African American History

September 2, 1927

Interesting Vineyarders: Rev. Oscar E. Denniston

Vineyard Gazette
The student of Vineyard history, at least such history as has been published, will recognize the fact that it was largely through the clergy that things were accomplished during the first hundred
African American History
Oscar E Denniston
Bradley Memorial Church
Denniston House
Profiles

1997

September 2, 1997

Author Dorothy West Is Celebrated at 90

Yvonne Guzman
African American History
Dorothy West
Dorothy West, the great African-American writer who turned 90 this summer, was the guest of honor at a spectacular birthday party Friday afternoon inside the Union Chapel. Well over 500 people gathered, including First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
 
Miss West, a 50-year resident of Oak Bluffs, is the author of many short stories and two novels, and she is the sole remaining member of the Harlem Renaissance. At Friday’s party, she was thanked for her work by an impressive list of officials.
 
September 2, 1997

Panel on Race Defines Issues

Yvonne Guzman
Hutchins Forum
Civil rights
African American History
Racism
The opinions were as varied as they were emphatic: There have been great opportunities lost in the area of civil rights. Poverty affects 43 per cent of all black children in the United States, the same proportion as it did the year Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Still, African-American people are better off than ever before, and a recent poll showed that most are, in fact, content.
 
September 2, 1997

Ceremonies at Shearer Cottage Dedicate Historic Site on African American Trail

Ethan Kelley
African American History
African American Heritage Trail
Shearer Cottage
Shearer Cottage in Oak Bluffs was the first inn on Martha’s Vineyard, and among the first in the nation, to be owned by and cater to black people. It now has been dedicated to the man for who founded the inn, and is a key stop on the Vineyard’s Heritage Trail.
 
Named for Charles Shearer, the cottage is the culmination of this man’s journey to prosperity.
 
April 11, 1997

Simon Family Aided Baseball Barrier Buster

Jason Gay
African American History
Jackie Robinson
Baseball
Sports
This is the unusual story of the unlikely relationship between the families of Vineyard photographer Peter Simon, his rock ’n’ roll star sister, Carly, and baseball pioneer Jackie Robinson.
 
The tale begins in 1955, when the fleet-footed Mr. Robinson — the first African-American Major League baseball player in history — was leading the Brooklyn Dodgers to their first World Series title. 
 

1996

February 23, 1996

Heritage Trail: Island Project Shows Story of Black History

Yvonne Guzman
African American History
African American Heritage Trail
Shearer Cottage
In the Waterview Farm area of Oak Bluffs is a boulder as tall as a man. Back in the 1790s, the Rev. John Saunders de­livered his sermons here, from atop “Pulpit Rock.” Mr. Saunders, who was African-American, was one of the first people to preach Methodism on Martha’s Vineyard.
 
But for anyone who doesn’t know the story, this is just a rock in an Oak Bluffs subdiyision. In fact, many sites, though significant to the Vineyard’s African-American history, sit un­marked.
 
Today, some Island people want to change that.
 

1992

September 29, 1992

Robert Tankard Named As the Interim Principal At West Tisbury School

Julia Wells
African American History
The West Tisbury school committee voted last night to appoint Robert A. Tankard as interim principal at the West Tisbury School, ending with smiles and expressions of success a search process which began just three weeks ago.
 
“I think you got a good man,” said Pat Gregory, a West Tisbury resident who served on an advisory panel made up of teachers, parents and other com­munity representatives. The school committee vote was unanimous and followed the recommendation of the advisory panel.
 

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