Orange Crush on Tybee Island: Record Crowds and Violent Incidents.

The Orange Crush Festival, a popular beach party for HBCU students, returned to Tybee Island with unprecedented force, drawing approximately 40 to 50 thousand people. The event, which has operated without a permit since 1991, caused a strain on resources, miles of gridlocked traffic, and violent incidents. Despite the negative reputation of the event, attendees focused on promoting the event in the best light and seeing Black students come together on a beach that used to be whites-only until Savannah civil rights activists staged wade-ins to desegregate the beach in 1964. The City of Tybee acknowledged that the event was a strain on the local community and a challenge for the city to manage, and will be enlisting the help of the state and county for backup in the future.