MaVynee Betsch
Encyclopedia
MaVynee Betsch was an American environmentalist and an activist. She was better known as The Beach Lady, because she spent the better part of her adult life educating the public on the black history and environmental importance of American Beach. Betsch lived at American Beach on Amelia Island
, Florida, the African-American Hyannis port, where the crème de la crème of black society came to relax in the Jim Crow South. MaVynee’s millionaire great-grandfather, Abraham Lincoln Lewis
, founded the beach, and she was raised in luxury. Her wealth and privilege vanished after she gave away her entire fortune to environmental causes.
She was posthumously honored as an Unsung Hero of Compassion by the Dalai Lama
on November 12, 2005.
Betsch is survived by her sister Johnnetta B. Cole, an anthropologist, and her brother, John Betsch
, a jazz musician.
Betsch and American Beach have inspired two women to create documentaries on the subject. An American Beach, which focuses on the history of American Beach, with conversations with The Beach Lady, and The Beach Lady, a feature length documentary.
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
, Florida, the African-American Hyannis port, where the crème de la crème of black society came to relax in the Jim Crow South. MaVynee’s millionaire great-grandfather, Abraham Lincoln Lewis
Abraham Lincoln Lewis
Abraham Lincoln Lewis was an American businessman. He founded the Afro-American Life Insurance Company in Jacksonville, Florida, and became the state's first African American millionaire...
, founded the beach, and she was raised in luxury. Her wealth and privilege vanished after she gave away her entire fortune to environmental causes.
She was posthumously honored as an Unsung Hero of Compassion by the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
on November 12, 2005.
Betsch is survived by her sister Johnnetta B. Cole, an anthropologist, and her brother, John Betsch
John Betsch
John Betsch is an American jazz drummer.Betsch began on percussion at age nine, and attended Fisk University, Berklee College of Music and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. After playing in organ trios, he released an album as a leader, Earth Blossom, in 1975...
, a jazz musician.
Betsch and American Beach have inspired two women to create documentaries on the subject. An American Beach, which focuses on the history of American Beach, with conversations with The Beach Lady, and The Beach Lady, a feature length documentary.