Above: Guests outside Shearer Cottage, the first African American owned inn on Martha's Vineyard
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THE NATION'S LARGEST AFRICAN AMERICAN ORAL HISTORY ARCHIVE
August 10, 2018 - Vol. 1, Issue 45
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Vacationing on the Vineyard
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For many African American families, Oak Bluffs in Martha’s Vineyard has always been a place of comfort and solace. From 19
th
century whaling captains to
President Barack Obama
and the first family, the Vineyard has been an integral part of African American history.
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Aside from developing black-serving leisure spaces in established resort towns or major metropolitan centers, African Americans created their own all-black tourist venues throughout the country. Key examples of these places include Oak Bluffs and Idlewild in northern Michigan. Throughout the 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, while mainstream vacation destinations strictly enforced exclusionary policies towards black vacationers, Oak Bluffs became the sole town on Martha’s Vineyard that welcomed African Americans both as permanent residents and as summer visitors. Early entrepreneurs like
Charles Shearer
and
Mrs. Anthony Smith
owned and operated guesthouses and cottages for African American visitors. And when the black church mission was established in Oak Bluffs by
Reverend Oscar Denniston
, his presence and congregation helped to anchor and solidify a year-round African American community. By the end of World War II, Oak Bluffs was firmly established among blacks as a beachfront retreat, a unique place where families could relax without fear.
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Corporate executive
William M. Lewis, Jr.,
shared what the Vineyard meant to his family,
“It's just a wonderful, wonderful time. And I happen to think that Martha's Vineyard itself is one of the best communities, if not, I'd say the best community I've ever been in as far as being a person of color. It is truly the only place I've ever been in, where you don't feel conscious of being a person of color, of being a family of color. And I've been to a lot of places, I've never had an experience like Martha's Vineyard.”
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[William M. Lewis, Jr., THMDA, 1.6.2]
.
Lewis echoed the sentiments of the early black visitors who established longstanding communities in the area.
The lore surrounding Inkwell beach in Oak Bluffs alone was enough to attract generations of visitors. It’s been theorized Harlem Renaissance writers, who found inspiration from the Atlantic waters, originated the term, mirroring the transformation of the once segregated white beach to a black haven.
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Choreographer and dancer
Marla Blakey
recalled director
Spike Lee’s
first reaction to Inkwell beach, “A
nd then Spike saw the Inkwell and saw what was happening here, and you know, boom, two seconds later, he's got a house here. That was a really, really interesting time.”
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[Marla Blakey, THMDA 1.4.7]
.
Separate from the area’s popular culture and appeal is the organizational effort of the community. The Martha’s Vineyard branch of the NAACP was established in 1963, just after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Association branch executive
Carrie Camillo Tankard
recounted the events that led to its founding, when five women took it upon themselves to travel from the island to Williston, North Carolina to help register voters and to support the community:
“And a group of them called the Vineyard Five, there was five women on the Vineyard who decided that they weren't gonna just send this stuff, they were gonna take it to make sure it got to the right people and they went to Williston and were actually jailed because they sat in on a demonstration at a Sears [Sears, Roebuck and Co.] store who would not hire blacks and they were all arrested and put in jail. And their husbands went to Williston to get them and after that they started, they would meet in churches and different places and decided they really do need the NAACP and it was formed with Toby Dorsey, as interim president. And, from there on we started having a NAACP.
”
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[Carrie Camillo Tankard, THMDA 1.4.1]
.
For generations, Inkwell and Oak Bluffs have been gathering places for some of the most prominent black civil rights activists, lawyers, politicians and entertainers, who have made it a place of their own, for their families, traditions and rich cultural history.
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The True Story of Detective Ron Stallworth
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Today,
Spike Lee's
newest film, '
BlacKkKlansman
,' premieres nationwide. The premiere coincides with the first anniversary of the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Based on the true story of Colorado Springs' first black detective,
Ron Stallworth
, the film follows his and a white officer's infiltration into the local chapter of the KKK.
During the seven month investigation, spanning the years of 1978 and 1979, Stallworth was able to gain the confidence of KKK Grand Wizard David Duke and through him, glean information on upcoming KKK activities. The investigation led to the prevention of three cross burnings and stopped a plan by Klan members to bomb two gay bars in Denver.
This movie is both relevant and symbolic. As Stallworth himself said, "P
eople need to realize this is a threat to the very fabric of American society
."
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The HistoryMakers on Martha's Vineyard
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Above: Last year's reception on Martha's Vineyard
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Over the next two weeks, The HistoryMakers will be calling Martha's Vineyard home as we head to the island for our second annual retreat. During the trip, The HistoryMakers' staff will be conducting twenty-nine interviews while Founder and President,
Julieanna L. Richardson
, will also be hosting several events on the island.
On Sunday, August 12th, in partnership with Toyota, The HistoryMakers will host a panel discussion at Lola's Restaurant on '
The History of Blacks in Business: Untold Stories
.' Burrell Communications Group Chairman Emeritus,
Thomas Burrell
,
and Boston Consulting Group Senior Advisor,
James Lowry,
will provide insightful commentary to kick the program off. Host of Black Enterprise magazine’s BE Business Report,
Caroline Clarke,
will moderate the panel which will feature guests, Managing Director and CEO of Grain Management,
David Grain
, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Fairview Capital,
Laurence Morese
, Senior Advisor to Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors),
Virgis Colbert,
and Chief Administrative Officer of the Environmental Defense Fund,
Jessica Isaacs
.
On Tuesday, August 14th, at the new location of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, a call to action will be issued by Ms. Richardson and her guest,
Dr. Carla Hayden
, the fourteenth Librarian of Congress. Richardson and Hayden will address the paucity of the African American presence in U.S. repositories nationwide. In attendance will be some of the nation’s most prominent archives, who will help in highlighting these issues and their potential role in correcting them.
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THE HISTORYMAKERS' FAVORITE QUOTES:
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"Whatever you do, strive to do it so well that no man living and no man dead and no man yet to be born could do it better."
-
Ralph Bernard Everett
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3. Myra B. Young Armstead, “Revisiting Hotels and Other Lodgings: American Tourist Spaces through the Lens of Black Pleasure-Travelers, 1880-1950,”
The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts
25, (2005): 143.
4. William M. Lewis, Jr. (The HistoryMakers A2007.084), interviewed by Shawn Wilson, March 12, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 6, story 2, William M. Lewis, Jr. describes family vacations in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
6. Marla Blakey (The HistoryMakers A2005.191), interviewed by Robert Hayden, August 9, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 7, Marla Blakey remembers her production of Ntozake Shange's "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf.”
7. Carrie Camillo Tankard (The HistoryMakers A2005.145), interviewed by Robert Hayden, June 22, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 1, Carrie Camillo Tankard recounts how the Martha's Vineyard NAACP chapter formed.
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