BETTYE FOSTER BAKER

508-696-9983

(bdrbaker@comcast.net)

It occurred to me, seated in Season’s Restaurant this past week, that I had a window on the world, looking out on Circuit avenue in the same sense as the former Twin Towers restaurant in Manhattan with the same name, but on a smaller scale, which overlooked the most exciting and extraordinary city in the world and remains in the national memory as a great tragedy. I saw a place where people from many countries, cities and towns across America come to be themselves, who speak different languages, who literally rub elbows on our crowded Circuit avenue with those from very different cultures from themselves, to be part of some improbably scheme of conscious contentment if only for a few days or weeks; in a place where our President Obama, and President Grant, who came in 1870, and President Clinton, who came in the 1990’s felt at home. It is comfortable here and perhaps that is the reason they came.

As I looked out the window at bikers and walkers and folks driving fancy convertibles, I couldn’t help but wonder if our President and his girls might be able to jump on bikes and ride down a lonesome road; if they might go clamming up-Island on Menemsha Pond, attend the fireworks in Oak Bluffs; or if they might visit Cottagers’ Corner on Pequot avenue in Oak Bluffs, the clubhouse of the oldest African American philanthropic organization on the Island (54 years), or Union Chapel as did President Clinton. We would welcome a visit.

The stream of people passed the window on foot, bike and car, from many cultures dressed in the simple to the outrageous, old and young wearing free and easy hair styles and braids, their eyes searching, faces filled with anticipation, some holding hands. Many decisions were being made — where to eat, to buy that special souvenir or gift, whether to go to the beach — it was all in their facial expressions, a look we know all too well when there is much to do and so little time to do it in.

Kathy Taylor, associate vice president for Road Scholar, an educational travel group, hosted a reception on Tuesday at the Historic Shearer Cottage in Oak Bluffs in honor of L. Douglas Wilder, former Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 1990 to 1994 and the first African American to be elected governor in the United States. Mr. Wilder discussed his book Claiming the Dream: The Political Journey of L. Douglas Wilder. Mr. Wilder has had a distinguished career in public service for 40 years. At present, Mr. Wilder is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

“You can fly,” is the signature signing statement of one of America’s premier artists, Faith Ringgold. She writes this assurance every time she signs one of her adult or children’s books, and in every quilt she creates there are people flying. As the children pushed their purchased books toward her for signing — Tar Beach, Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists, Cassie’s Word Quilt, and If Buses Could Talk — at L’Élegance Gallery in Oak Bluffs this past Saturday, their eyes were filled with a certain pleasure recognizing that this was someone whose imagination was wild as their own. It was a fascinating thing for me to see.

In her 1980 autobiography she wrote, “We flew over the bridge.” What does that mean? Flying as a metaphor for believing in oneself, a winged message that there is a flight to success and one can take it, is testimony to a lifetime of dedication to her craft and the people whom she depicts in cities and towns, in happiness and historical misery, never denied, but overcome by transcending, by setting ones sights above the radar of discrimination and discouragement. This is her message of art and in her words, “To be shared.”

This past week I met some powerful women who also fly in metaphor. Their luncheon host, Linda Early Chastang, a powerhouse in her own right as congressional liaison to Homeland Security, entertained a delightful mix of guests and delicious fare. Her guests included Judge Michelle Capers Hollar-Gregory, of West Orange, N.J., and her daughter in law, Hemilyn Vicente Hollar-Gregory, of Jersey City, N.J.; Camille Riggs Mosley and her sister in law, Brenda Mosley, of Washington, D.C.; Lynn McKinley Grant, of Washington, D.C.; Stephanie Gibson Branton, of Little Rock, Ark., her sister, attorney Dorothy Gibson Capers, of Chicago, Ill., and her mother, Carolyn Gibson, of Olympia Falls, Ill.; attorney Janet Baker Walker, of Washington, D.C., Janet Hailes, of Washington, D.C., Sharon Giles Alexander, of Roseland, N.J., Malva Reid, of Washington, D.C., Nancy Boxill, of Atlanta, Ga., and attorney Judith Browne Dianis, Washington, D.C. Judith is executive director of the Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization that has made tremendous strides in the voter education and protection arena. Lynn McKinley-Grant, a dermatologist is author of essential dermatology in pigmented skin. Attorney Dorothy Gibson Capers and her husband are the producers of the Martha’s Vineyard Comedy Festival. Nancy served as a Fulton County commissioner for almost 20 years.  Stephanie, Chastang’s longtime friend, is the daughter in law of noted civil rights attorney and former dean of the Howard University law school, Wiley A. Branton.  

These women somehow got the message early that they could fly, if not from Ms. Ringgold, than from their mothers or fathers, their aunts, uncles or grandparents. But on this afternoon, these women had cut their propulsion systems and were gliding into an afternoon of great conversation and Vineyard hospitality for which the High Season is noted on a perfect summer afternoon with just the right amount of sun, wind and delicious food and drink. The host’s intent was to make the afternoon one of warmth, welcoming, informal, comfortable and fun. She succeeded admirably.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s. son, Martin Luther King 3rd, ambassador Andrew Young, Vernon Jordan, former Virginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, a stellar group of supporters of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, based in Atlanta, Ga., were all on the Island at the Sailing Camp to lend their support to the newly-created National Center for Civil and Human Rights, based in Atlanta. Center director Doug Shipman shared the vision of this exciting project and its progress in the creation of an organization which will focus entirely on telling the story of civil and human rights issues and instructing and inspiring the nation’s youth to address them. The celebrated playwright and two-time Tony Award winner George C. Wolfe, creative director of the center, was on hand to describe why and how the project will engage young people in telling the civil rights and human rights stories in defiance of boundaries. A 90,000-square foot facility adjacent to the New World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta will be built to house special exhibits, speakers and gatherings consistent with the vision.

Each summer we look forward to one of the most outstanding golf tournaments on the Island, the 13th Annual Ken Williams Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament. It will be held on Sunday, August 21, at 8 a.m. at Mink Meadows Golf Club in Vineyard Haven. Golfers can register in advance by visiting kenwilliamsgolf.eventbrite.com, e-mailing the organization at kwmsfund@aol.com, or by stopping by the pro shop at Mink Meadows. Professor Charles Ogletree of the Harvard Law School will be the celebrity golfer. Lisette Williams, fund president, is excited that several key relatives will be in attendance: Michael Hunter, her uncle, and her 96-year-old grandmother, Mrs. Marion (Mamou) Hunter, a long-term Polar Bear, who will be traveling to the Island from New Orleans, La. to provide family support at the tournament.

On Tuesday, August 23, from 4 to 6 p.m, the Martha’s Vineyard Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALAH) will host their 2nd annual Vineyard Men Who Cook fundraiser at the high school. Donation is $25 per person. Advance tickets may be purchased at Cousen Rose Gallery, C’ést LaVie and L’Élegance in Oak Bluffs. President Bob Hayden suggests you take a break from the kitchen and come out to sample specialty dishes and desserts prepared by male chefs from all over the country. Contact Roger Morris at 508-693-3181 for additional information

Don’t miss the story and guided painting workshop with Bettie Eubanks at the Oak Bluffs Library on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Preregistration is required and children must be able to be on their own.

The Rev. Dr. Amos C. Brown, senior pastor of Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, Calif. will speak at Union Chapel this Sunday. The service is preceded by organ preludes by Garrett Brown at 9:40 a.m. Union Chapel is located at the foot of Kennebec and Circuit avenues in Oak Bluffs. It is nondenominational and welcomes all to participate.

Also on Sunday at the Tabernacle, Rev. Tim Safford, of Christ Church, Philadelphia, Pa. will be the guest preacher. All are welcome.

The Very Rev. John P. (Jep) Streit will be celebrant Sunday, at 9 a.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church. Reverend Streit is Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Boston where he is well-known for his outreach and inclusiveness among Boston’s diverse ethnic and religious communities. Trinity Episcopal Church is located across from the Steamship Authority in Oak Bluffs. Summer services are at 9 a.m. and all are welcome.

It’s almost football season and the junior high cheerleading program is open for sign-ups! The program promotes leadership, team building, community service, and dance, school spirit, conditioning and cheering of course! The program is open to girls or boys in grades 6 to 8. If you would like more information or want to sign up your daughter or son, pleasecall Sue Costello at 508-627-9568 or e-mail her at Costellofamilymv@comcast.n et.

Renaissance House has two openings for their writer residence program for the weeks of Sept. 4 and 18. Anyone interested should e-mail Abby McGrath at Mcgrathabby@aol.com.

The Howard University Alumni Association, in conjunction with the Howard University Law Alumni Association will host a weekend of networking and professional development from August 24 to 28. On Wednesday morning, August 24 at 7 a.m. join them for a meet and greet with the Polar Bears at the Inkwell. From 7 to 10 p.m., the Wine and Cheese Art Show will take place at 2 Narrangansett avenue, sponsored by the Bouchet Jackson firm and the law offices of Margot Bouchet. The event will feature the photography of Howard Alum Eddie Fontno and Harry Seymour. On August 25, at 8 a.m. there will be a golf tournament at Farm Neck Golf Club and a tennis tournament at 9:30 a.m. at the Island Tennis Club.