African American History

February 21, 1992

Island Life and Early History of the NAACP: Two Women Share Threads of Reminiscence

W. C. Platt
In the 1920s and ’30s, black families could not buy property in Edgartown.
African American History
Martha's Vineyard NAACP
Civil rights
Race and social justice
September 4, 1992

Gordon Parks: Artist Talks of His Life And Works

Mark Alan Lovewell
Life Magazine photographer Gordon Parks gave a talk at the Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs on Wednesday night. For the Vineyard it was  a first.
African American History
Gordon Parks
Photography
Artists
September 29, 1992

Robert Tankard Named As the Interim Principal At West Tisbury School

Julia Wells
The West Tisbury school committee voted last night to appoint Robert A.
African American History
February 23, 1996

Heritage Trail: Island Project Shows Story of Black History

Yvonne Guzman
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.
African American History
African American Heritage Trail
Shearer Cottage
April 11, 1997

Simon Family Aided Baseball Barrier Buster

Jason Gay
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.
African American History
Jackie Robinson
Baseball
Sports
September 2, 1997

Ceremonies at Shearer Cottage Dedicate Historic Site on African American Trail

Ethan Kelley
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.
African American History
African American Heritage Trail
Shearer Cottage
September 2, 1997

Panel on Race Defines Issues

Yvonne Guzman
The opinions were as varied as they were emphatic: There have been great opportunities lost in the area of civil rights.
Hutchins Forum
Civil rights
African American History
Racism
September 2, 1997

Author Dorothy West Is Celebrated at 90

Yvonne Guzman
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.
African American History
Dorothy West
January 30, 1998

Old Cemetery Suggests Keys To Island Past

Marcus McGraw
Hidden under scrub oak, among beer bottles, rusty lobster pots and piles of clam shells is a cemetery of forgotten souls.
African American History
Eastville
Cemeteries
August 29, 2003
Joseph Carter with Isabel Powell

Adding History to Island’s Heritage Trail: Sunday Gathering Held in Honor of Isabel Powell

Elaine Weintraub
Some 250 people gathered Sunday on a glorious late-summer day to honor Ms. Isabel Powell, the matriarch of the Powell family, and the memory of Cong. Adam Clayton Powell Jr.
African American Heritage Trail
August 27, 2004

Forum on Race Relations Draws Full-House Crowd Into Old Whaling Church

C.K. Wolfson
With whispers that a hundred more were waiting outside, they filled the hall, charged with the anticipation of hearing the charismatic new voice of the Democratic Party, United States Senatorial candidate from Illinois, Barack Obama, and listening as a panel of luminaries offered their views on Brown vs. Board of Education: Mission Accomplished?
Barack Obama
African American History
Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice
Presidential Visits
August 9, 2007

Polar Bears: Early Morning Ritual Marked by Acceptance

Bettye Foster Baker
When we think of the Polar Bears of Martha's Vineyard we think of tradition, acceptance,friendship, and now transition.
African American History
Polar Bears

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