In a sometimes tense, sometimes emotional debate, Oak Bluffs selectmen heard arguments for and against a request to remove plaques from a Civil War monument.
In the 1920s and ’30s, black families could not buy property in Edgartown. And although Oak Bluffs was a gathering place for black professionals back to the 19th century, their children, home from college, were seldom able to work as clerks in local shops.
When the civil rights movement spread across America in the 1960s, the Vineyard was separate in many ways. The black community here was prosperous and thriving, the regional high school was integrated and race relations were cordial.
For Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, coming to the Island from his home in Jackson, Miss., for a weeklong vacation this month was an easy choice.
As the result of interest shown at a meeting Monday night, the Island now has a chapter of its own of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The parish house of Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven was jam-packed Monday evening to hear Rev. Henry L. Bird talk about his experiences in Williamston, N. C., where he participated in a civil rights demonstration along with ten other New England ministers last month.
The Vineyard chapter honored the next generation of leaders at the 30th annual Martin Luther King Jr. event, held at the Portuguese-American Club Sunday.
On Sunday, as part of the 30th annual Martin Luther King Day membership event, the Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP will honor two high school students, Olivia Jacobs and Jared Livingston, for their service to the community.
The Martha’s Vineyard chapter of the NAACP hosts its annual celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 18, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Portuguese-American Club in Oak Bluffs.
