Customer Reviews

Finding Martha's Vineyard: African Americans at Home on an Island

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Although I was already a fan of Jill Nelson, chiefly because of her journalistic integrity and clever sense of perspective, I was looking forward to reading about this nearly unheard portion of the American population. African-Americans on Martha's Vineyard? Yet, it is the sheer beauty of this book which made me slow down and savor each sand-colored page.

The best mark of a good journalist is when they disappear from the interview. As Ms. Nelson takes the reader along to visit with each long time resident, it feels as if you are sitting on a porch with a tall glass of iced tea and listening to a favorite family story while the author is absent. She only returns in those brief chapters where she shares what the island has meant to her and her family. In these, she weaves an intimate homage to her mother and the community on the island. Alison Shaw's exquisite photographs add to the magic of this book where the reader notices all aspects of the island's residents, from beauty to gentleness, power to erudition, artistry to elegance and sometimes, simply, survival

For those of us who can still remember when summers were spent running and playing with few cares in the world, a pang of bittersweet nostalgia will accompany this book. It documents a time where Martha's Vineyard was a refuge from the mad rush and often ugly world on the mainland. I will cherish this book for a long time.

One of the residents of Martha's Vinyard is quoted in this book as saying that it is a microcosm of the United States. It isn't, it's a microcosm of what the United States SHOULD BE.

Vernon Jordan, is quoted as saying, 'there was a time when the Vineyard was the only spot for successful black people, and in many ways it still is.' And that's good. There should be places where the stresses of our daily lives are relaxed regardless of the color barrier.

Perhaps it's the isolation, perhaps the income level, but I read this book while 26,000 National Guard troops are being sent to New Orleans. There the mostly black, unbelievably poor are reportedly shooting at the helicopters bringing releif supplies into the city. This is not going to contribute to the long term state of race relations.

This book is good to read just to show what a delightful place the world could be.

For Jill Nelson, Martha's Vineyard has become more than a vacation spot. It is a place of rejuvenation and rebirth, inspiration and motivation. She shares everything this island has come to embody to many of its black residents in FINDING MARTHA'S VINEYARD: African Americans at Home on an Island. Tracing the roots of the island's black inhabitants to slaves and servants brought there by their owners/employers, Jill Nelson follows this trail to the modern day residents who are slowly seeing their way of life slipping away as the once all-black communities become more integrated.

Sustained primarily with interviews of African-American residents of Martha's Vineyard, the book is part memoir, but at the same time, part travelogue, part history, and part cookbook. One interview subject, Vernon Jordan, former presidential advisor to Bill Clinton and former Urban League president, reminisces that the constituency of the black residents has changed over the years. Back in the `70s when he first started visiting the island, every person there was a doctor, lawyer, or teacher - the epitome of W.E.B. Dubois' Talented Tenth. Now, the gamut is expanded. You see black businesspeople, investment bankers, and CEOs.

Nelson also explores the social and artistic outlets on the island. The island has offered social outlets to black middle class families who struggle to interact with more African-American families as their economic status rises and their subdivisions become whiter. Many of these families have been coming to Martha's Vineyard for generations, as evidenced by the Shearer family who have owned a house on the island since the turn of the twentieth century. The island has also offered artistic freedom to writers, painters, sculptors, and others who seek the complacency of the island to hone their craft. This island has been home to many famous artists, academicians, and politicians.

Jill Nelson vividly describes life on Martha's Vineyard in this all-encompassing work. FINDING MARTHA'S VINEYARD is lyrical in style when Nelson uses her own voice, but just as entrancing when hearing the voices of the residents. Their recollections and obvious joy in sharing their past, including a few family recipes, gives the work a unique allure. Historically accurate and socially stimulating, readers will feel like they have spent a good portion of their lives on this island as well.

Reviewed by Kim Anderson Ray
of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

As a white person, who am I to write a review on this book which accurately portrays what Martha's Vineyard has represented to African Americans for generations? However, I read the book because I love the Vineyard and I enjoy reading about experiences of different cultures. From this perspective, the book is written with much respect and reverence and love for what the Vineyard has meant to African Americans for generations. The Vineyard has been a sort of utopia for African Americans where they can bring their kids up and enjoy the beauty of the island in an atmosphere of freedom from the usual society which tends to separate us all. The sense I get is that this island of ours in Massachusetts is a beacon for how things could and should be in the world. A place where people of color can go and not be "on guard" as they must be everywhere outside of the Vineyard. If we could all see one another as richly unique individuals who are all created equal (as the Constitution states) then we could have the sense of the Vineyard everywhere. We wouldn't have the ocean views, the energy of Circuit Ave., the beauty of riding down Middle Road, or the countless other wonderful experiences of the Vineyard, but we would have a better society. But, since that is not going to happen too soon, then, if you want to get a sense of what the Vineyard signifies to many wonderful people of color on the Vineyard, then read this enriching book and step briefly into the lives of many people who you would feel honored and grateful to have in your life.

This is a book for all people who love Martha's Vineyard. Tears, smiles, nods of head in recognition and, for non African-Americans, an eye opener to a view of an island we share geographically but not always in other spheres. Thank you, Ms. Nelson.

In my bedroom,located on my white wicker nightstand lies my copy of Finding Martha's Vineyard. This book is beautifully written and the photographs bring back bitter sweet memories of my own childhood beach visits. The author Jill Nelson did a fantastic job of introducing her audience to a different kind of summer for many Black Americans during a time when "we just wanted to be us". Thank you Ms. Nelson for a wonderful book.

Travel is an aspect of life which many people enjoy even if it is vicariously. I love to read travel stories and to travel. Jill Nelson has written a wonderful travel history of an island which is enchanting and real. The personal interviews of inhabitants, the pros and cons of those visiting or living on the island, the recipes, and the historical overview of the island make it come to life as one turns each page. The needs and accomplishments of each generation are very interesting. I highly recommend this book for all ages, history buffs, and travelers. A great book to take along on the trip for relaxation and enjoyment is "A Trilogy of Poetry, Prose and Thoughts for the Mind, Body and Soul."

This book is a must keepsake. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it. The author vividly painted a picture of life on the island from people who have lived on the island over several decades to those who have recently found this little piece of paradise. Truly a magnificent read!

Finding Martha's Vinyard is entertaining. The accounts of the residents were repitious, but it reveals that all were motivated to spend summers there by the same reasons. It is good that the present residents have found their slice of paradise and peace. Although I had heard of the Vinyard, I knew nothing about it. So, this book falls under the heading of pleasant education.