African American History
January 13, 2017
Black Whaling Captains Found Liberty at Sea
Of the 2,500 masters who captained whaling ships during three centuries of whaling, at least 63 were men of color, five with Martha’s Vineyard ties, Skip Finley told a rapt audience Wednesday night.
September 22, 2016
Smithsonian Exhibit Gives Pride of Place to Oak Bluffs
The Smithsonian Institution's new National Museum of African American Culture and History documents the story of the African American community in Oak Bluffs.
August 22, 2016
In Heated Election Year, Views on Race Stir Hutchins Forum
The Republican party, Donald Trump and the media all came under fire in this year’s Hutchins Forum, in the midst of what will surely be remembered as one of the most consequential presidential elections in modern time.
August 2, 2016
The Cottagers: Sixty Years of Community and Philanthrophy
For the past 60 years, women of the Cottagers Inc. have answered the question, what does it mean to serve community?
August 2, 2016
Looking at African American History on Martha's Vineyard Through Real Estate Lens
Richard Taylor's new book, Martha’s Vineyard: Race, Property, and the Power of Place, traces the story of the African American community on the Vineyard.
July 21, 2016
Ladies Who Own
From the Cottagers’ Corner column in the July 1969 editions of the Vineyard Gazette by Dorothy West.
July 14, 2016
At Film Screening, Professor Gates Opens Conversation About Race
Union Chapel was packed for Henry Louis (Skip) Gates Jr.'s film about African Americans over the past five decades. His talk later was part college lecture, part humorous observation, part nostalgic Vineyard experience.
July 11, 2016
Hundreds Gather at Inkwell Beach for a Vigil of Peace and Solidarity
The sound of crashing waves mixed with prayer and music Monday morning as upwards of 200 people gathered at Inkwell Beach in the wake of police shootings and racial violence around the country.
July 11, 2016
Vineyard DAR Regent Marks New Milestone for Old Organization
Last week Doris Clark of Vineyard Haven became the first African American to lead the Martha’s Vineyard Seacoast Defense chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
September 13, 2015
Charlayne Hunter-Gault Continues the Conversation About Race
Three years ago, with a grant from the Ford Foundation, Charlayne Hunter-Gault began speaking with experts around the country who could shed light on the problem of racism in America. Race Matters, a new PBS NewsHour series that grew out of her efforts since 2012, premiered last Tuesday.
