HOLLAND, Michigan — The Holland Museum’s newest exhibit shares the story of one historic community here in West Michigan that many have never even heard of. One man who helped with the exhibit is a descendant of one of the first families to become landowners in the area known as a Black Eden.
Chris “C.J.” Kingdom Grier told 13 ON YOUR SIDE, “I love Idlewild. I love history. I love American history. I love Black history and Idlewild is all of those things.”
The community was founded in 1912 in Lake County.
“It comes out of place of pain and struggle for our nation. It comes directly out of Jim Crow, 1912,” said Grier.
A time when people of color were forced to use separate and - often times - lower quality amenities like water fountains and restrooms. At times, Black people were shut out completely from living in white neighborhoods or even visiting popular resorts.
Grier explained that, “Out of that came a necessity for people of color, specifically Black people, who could not go to the resorts in the Catskills or the Boardwalk in Jersey or Vegas,” and that, “We had to create a space for people who were not welcome.”
Ricki Levine is the Holland Museum’s executive director. She described Idlewild, saying, “It was – and still is – a haven for African Americans and it was a place for people to feel safe, to feel included, to feel welcome. They could own property there, they could entertain and stay there and some A-list entertainers that could perform in white communities but couldn’t stay in those communities – this was very different. This was an incredibly different experience for them.”
Celebrities like W.E.B DuBois, Madame C.J. Walker, Duke Ellington, Etta James and Jackie Wilson are said to have stayed at Idlewild. The resort town is still drawing in visitors, even today.
“What they say they find in Idlewild today is rest, rejuvenation, relaxation. They get to water ski, they get to swim at the beach, they get to hear the trees,” said Grier, as he expressed pride in the natural beauty of the area.
“Can I tell you, if you have not been at Idlewild in the evening time when the stars are shining bright, I’m not sure if you’ve actually ever seen the sky,” said Grier, adding that, “It’s that essence that made Idlewild great in 1912 and still makes it great today.”
“A lot of people that I know from this area never heard about Idlewild until very recently,” said Levine.
Similar sentiments from Grier, who said, “I’ve heard a number of African Americans who said, ‘I’ve never heard of Idlewild,’ literally as close as Lansing.”
The Holland Museum is now helping to showcase the remarkable journey of this little known gem with its newest exhibit, Black Eden: Idlewild Past, Present and Future.
“That information is our history and we have keep it, we have to promote and we have to learn from it,” said Grier.
He also shared an African proverb, which says when an elder dies a library is burned to the ground. He encourages everyone to learn and record the stories of our elders.
The Idlewild exhibit will be on display at the Holland Museum through October.
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