Galveston's African American Lifeguards

The paper trail begins with petitions. A 1922 petition from the Lions Club, signed by 1,870 white islanders, helped set aside Brown Beach at 28th Street for Black swimmers. That same year police and fire officials asked to move the Black beach to the West End; the city refused, but Black families used West Beach, called Sunset Camps, into the 1970s. James Helton, born in Galveston and a 1934 Central High graduate, rescued three people on Memorial Day 1935. Wavery Guidry, born in Louisiana, worked the 28th Street beach and recovered a drowned man's body in 1943.

What the plaque says

Galveston's African American Lifeguards After the great storm of 1900, African American men across the south moved to Galveston in search of work. However, the 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson limited economic opportunities for African Americans by legalizing racial segregation. As a result, Jim Crow practices segregated African Americans from their white counterparts. Despite these social and cultural challenges, African Americans created vibrant black communities on the island. The beaches along the Galveston seawall were already segregated by social practice. Although less than half a mile long, African Americans created their own areas, sometimes called "Brown Beach," at 28th Street and at West Beach, sometimes called "Sunset Camps." These public spaces provided black swimmers with their own beaches to relax and bathe. In 1921, African American Galvestonians petitioned the city for a lifeguard to oversee the beaches. James Helton (1914-1965) became the first black lifeguard in 1935, later followed by Wavery Guidry (1912-1986) in 1943. Each watched over the beaches, rescued swimmers and, at times, recovered the drowned. In total, the two made over thirty rescues. Helton served from 1935 to 1943 and Guidry from 1942 to 1957 and were not alone in their efforts. More African American lifeguards followed in their footsteps to watch over black swimmers. They faced physical and cultural dangers on the beach to protect African Americans. Their stories represent the physical and social challenges African Americans overcame during segregation. (2022)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Moody Mansion — 1.0 mi
  A four-story, 28,000-square-foot house on Broadway, finished in 1895, that W. L. Moody Jr. bought just after the 1900 storm and his family kept until Hurricane Alicia in 1983.
• 1859 Ashton Villa — 1.0 mi
  A brick Italianate house on Broadway, built with enslaved labor in 1859, whose lawn has held Galveston's Juneteenth commemoration of General Orders, No. 3 every year since 1979.
• 1892 Bishop's Palace — 1.4 mi
  Nicholas Clayton's stone house on Broadway for the railroad lawyer Walter Gresham, later home to Galveston's Catholic bishops and one of the most admired Victorian houses in the country.
• The Strand — 1.5 mi
  Five blocks of iron-front brick buildings near the harbor that were once called the Wall Street of the Southwest, emptied after 1900 and brought back by preservationists from the 1960s.

More markers nearby

• Jessie May McGuire Dent — steps away
• Gail Borden, Jr. — 0.5 mi
• Galveston Artillery Club — 0.5 mi
• Site of the Home of Michael Branaman Menard — 0.6 mi