It is the mission of the African American Heritage Trail to uncover and document our community’s complex and interesting stories. Authentic history is often hiding in plain view. It’s in dusty old documents carefully preserved for hundreds of years. It’s locked in cabinets that no one opens. It’s in old stories and strategies, and secrets that could never be shared.
The history of our Island community is not part of a “one size fits all” triumphalist story, but it is a story of those who walked the roads we know. It is a story of memory and place, and the Trail organization tells the stories of our past to honor and include those who went before us. A vital part of that mission is to encourage our young people to think critically and to personalize the experience so that they gain empathy and insight into the experience of others.
One important story uncovered by the Trail was that of Rebecca, the Woman from Africa. The name that her family in Africa would have known her by is not known. She was given the name Rebecca when she survived the Middle Passage and began her life of enslavement. Despite her circumstances, she did contract a marriage with a man named Elisha Amos, a member of the Wampanoag tribe. Upon his death, she inherited property for her lifetime. Her story is memorialized at the Native Earth Teaching Farm, where a sculpture depicting Rebecca created by local artist Barney Zeitz stands guard.
This was the story shared with the graduating seniors from the Martha’s Vineyard Charter School when they came to the farm on May 19 to clean and decorate the sculpture as part of their community service. These young people about to embark on their lives as young adults undertook the job with enthusiasm. They washed and polished until Rebecca gleamed in the bright sun, and then began the beautification. Flowers were gathered to create a crown for the woman whose life had probably not included crowns, rings made from yellow flowers adorned her fingers, and multicolored ribbons covered her. The students worked hard to give Rebecca the recognition of her beauty and her worth as a human being through decorating her as a queen.
