THE BLACK RETREATS PROJECT:

A CULTURAL ASSETS ATLAS & CULTURAL ECONOMY STUDY

IN PARTRNERSHIP WITH

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE TRAIL OF MARTHA’S VINEYARD (AAHTMV)

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Throughout the 20th century, African Americans retreated to Martha’s Vineyard, an island in New England, and hundreds of other contemporary vacation destinations (e.g. Sag Harbor, Hilton Head) for refuge, respite and reunion. Retreat depended on the accessibility of residences and services for people of color. The African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard aims to honor people and preserve properties that served seasonal travelers and workers of color.

Supporting and amplifying their efforts, RxP@UNO has undertaken two related research projects in Martha’s Vineyard that revolve around the spaces in which African Americans lived and lodged, and the people who have stewarded those spaces (e.g. owners, heirs, caretakers, housekeepers). These surveys, studies and combined atlas of African American settlement, survival and sustainability will provide community members, cultural institutions, grassroots organizations and governmental offices on the Vineyard and beyond with the research and resources necessary to protect, preserve and plan for Black retreat in the future.

The Cottage Businesses Project assesses acute and chronic threats to cultural assets and economies of Martha’s Vineyard via:

1. A Cultural Asset Archive & Atlas, which collect and illustrate risks to Black settlement of Martha’s Vineyard and the resilience of homeowners, heirs and stewards that preserve the island’s Black geographies (e.g. the Highlands). Through the surveys, interviews, workshops, archival and spatial research, we gather insights into the relationships, resources and racial climates that have facilitated and obstructed African American retreat to and residency in Martha’s Vineyard. Additionally, we assess how and to what extent planning, development and preservation practitioners have valued Black retreat and residency on the island. The first phase of this project focuses on NRHP-eligible properties and places of Oak Bluffs such as Green Book listings of Lower Circuit Ave / Hiawatha Park and the Highlands.

2. A Cultural Economy Study & Events illuminate historical and contemporary threats to the commercialized cottages and cottage businesses of Martha’s Vineyard’s diasporic and diverse African American community. In this study, we investigate how members and non-members of The Cottagers, Inc. recognize and redress environmental, economic and cultural risks to cottage preservation—particularly property tax increases due to speculative development, business tax increases due to digital booking sites (e.g. AirB&B) and probate court-ordered demolition. The first phase of this project includes a series of public events in which the Project Leads host “A Conversation with” the steward of a cottage currently or previously rented to year-round residents, seasonal workers or short-term visitors.

PROJECT AIMS

The project team of academic and public historians will crowdsource, curate, cross-reference and contextualize the building and business records of cottage owners and stewards for the purpose of preservation advocacy and planning, first and foremost. The project also tests the utility of ArcGIS StoryMaps & Apps for African American heritage stewards and sponsors, particularly whether proprietary technologies for asset mapping afford them enough flexibility and security to share mitigation knowledge with each other, peers facing similar risks and professionals who investigate and/or intervene in these cases. Ultimately, we hope for these historic sites and services to be accounted for in development plans and disaster policies not just gain the attention of local preservation commissions or garner inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

PROJECT COLLABORATORS

Elaine Weintraub, Ph.D., Executive Director & Co-Founder, African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard

TBA, Directors of Research & Outreach, African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard

Andrew Patch, President, Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association

More on the African American Heritage Trail of Martha’s Vineyard (AAHTMV):

The AAHTMV holds considerable resources and, as a community history project, welcomes requests to research and celebrate the lives of African Americans on Martha’s Vineyard. In recent years, the Trail has been responsible for researching and publishing the story of the African American “landladies” who were the first to rent rooms to people of color on the island. Many—more than half of the Trail—remain owned and operated by the African American families that first developed them for short-term and summer rentals. They were not the only women who created a seasonal community with year-round impacts on Martha’s Vineyard; The Cottagers, an 60+ year old organization of African American women philanthropists, has also sustained the sense of place.

AAHTMV online: https://www.mvafricanamericanheritagetrail.org

AAHTMV on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afamheritage

AAHTMV on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mvafricanamericantrail/