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History & Culture
The African Diaspora
by Sangeet Grace Lynis
© Copyright 1999
by Lynis Brown. All rights reserved.
Di·as'·po·ra: a dispersion of an originally homogeneous people from their ancestral homeland.
African Diaspora Vineyarders have always been an enterprising group of people, both on-Island or off. From the earliest recordings of the Island’s history, the African Diaspora presence on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard has been documented as an industrious one that has contributed greatly to the Island’s art, economic, political, and religious communities. Located off the southeastern coast of Massachusetts, the "Community of Color" on the triangularly shaped Island of Martha’s Vineyard reflects the full spectrum of Africa’s vast Diaspora.
Beginning in the late 1600s, documentation shows that enslaved servants, originally from the many countries on the West African coast, worked the land and tended the farms of some of the Island’s oldest properties. Hence the beginnings of an African American history that parallels that of the recorded Colonial Island history, beginning at around the same time. This knowledge further supports the suggestion that African American history in New England parallels the Mayflower Era.
The ancestry of Vineyarders of color spans the globe, extending through the United States to the Caribbean, the Cape Verde Islands, Asia, South America, and Europe. This flavorful mix marvelously represents the various hues of a fascinating mosaic—similar to Nature’s display at the majestic clay cliffs of Aquinnah. Today, at the advent of the 21st century, the Island’s business, art, and religious communities are still greatly influenced by the Island’s citizens of African descent. Sharing a common link to the Middle Atlantic crossings and the continent of Africa, the uniting of the African Diaspora here on-Island has made for an especially unique and culturally fulfilling Vineyard experience. Martha’s Vineyard is proud that frequent visitors and first-time guests seek the solace of its welcoming embrace annually.
The Early Years
For well over two hundred years the Island has acted
as a safe haven for people of African descent. One of
the earliest mentions of African home ownership
on-Island was in the 1763 will of a Wampanoag man
named Elisha Amos. The will, 1/272 Dukes County
Probate, provides that his "beloved wife
Rebecca" receive livestock and his house for as
long as she lived. Rebecca Amos was an enslaved woman
originally from Guinea, West Africa, who survived the
cruel journey of the Middle Atlantic Passage. The
described house was located about five miles from the
farm of her enslaver, Colonel Cornelius Bassett, in
Chilmark, where she co-resided until she presumably
regained freedom upon his death in 1779. The abolition
of slavery in 1783 and the egalitarian nature of the
whaling industry have made Martha’s Vineyard a
nurturing place where people of color have owned land
and successfully built strong, supportive, and closely
knit African Diaspora communities.
The maritime industries had a profound and bolstering effect on budding African American communities along the eastern seacoast, especially here on Martha’s Vineyard. Well before contact with European enslavers and the commencement of the Middle Atlantic Passage, adept skills in the various seafaring trades were possessed by African men native to the many countries bordering the Atlantic Ocean and its tributaries along the West African coast. Naturally, enslaved and freedmen of African descent played an important role in the profitable maritime industry. The industry’s demanding nature required that positions were filled by qualified men, without regard for ancestry or color.
During the 1800s seafaring was one of the few ways for African American men to eke out a living during a socially and politically inhospitable era. Entry into most other industries was severely prohibited. Due to the political powerlessness experienced in the oppressive political and social climate of the early 1800s, James Williamson, "a Negro man" who owned seventeen acres of "upland" in Martha’s Vineyard’s Christiantown, shipped aboard a whaler in 1828, as a means to raise much-needed cash. The first whaling captain of African descent on Martha’s Vineyard was born in Edgartown in July, 1830: Captain William A. Martin was the son of Rebecca Michael, the daughter of Nancy Michael and granddaughter of Rebecca Amos. Captain Martin was a highly regarded and respected Edgartown whaler. He mastered many successful whaling voyages and his career spanned in excess of forty years, with journeys on all of the earth’s oceans.
In 1789, John Saunders, a freed man from Virginia, came to the Island and preached one the first sermons of Methodist teachings "to the people of color in Eastville" at Pulpit’s Rock, in present-day Oak Bluffs.
Over forty years later, in 1834, the first Methodist Campground Meetings were held under a tent at the location of what is known today as the Tabernacle. Enthralled with the spirit of God and the plethora of natural beauty found on the Island, church congregants returned yearly for spiritual uplifting and rest. The Methodist Campground Meetings were the catalyst that transformed the Island from a simple farming community into an internationally known seaside resort.
Post-Civil War
With the passing of the Civil War and the arrival of
the Reconstruction Era in the 1870s and 1880s, the
mass development of African Diaspora communities took
place nationally. At that time, many people of African
descent came to the Island to work and contribute to
the Island’s growing tourism economy. Several families
of the Island’s current African Diaspora community
have ancestors who came to the young town of Oak
Bluffs during the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
in pursuit of the Island’s well-regarded natural
beauty, religious fervor, and opportunities for
financial independence.
The secession of Oak Bluffs from Edgartown would become the first time the African Diaspora community played a critical role in Island politics. The 1879 Eastville and Farm Neck secession vote was heavily swayed by the "colored votes." People in Edgartown attributed the loss of these territories to the votes of "people of color."
Phoebe Ballou, Reverend Oscar Denniston, George W. Frye, Charles Shearer, Sarah Wentworth, Rachel West, and Ambler Wormley are just a few members of that era’s year-round and summer African Diaspora community that act as guiding ancestral leaders for African Diaspora Vineyarders today. To this day, the benefits of their steadfastness are still being reaped by both related and unrelated benefactors throughout the Island community. These forebears have provided strong proverbial shoulders for people of African descent to stand on, with much dignity and pride.
Today and Tomorrow
For over three hundred years this community has
enjoyed a fruitful and permanent presence here on
Martha’s Vineyard. The Island’s African Diaspora
experience has contributed significantly to the
Island’s overall stability and to the global African
Diaspora community as a whole.
Diaspora pioneers, their descendants, and numerous others have greatly influenced the artistic, economic, political, social, and spiritual fabric of this far-reaching community. In the Island’s business community in the year 2001, the African Diaspora influence is present in all six Island towns and in many forms of commerce. Business enterprises that are conducted on-Island include tourism, philanthropy, information technology, hospitality, retail, entertainment, public service, agriculture, and the arts.
Diligently providing vital services and professional expertise to the community at large, African American Vineyarders strive to conduct business with foresight and style. In celebration of African Diaspora Island history and its vast contributions, members of the enterprising African Diaspora community look towards the future of this island with promise.
Learning more information about the fascinating African Diaspora history of Martha's Vineyard can be done via armchair travel or with a visit to the Island.
Much has been published about the Island. Varied, informative, and entertaining, books can be enjoyed anywhere.
Informative Reading
African American Heritage Trail of
Martha’s Vineyard
by Elaine Weintraub and Carrie Tankard
African Americans on Martha’s Vineyard: A
Special Edition of the Dukes County Intelligencer,
August 1991
edited by Arthur Railton
African Americans on Martha’s Vineyard
& Nantucket: A history of people, places and
events
by Karen E. Hayden and Robert C. Hayden
Between Race and Ethnicity: Cape Verdean
American Immigrants
by Marilyn Halter
Black Jacks: African American Seaman in the Age
of Sail
by Jeffrey Bolster
The Life and Art of Lois Mailou Jones
by Tritobia Hayes Benjamin
Vineyard Voices: Faces and Voices of Island
People
by The Vineyard Oral History Center of the
M.V. Historical Society
The Wedding
by Dorothy West
Poignant Visits
Visits to various Island communities can be
historically rewarding and spiritually
inspiring. Armed with interesting knowledge about and
specific references to the African Diaspora presence
on Martha’s Vineyard, one can visit various places of
significance within African American history. Ordinary
places and homes that once bore witness to the earnest
efforts of African Diaspora men and women
participating in Island commerce dot the landscape
everywhere.
Valuable Resources
Depending on your desired level of adventure, there
are many choices for exploring the African Diaspora
presence on Martha’s Vineyard. Celebrate the
Vineyard’s African Diaspora heritage with stops
at local archives, or enjoy unique touring options.
Private library collections are excellent sources of
information on this rich history.
Arrange a visit to the Huntington Reference Library at the Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society (508-627-4441) and/or the Vineyard Gazette Archives (508-627-4311). Cinnamon Traveler All Island Cultural Tour 888-309-8099 shares highlights of the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard, contemporary venues, and local folklore.
Call ahead for details and schedules. Arrangements and bookings should be done in advance. The Island is a cultural heritage treasure trove: explore its many jewels!
