Nearly 40 Vineyard residents sat snugly in the Vineyard Haven Library meeting room on Saturday afternoon, while Jack Schimmelman led an open and lively discussion on the legacy of slavery and abolitionism on Martha’s Vineyard.
Mr. Schimmelmann began the dialogue by asking, “How many of you knew that there was a Martha’s Vineyard slave market in the 18th and 19th centuries?” Just two participants raised their hands. “And how many of you knew Aquinnah was a stop on the Underground Railroad?” Mr. Schimmelmann asked. Again, only two people acknowledged knowing this history.
In preparing to produce a folk opera, entitled 1854, staging stories from the abolitionist movement on the Vineyard, Mr. Schimmelmann has been researching the legacy of slavery on the Island. He learned that an anti-slavery petition pre-dating the civil war was signed by prominent Edgartown families and sent to the Massachusetts legislature.
With written evidence of an institutionalized slave market on the one hand, and the Edgartown petition supporting abolition on the other, Mr. Schimmelmann became fascinated. “Out of my little head grew these images, encompassing diverse musical styles, such as slave song, sea shanties, Wampanoag music, and African rhythm…and so I am conducting research,” he explained. Mr. Schimmelmann said he hopes to hold more conversations, to discover as much as he can during the pre-production phase of his opera, which he expects to release in 2016.
Mirroring the rest of 19th century America, Vineyard residents of the 1850s were polarized on the institution of slavery in the United States. “This issue divided families,” Mr. Schimmelmann said. “I’m interested if you all think we still have this legacy (of racism) here today.” The question elicited quite a reaction from the audience. The ensuing two-hour discussion ranged from emotional personal histories, examples of disenfranchisement on and off Island, and a query following the historic impetus for slavery borne of economic and/or moral justifications.
Linsey Lee, the oral history curator at The Martha’s Vineyard Museum, was on hand to read an excerpt from her book More Vineyard Voices, recounting the heroic deeds of Charles Vanderhoop’s family in providing a stop along the Underground Railroad in Aquinnah.
Mr. Schimmelmann discussed the vital shelter provided by the Wampanoag in freeing slaves and protecting African-Americans under duress, and added that this story is at the forefront of his opera.
Mr. Schimmelmann concluded the open format discussion by saying, “All my life I’ve been inspired by the heroic journey of these people who were forcefully taken in chains, who then created a beautiful and original culture in a new land, and who should inspire all of humanity in times of struggle…. I want to tell our Island’s part of this story, so I thank you in coming to talk about these issues.”