The voices of Island elders filled the room at MVTV Studios on Tuesday afternoon as students and community members gathered for a first look at the Martha’s Vineyard Living Legends Oral History Project.
The project, led by the Martha’s Vineyard Diversity Coalition’s education committee, pairs Island students with BIPOC and immigrant elders to record their stories. Attendees viewed early film edits of the interviews, celebrating the voices and history that shapes Island life.
Launched in 2021, the project has grown into a partnership among local educators and organizations including the MV branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), Circuit Arts, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum, MVTV, MVY Radio, the NAACP of Martha’s Vineyard, Oak Bluffs library, Renaissance House, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) Education Program.
The idea was inspired by the resilience of community activist Marie B. Allen, then 91, who shared her experience confronting racism, sexism, and class bias. When she first arrived on the Island, Circuit Avenue was a dirt road, and black families were only permitted to own property in Oak Bluffs. In 1984 she joined the Martha’s Vineyard branch of the NAACP and served as secretary to the executive committee and as first vice president. She moved to the Island permanently in 1985. Allen’s courage and activism resonated with Island students, and organizers knew that her story needed to be captured and shared, making Allen the project’s first interview. Allen passed away in 2023, but her life story continues to guide the project.
Since then, more than 100 students from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and the Public Charter School have participated in researching, interviewing, and filming prominent local elders under the guidance of teachers and oral history advocates. To date, 16 elder interviews have been completed, with videos archived for schools and community use. The collection also includes six interviews with African American leaders of the Island, sponsored by ASALH and edited with the help of MVTV.
On Tuesday, project coordinator Mona Hennessy opened the program with gratitude. “Thank you to all of you who are here and who have been part of this very meaningful and ongoing project,” she said, acknowledging “the teachers, the students, and our very special elders who have been interviewed so far.”
The sneak peek included a range of interviews, each offering lessons in resilience, justice, and community. “It started simply, and it’s developed into a truly inspiring educational and impactful project; it gives high school students the opportunity to hear the rich and moving stories of our Island elders,” said Hennessey.
The sneak peek included a range of interviews, each offering lessons in resilience, justice, and community.
Robert Hayden, author and historian, reflected on the origins of his own intellectual journey. When he was 5, his mother took him to get a library card, and he picked out a book on the life of George Washington Carver. Though he couldn’t yet read, his mother read it to him, and he was inspired by how Carver transformed something as humble as a peanut into endless possibilities. For students, Hayden’s story highlighted the power of curiosity and how a single book can shape a lifelong calling.
Dr. Lorna Andrade shared her childhood experience of living with polio and spending long periods in the hospital. Her parents instilled in her the belief that she could become anything she wanted. Drawn to the fast-moving pace of the emergency room, she found her calling in medicine. “My heart is in teaching people, my passion is in serving people,” Andrade said. Her account offered students a lesson in perseverance and service.
Jim Thomas, the director of the Spiritual Choir of Martha’s Vineyard, gave a sobering account of his youth in the segregated South. Born in Tennessee in 1939, he recalled how Black men in his community would “disappear” and the community would never know what happened to them. He reminded students that his town was not far from where many Ku Klux Klan units originated.
Despite this history, Thomas’ words carried a message of unity. “We’ve got this small, fragile world to share together, and no one, no one, is superior to the other,” he said, “regardless of the resources they have had.”
Wampanoag tribal eder Beverly Wright reflected on growing up in Aquinnah and witnessing the transformation of her community over her lifetime. She even remembers when electricity first came to the town. “We were the last town in Massachusetts to get electricity,” Wright said.
Wright passed down the legend of Witch Pond. According to the story, the giant Moshup foretold the arrival of “pale face people” who would make the Island less hospitable for the tribe. He offered his people the choice to remain, or to become killer whales and roam the ocean. Most chose the latter, and Moshup dug Witch Pond so the whales could visit him. Wright recalled how in her youth, the pond froze clear each winter, never cloudy like the Island’s other ponds. She admitted that unlike other kids her age, she never dared to skate on it. For students, Wright’s memories illustrated both the endurance of Wampanoag traditions and the rapid change within living memory.
At the close of the screening, the team invited reflections from the audience. Community members expressed thanks, highlighting how the project not only preserves elders’ voices but also teaches Island students about perseverance, injustice, identity, and resilience. Organizers thanked Superintendent Richie Smith, who was present at the screening, acknowledging his consistent encouragement of programs geared toward combating racism.
This oral history effort, now several years underway, is helping ensure that the stories and wisdom of Martha’s Vineyard’s elders remain alive for generations to come.
