Hammering Hank Aaron, baseball’s home run king, was invited to the Vineyard two years ago by Andrew Young, the former mayor of Atlanta. This year the baseball great and his wife, Billye, came back in style. The Aarons, Tom Morehead, Michael Melton and others flew from Atlanta to New York, chartered a yacht with a six-person crew and headed north, first stopping in Sag Harbor, Long Island for three days before heading to the Vineyard and docking in Vineyard Haven.

Long time vice president of Morehouse Medical College, Willie Clemons, his wife Leteria, Pat West, Ann and James Gavin, Nancy and Dennis Thompson and Walter and Juliette Pryor hosted a fabulous reception for the Aarons in Oak Bluffs. Judging from the folks in attendance, Hank has become an Island enthusiast. Billye reflected upon the iconic photo of the Polar Bears waving hands in the water given to the Aarons two years ago, symbolizing peace and harmony with nature and humankind that many regard as the Vineyard spirit. Welcome back, Hank, and don’t stay away too long.

The Aarons are not the only Island enthusiasts that are in Oak Bluffs right now. Ingrid and Monte Ford, of Dallas, Tex., built a new cottage in East Chop two years ago and have been renewing old friendships and making new ones since then. Both are graduates of Northeastern University in Boston and participated this weekend in their reunion activities on the Island. But last weekend they organized eight families from Dallas and Chicago to spend a week here and hosted a history overview of Oak Bluffs on their expansive deck. They are troubadours of the first order, so much so that two of the families have made offers on property this past week. The legacy continues!

On Saturday, former gubernatorial candidate of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, stood on the deck in Nashawena Park speaking on her initiative against voter suppression, not only in Georgia but across the nation. She was hosted by Elizabeth Davis and Luis Penalver, whose cottage was once owned by Sen. Ed Brooke’s family, bringing back memories of campaign rallies, strategy meetings and just plain fun with the personable and affable Brooke.

Abrams reminded the 75 in attendance that the 1975 Voting Rights Act represented a promise that the government would defend the right to vote for every citizen as the nation strove toward a more inclusive society, and that today through her political action committee Fair Fight, she is fighting to make that promise a reality. She was preceeded by national political fundraiser for women candidates, Barbara Lee, and introduced by Obama first-friend Valerie Jarrett. Many expect that sooner rather than later we will see Stacey back as a candidate for public office. She is thoughtful, analytical and a force waiting to take her seat in the annals of political power.

Voter suppression will also be the topic at Union Chapel on August 22 at 4 p.m., headlined by Cong. Ayanna Pressley of Boston and former Florida candidate for governor, Mayor Andrew Gillum. The full panel will discuss the electoral college, the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder, voter identification laws, the upcoming census, changing voting locations and so much more as we move quickly to the 2020 elections.

Speaking of campaigning and voting, Sen. Kamala Harris from California will be hosted by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis tonight, August 16, as she shares her views about the future of America.

This past Sunday, Prof. Henry Louis Gates, after refurbishing the historic lecturn and the sitting table on the stage at Union Chapel, came to his home church to put “names” on their surfaces. He dedicated the sitting table to his friend and colleague Prof. Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. She is also currently the national president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Chairman of the history department at Harvard University and a Vineyard resident. The lecture was dedicated to both Vernon Jordan and Charlayne Hunter Gault. They are linked inextricably to history, as Vernon was her lawyer when she was seeking admission to the University of Georgia in 1961. Federal judge W.A. Bootie ordered the immediate admission of Charlayne and the late Hamilton Holmes, after state officials denied their admission. The naming service took place before Chicago’s Rev. Otis Moss 3rd exhilarated those in the main, upper and lawn sanctuaries with his own unique style of speaking about Jesus and the seemingly disinherited.

The African American Film Festival was again spectacular, with raves about the Apollo Theater documentary as well as The Black Godfather documentary on Clarence Avant. The proud founders of the festival announced that films showing at their festival now qualify for Oscar consideration.

The weather these past few weeks has been perfect.

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

Send Oak Bluffs news to rtaylor@mvgazette.com.