In the 60’s blacks weren’t allowed to use public beaches in Biloxi, MS. On Sunday, April 24, 1960, Black Protestors proceeded with what was called a “wade-in.” They were beaten by white mobs and some police for attempting to wade in the water. Some were beaten so severely that they were almost decapitated. That day became known as “Bloody Sunday” in Mississippi. The wade-ins on Biloxi Beach was Mississippi’s first organized act of civil disobedience in the civil rights era. Several years later the U.S. Justice Department sued Biloxi for not allowing blacks on the beach. Biloxi lost the case in 1967, and in 1968, the beaches were open to the black community for the first time. That’s the history of “Black Beach” being held annually in April in Biloxi, MS.