Ned and the Revitalization Corps, yet in order for me to really understand what happened I needed the perspective and scope offered by Kahrl's book. It was sad to see Ned's personal deterioration over time as his idealism became fanaticism. It was inspiring to see how much one person can actually do - and heartbreaking to come up against one person's limitations.
Anyone who is interested in race and class in the U.S. would find much of interest in this study. Anyone interested in environmental issues - especially preserving our fragile coastlines - should read it as well. And many would be interested in the details of how the richest towns in the richest state have convinced themselves they are not racist as they struggle to maintain their private white enclaves.
Over the years Ned became more opinionated, less willing to compromise, and slowly but surely drove most of his supporters away. Andrew Kahrl documents the years the Revitalization Corps was in existence, and some of the long range results of the issues Ned initiated. Through interviews with supporters, detractors and people served by the Corps, Kahrl develops a picture of one man, and of an era.
I lived in Hartford during those years and I knew Ned and the Revitalization Corps, yet in order for me to really understand what happened I needed the perspective and scope offered by Kahrl's book. It was sad to see Ned's personal deterioration over time as his idealism became fanaticism. It was inspiring to see how much one person can actually do - and heartbreaking to come up against one person's limitations.
Anyone who is interested in race and class in the U.S. would find much of interest in this study. Anyone interested in environmental issues - especially preserving our fragile coastlines - should read it as well. And many would be interested in the details of how the richest towns in the richest state have convinced themselves they are not racist as they struggle to maintain their private white enclaves.
April 2, 2025
This is a story of Ned Coll, but also of Connecticut’s racist and classist beach restrictions. Not enough has changed. Hardly anything has changed in the 50 years or so since Ned Coll walked across the CT shoreline to protest racism and exclusion from the shore. Infuriating.
Really appreciated this book.
Really appreciated this book.
May 24, 2018
another one bites the dust
October 15, 2020
Perhaps a little too much focus on the biography of Ned Coll, but a very insightful work of urban history.
August 3, 2023
Perhaps a little too much focus on the biography of Ned Coll, but a very insightful work of urban history.
November 16, 2020
Have you ever wondered why some people have access to the most beautiful beaches? And why the most beautiful natural areas tend to be segregated? I grew up in CT and did not know any of this history. I highly recommend this book. It starts a little slow, but as I read on, I was fascinated by this story and did not want it to end. Well researched and well written.
December 4, 2023
Entertaining for a reuqired reading
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews