Gratitude and Thanksgiving for the life of Margaret Lee Price Willams, longtime Oak Bluffs resident, as friends and colleagues said goodbye to her in a service at Union Chapel on June 11. Her life was shaped by her service to Union Chapel, the Polar Bears and the Oak Bluffs Council on the Aging.
She was a graduate of Hampton University and Howard University Law School. Speakers included former Judge Margaret Burnham, Dr. Constance Batty, Eric Blake, Caroline Hunter and her dear friend Marilyn Holyfield. All extended their appreciation to Marilyn for organizing this wonderful tribute.
A great deal of planning for the 2026 Juneteenth Celebration has yielded a full weekend of activities. There will be forums on the 250th Celebration of America and its meaning to people of color, a film called Black Patriots: Heroes of the Revolution. Both events take place at Union Chapel on June 19.
On Saturday there will be plenty of family activities at the Oak Bluff Library, including the announcement of the Marie B. Allen arts contest winners. Sunday morning services at 10 a.m. will be led by Rev. Willie Brodrick, senior pastor at historic Twelfth Baptist Church. Reverend Brodrick has been proclaimed by Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson as one of the most gifted young preachers in America. Later in the day there will be a gospel brunch at the Edgartown Yacht Club.
Also on June 20, curator Marie Firmin will be hosting a program on oral history and research from the African American history archives with Gina Norton Smith. There will also be panel with Sen. Liz Miranda, Michael Munn of Meet Boston and Hilina Ajakaiye of the National Coalition of Black Media Professionals. The evening will close with a retrospective on Billie Holiday. This promises to be a lost packed day.
Come out Juneteenth Weekend, celebrate Freedom Day and meet people and reflect on the state of America.
Paradise on earth is living the Vineyard experience. Enjoy it as time is fleeting.
Rest in Peace, Randall Edward Taylor
This article appears in June 12, 2026.