For Bethany Lynn Williams, Historically Black College and University (HBCU) Legacy Week on the Vineyard is the sweetest time of the year.

A former seasonal resident of Vineyard Haven and graduate of Central State University in Ohio, she looks forward to the opportunity each year to recapture the feeling of attending her HBCU — a time she says was one of the best of her life.

“I’ve always been passionate about the HBCU experience,” she said. “The camaraderie of people who looked like me, and people who were excited about education like me . . . it struck something in me.”

From July 29 to August 3, HBCU students, alumni, friends and family from all over the country will travel to the Vineyard for the seventh annual Legacy Week, a packed series of events where people affiliated with the 107 colleges and universities can connect, recharge and enjoy the Island.

For centuries, HBCUs have served as inclusive and supportive places for BIPOC students to earn an education. These schools were a lifeline for students of color prior to the Civil Rights Movement, and they continue to empower students of color.

At the Galaxy Gallery in Oak Bluffs. — Courtesy Sheryl Wesley

Legacy Week organizer and founder Sheryl Wesley said she assembles a robust schedule of events each year, including culinary adventures, networking opportunities and cultural experiences. The celebration is inspired by Bison on the Vineyard, a longtime multi-day gathering of Howard University students and alumni on the Island. Upon the invitation of Island DJ Chris Washington, Ms. Wesley started chairing Bison on the Vineyard before going on to originate Legacy Week.

Several businesses across the Island are participating, many of which are featured in the Island’s Black-Owned Business Directory. India Rose, who created the directory and owns Vineyard clothing stores Sideline and MV Streetwear Company, will be selling merchandise that caters to participating schools and Greek organizations.

Ms. Rose said Legacy Week is part of a much larger tradition on the Vineyard, in particular Oak Bluffs which has long been a center of Black life on the Island.

“[It’s] a comfortable place for people to come and be themselves . . . [and] see people who look like them, which is important,” she said. Curator, art consultant and Morgan State graduate Valerie A. Cooper will lead an Oak Bluffs art stroll during the week.

Ms. Cooper, who has been summering on the Vineyard for 20 years, said she and Ms. Wesley started collaborating in order to introduce fine arts as a central feature of Legacy Week. She has curated a two-hour exploration of local art spanning all mediums that features work from Galaxy Gallery, the Michael Blanchard photography gallery and the Mariposa Museum.

In addition to Legacy Week’s specific programming, Ms. Wesley encourages attendees to check out longstanding Island traditions, such as the African American Heritage Trail and the Polar Bears’ daily morning swim at Inkwell Beach.

“I tell people to go to Polar Bear swims and be baptized in the mornings,” she said.

Ms. Wesley said she is committed to nurturing Black spaces on the Island, and her work earned her a citation from the Commonwealth last summer.

“It’s not for monetary gain. It’s a passion project and that is the reward,” she said. “People do respect it and people are learning about it, and people are appreciating it.