They came as housekeepers, whalers and indentured servants in the 19th century: Black families who settled permanently on Martha’s Vineyard. Their hidden history is uncovered in a new book, “Black Homeownership on Martha’s Vineyard: A History,” by authors Thomas Dresser and Richard Taylor.
In the book, Dresser and Taylor trace the presence of Black Americans on the Vineyard back to pre-Revolutionary War, through the Underground Railroad and the Civil War, and into the 20th century and the Great Migration.
But some of the history detailed in the book was uncovered just in the last four years, including racist housing covenants in The Campground, the area known for the colorful “gingerbread” houses in Oak Bluffs. Learning this history was a catalyst for Dresser and Taylor.
“There’s sort of a fable atmosphere about The Campground,” Dresser said. “And to find out that nearly 30 families were basically evicted over the course of 15 years or so and then it was kept quiet for over a century … we said, ‘We’ve got to do something, we’ve got to investigate, we’ve got to understand this.’”
The book also includes histories of specific families, including the first Black whaling captain, the descendants of celebrated artist Lois Mailou Jones and novelist Dorothy West, the last writer of the Harlem Renaissance.
And as generations of Black families made their homes in Martha’s Vineyard, the island became a haven for Black people – a place where they could relax, take a dip in Inkwell Beach and enjoy island life.
“When African-Americans get off that boat, there is a sense of belonging and of community,” Taylor said. “We are not visitors here. And that has been a lot to do with the fact there has been property ownership for all these generations.”
Guests
- Thomas Dresser, author of several books on Martha’s Vineyard, former island tour guide and co-author of “Black Homeownership on Martha’s Vineyard: A History.”
- Richard Taylor, chairman of the Taylor-Smith Companies, founding director of the Center for Real Estate at Suffolk University, writer of the weekly Oak Bluffs Town column for the Vineyard Gazette newspaper and co-author of “Black Homeownership on Martha’s Vineyard: A History.”
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