Jacqueline Hunt, an icon of the Oak Bluffs community, died on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at noon. She knew the community history, and she lived it. She leaves a void that will never be filled. During her 92 years on this earth, she touched the lives of so many. A fearless advocate for racial justice, she served as a longtime president of the Vineyard chapter of the NAACP, and throughout her life she was always a voice raised for justice.
Jacqueline, known as Jakki, Hunt came to Martha’s Vineyard every summer as a child, but hers was not the summer of tennis lessons and beach parties. She came with her grandmother, Louise Jackson, to work. Louise was one of the African American women celebrated on the Martha’s Vineyard African American Heritage Trail for her role as a “landlady.” These hard-working women made it possible for people of color to stay in Oak Bluffs and to build community.
Hunt’s earliest memory of those summers was helping to prepare the rooms for the summer guests. She liked to recollect that on one of the rare days she was enjoying time on Inkwell Beach, a group of boys were teasing her while she was cautiously exploring the water. She was rescued by Emma Maitland, the world lightweight female boxing champion, whose life, like Jakki’s, is celebrated on the African American Heritage Trail. Ms. Maitland dealt with the boys, and advised the young Jacqueline, “You had better learn to stand up for yourself. You will need to be strong.” It was advice taken to heart.
It takes strength, wisdom, and compassion to be an outspoken advocate for yourself and for others, and throughout Ms. Jakki’s long life, she was that voice raised for justice. She is remembered as being an advocate for students of color. In the early 1970s, she was a secretary at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, the first woman of color in that position.
“She was the person we could take our concerns to,” recalled Carmen Amadeo. “And she would be willing to address any discrimination. She took me and a small group of students to tour UMass Amherst to prepare us for the idea of going to college.”
Always passionate about education and its power to address societal inequalities, Jakki enrolled in the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and graduated with a degree in education. Though she hoped to become a teacher on Martha’s Vineyard, she took a teaching position in New York City.
There is a poster in Ms. Jakki’s window stating simply, “Never Forget, Martha’s Vineyard NAACP.” She never did forget the struggles so many face in their lives, and was a compassionate and active listener for so many. Her career with the NAACP was a lifelong commitment, and she saw the organization as a way to create a more just and equal society for all. She was vice president of the Martha’s Vineyard branch from 1978 to 1979, and became president in 1979. Her tenure lasted until 1989.
She was noted always for speaking truth to power, and did not flinch from honest and outspoken criticism where she felt it necessary. Her opinions were heartfelt and vigorously expressed, but she never made them personal. She could often be seen outside a meeting where she had forcefully expressed her views, embracing those with whom she had disagreed. Her longtime friend and associate, Carrie Camillo Tankard, recalls that under Ms. Jakki’s leadership, the Martha’s Vineyard branch hosted many well-known people, including Myrlie Evers, the widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Benjamin Hooks, and Andrew Young. “She was responsible for inviting Roberta Flack and Tanya Hart to speak at our gatherings, and she began the annual Martin Luther King Day dinner the year that his birthday became a national holiday. She was very good at outreach, and during her tenure, our membership increased to 200 people,” Tankard said.
Speaking at the New England Area NAACP Convention in 1986, which was held on Martha’s Vineyard, Jakki Hunt noted, “There is a lack of sensitivity. The outreach is not there. What the NAACP strives to do and what this conference will encourage is membership and talking. Let us talk to you, raise your consciousness to the fact that things you take for granted could be harmful, not healthy. As NAACP members, our task is an arduous one, and time is short. Therefore, let us rededicate ourselves to our cause. Our reason for existing is the cause of civil rights. Let us take this weekend to rekindle the fire of determination, to make America the land of equality and justice for all.”
Ms. Jakki’s passion for justice and her commitment to young people everywhere continued throughout her life. In an interview in 2015, she bemoaned the fact that young people no longer seemed so engaged with community questions relating to justice. “One of our goals going forward is to engage young people, to let them know what responsibilities are to an organization that has a point of view,” she said. “Being part of an organization means that you have to sublimate your ego for the good of the group.”
A deeply spiritual woman, Ms. Jakki was the chair of religious affairs for the local chapter of the NAACP, and sent prayers to those she loved on a regular basis. In 2017, she led the prayers at a vigil for racial justice on Inkwell Beach. Her strong voice resonated with a call to strength addressed directly to God.
“You do not give in to a spirit of fear. So, stop fearing. You gave us the power of love and a fine mind,” she said.
In the same year, Ms. Jakki wrote to The Martha’s Vineyard Times expressing her concern for the Jamaican community here on Martha’s Vineyard, and advising them to join the NAACP and celebrate their history while drawing strength from one another.
In 2020, Ms. Jakki’s house, which she inherited from her grandmother, Louise Jackson, became a site on the African American Heritage Trail. Her lifelong advocacy for others was celebrated, and the plaque refers to her as a voice raised for justice. Since that time tour groups have regularly visited her. This year our tour leader, Chris Edgerly, brought a large group of visitors to her 92nd birthday party. It was a joy to see this woman who so loved people celebrate with friends and visitors. All those who knew her were enriched by the experience.
