Oak Bluffs Town Column: Week Ending March 20

As we transition from Black history month to women’s history month I am frequently reminded of the Fabulous Five from West Tisbury. Their determination to activate participatory democracy began on Nov. 22, 1963 when our own President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Everyone remembers where they were the day he was shot. I was a freshman at Richmond Hill High School in Queens, N.Y. headed to a basketball game against Flushing High School. Needless to say the game was canceled amid the national turmoil.

But on the Island something historic was a foot. A group of Vineyarders decided to establish a local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Among the founders were three women from West Tisbury: Nancy Hodgson Whiting, the West Tisbury librarian and tax collector, her best friend, television writer Virginia Mazar, and Polly Murphy, a housewife. Among the early activities of the branch was to organize a clothing and food collection drive for people in Williamston, N.C.

Some Vineyarders had previously established a connection with the community of Black residents of this southern town. Once the food and clothing was accumulated over the winter, there was a need to drive them to North Carolina that spring. The three West Tisbury ladies volunteered to make the drive and recruited Nancy Smith, Polly’s sister, and Margaret (Peg) Lillenthal. The drive was daring enough, but then they decided to register people to vote. This brave idea was a bust because people did not trust five white women with northern accents knocking on their door to discuss anything! Still anxious to do more in the name of justice and racial equality, they decided to join a protest outside of Sears, Roebuck and Co. The protest lasted a very short period of time before they were arrested and jailed. After spending one night in jail they were bailed out and drove back to the Vineyard.

The persistent courage displayed by these women was remarkable. They literally risked life and limb to do something about segregation and racism in a small town in North Carolina. They got out of the comfort of their daily lives on the Vineyard to do something! Their safe return was by no means assured. I will never forget the fate of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and James Cheney who were murdered in 1964 by the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Miss. while registering Blacks to vote. That was just one year after the Vineyard trip to North Carolina. Just one year.

Our nation is at a crossroads this month facing issues of voter registration, redistricting, health and food inequality, the right of free speech and to protest and so much more. We thought these issues were long ago settled. Not so! I look to the example of these courageous women from West Tisbury to provide guidance for action in our day and time. In the same spirit we should applaud the many in Minneapolis who stormed the streets and demanded that ICE leave their state, after ICE agents murdered two law abiding citizens. Neither the governor of Minnesota nor the mayor of Minneapolis could force the withdrawal of ICE from their midst. It was the determined action of ordinary citizens that brought them to their knees.

There are many women from Martha’s Vineyard who continue to lead, work, innovate, volunteer and do the things that not only ensure that we have a vibrant life but also extend compassion, resources, hope and a path forward for those less fortunate than themselves. I salute Elaine Weintraub and Carrie Tankard founders of the African American Heritage Trail, Allyson Malik, director of the Oak Bluffs Library, Patricia Bush president of The Cottagers, Kathleen McGhee/Liz Posen/Jennifer Smith Turner whose pen and brush entertains us all, Kharma Finley for all things communication, Caroline Hunter chief Polar Bear, Nevette Previd, Sissy Biggers and Debi Crews from the Preservation Trust, Kahina VanDyke for all things hospitality, Caroline Pam and Noli Taylor at Island Food Pantry, Dr. Thelma Johnson for her legacy at the Association for the Study of African Life and History, Karen Holmes Ward of the Charles Ogletree Public Forums, Zita Cousens, Valerie Francis and Ann Smith for all things art, Claire Seguin at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Heather Seger at the MV Museum, Monica Brady-Myerov publisher of the Vineyard Gazette, and Jennifer Vogel at Vineyard House.

And I salute the female unsung heroes who go nameless and faceless but keep our democracy alive.

Finally, I thank Rev. Aliya Browne of Union Chapel and Rev. Cathlin Baker of First Congregational Church of West Tisbury who pray unceasingly for all the people and activities on our magical Island.

Paradise on earth is living the Vineyard experience. Enjoy it as life is fleeting.

Rest in Peace, Randall Edward Taylor.

This article appears in March 20, 2026.