Finding Martha's Vineyard
Publication: May 17, 2005

In this elegant book of photographs, personal narrative, memories, and fascinating historical detail, bestselling author Jill Nelson conveys the special magic of Martha's Vineyard and the African Americans who have summered or lived there for generations.
Jill Nelson has been a summer and occasional year-round resident of Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard for nearly fifty years. It was where she learned to swim and ride a bike, first kissed a boy, became a writer, and, during twenty-eight summers, raised her own daughter. In Finding Martha's Vineyard, Nelson offers a lively, intimate portrait of a place that has provided respite and rejuvenation, community and contemplation for generations of African Americans.
Part memoir, part history, Finding Martha's Vineyard describes the various groups who settled in Oak Bluffs: the black middle-class families who came each summer to escape the heat, hostility, and racial tension of their hometowns; the domestics and other African Americans in service who accompanied their white employers to the island in the 1920s and 30s and over the years established a haven complete with community centers, civic organizations, and exclusive clubs for themselves and their descendants; and the fourth- and fifth-generation African-American professionals, doctors, lawyers, presidential advisors, writers, and artists who visit or live on the Vineyard today. Nelson interviews the Cottagers, the proud owners of Oak Bluffs famous Gingerbread Victorians; members of the Polar Bear Club, a die-hard group that swims together every summer at 7:00 A.M. ; and such famous residents as Vernon Jordan, Spike Lee, Bebe Moore Campbell, and Stephen Carter.
Finding Martha's Vineyard is about the power of place in our lives. A rich treasury of reminiscences, excerpts from news articles and documents from the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society, recipes, and glorious photographs, it brings the sights, sounds, celebrations, and social importance of the island community brilliantly to life.

PRAISE

There is an easy loveliness to the rhythm of this narrative of black lives on Martha's Vineyard that feels remarkably close to the easy loveliness of the rhythm of days spent there on the beach and in the homes of family and friends. The best books transport us to other places, and this one transports me right back to the Vineyard.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Jill Nelsons lyrical love story about her place Martha's Vineyard captures what makes people like me and my family call the Vineyard our place, too. Like the Vineyard, her fine book is fuel for the soul.
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, journalist and author of In My Place

Part personal memoir, part island history, part exploration of class and privilege in a space that is increasingly defined by both, and all heart, Finding Martha's Vineyard sneaks up on you and weaves a spell. The small snippets of Nelsons own exuberant love of island life is enriched by a variety of oral histories by other African American islanders. Their proud, highly individual voices paint a rich portrait of a unique community.
Pearl Cleage, author of Some Things I Never Thought Id Do