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In the early 1980s there had been gatherings of African American fraternities and sororities at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, mainly at Croatan Beach. As the years went on the gatherings started to attract more people and in 1986 a party promoter labeled the weekend as Greekfest. African American students from all over began to gather at the Oceanfront to partake in different events and a step show that the promoters had organized at the beach and the Virginia Beach Pavilion. The event began to grow tremendously and thousands of students were making their way to Virginia Beach’s Oceanfront for Greekfest. The city’s council in hopes of deterring students from coming to partake in the Greekfest events put out a report beforehand stating that the city could not have the events safely take place there because of the vast amounts of people that were coming down to the event. Getting closer to the time of the event different promoters suggested that the city should host a few events to keep the large quantity of people at bay; the city of Virginia Beach did not take heed to this suggestions and instead set out different ordinances for the Greekfest partygoers. These ordinances went against small infractions such as jaywalking and playing loud music. These still did not keep large amounts of African American students from booking the hotels as early as July for the Greekfest. This caused the city of Virginia Beach’s Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf to have the National Guard on standby. On September 3, 1989, students from all over came to the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in hopes of having a fun time of dancing, socializing, and meeting new people as well as connecting with old friends. What they got however was an unwelcoming vibe that made them feel uncomfortable coming to the beach to enjoy the last weekend of summer. Many people claimed to have felt a sense of racism while at the Oceanfront and some even making signs to show their displeasure with the way they were being treated. People were said to have also made t-shirts with Malcolm X on them and a message on the back telling how Virginia Beach was not welcome to African American people. The day had went on with no disturbances until later that night when Virginia Beach Police, Virginia State Police, and the National Guard began clearing the streets. A black van with large speakers in the back began to play a then popular song “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy who made the song as an anti-establishment movement. The song is said to have been the anthem of the weekend and also caused partygoers to tire of the treatment by the VBPD. The student then began to riot along Atlantic Ave along the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and they also began to break the windows and loot the businesses that resides along the strip. Many of which were businesses who did not allow students to enter their establishments in groups and had been following students around the stores in fear of shoplifters. This went on until Sunday morning when the police were finally able to clear the streets. In the aftermath, over 100 businesses were vandalized and looted and there was approximately 1.4 million dollars’ worth of damages done. About 100 people from the Greekfest spent the night in jail and many others recall being mistreated, injured, and harassed by police even before the Labor Day Riot took place. This resulted in not only the dramatic end of Greekfest but also the distrust of African Americans in Virginia Beach especially at the beach. African Americans no longer chose to hold there events at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and until this day there are still not many African American events held at the beach. People are now more comfortable than they once were with going to the Oceanfront but there has most certainly been a significant change.

Primary Sources

1. Applegate, Aaron. 'The Painful Legacy Of 1989'S Greekfest Endures'. Pilotonline.Com. Last modified 2015. Accessed November 23, 2015. http://www.pilotonline.com/news/the-painful-legacy-of-s-greekfest-endures/article_0292b5dd-7bb3-5553-8bee-48d23635ca53.html.

2. DRUMMOND AYRES Jr., B. 'Virginia Beach Is Quiet After Violence'. Nytimes.Com. Last modified 2015. Accessed November 23, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/1989/09/05/us/virginia-beach-is-quiet-after-violence.html.

3. Thomas, Pierre, and Steve Bates. 'VIRGINIA BEACH FESTIVAL ERUPTS INTO A RIOT'.Washington Post. Last modified 2015. Accessed November 23, 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/09/04/virginia-beach-festival-erupts-into-a-riot/2dc5262c-b78f-447c-8031-130285ef10ee/.

4. philly-archives,. 'Why Virginia Beach Happened'. Last modified 1992. Accessed November 23, 2015. http://articles.philly.com/1989-09-10/news/26100185_1_greekfest-black-youths-disturbance.

Secondary Sources

1. Articles.dailypress.com,. 'Articles About Greekfest - Tribunedigital-Dailypress'. Last modified 1989. Accessed November 23, 2015. http://articles.dailypress.com/keyword/greekfest.

2. The 1989 Greek Fest Riots,. 'Timeline Of Events Before And After Greekfest Riots'. Last modified 2015. Accessed November 23, 2015. http://1989greekfestriots.weebly.com/timeline-of-events-before-and-after-greekfest-riots.html.