Journeys (eBook)

Inc. Journey Writers (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
250 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-0389-8 (ISBN)

Infos

'Journeys' is a labor of love from Journey Writers, a nonprofit writing group. The selections in this anthology offer a spicy gumbo of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, songs, and haiku that are sure to whet your appetite and satisfy your hunger for inspiring writing. Sprinkled throughout the essays, stories, poems, songs, and haiku are tempting flavors of serious thought, humor, and plain talk.

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This anthology is divided into several sections. "e;Home and Family"e; focuses on essays and stories about growing up and navigating all that life brings. "e;The Personal is Political"e; takes a look at how we affect and are affected by society, politics, and our communities. "e;The Journey Within"e; includes introspective pieces from several viewpoints. "e;Into the Night"e; considers a variety of complex issues that surround love and relationships. "e;Poetry, Songs and Haiku"e; takes the reader on a fascinating journey to many destinations. "e;We Be Published: Journey Writers In Print"e; shares the publishing journeys of members in this non-profit writing group. The idea for this anthology, grown from the founders' vision, came to fruition during the COVID-19 pandemic when we, like many other organizations, moved our meetings to Zoom. We wanted to spotlight a variety of pieces that were workshopped during our regular meetings.

Textauszug

The Dowdell Family of Martha’s Vineyard
by Denise T. Best

In July 1994, my line sisters and I, “33 In Unity” of the Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. in Boston, celebrated our twentieth anniversary in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard. We were scattered around Oak Bluffs, the enclave of prominent African Americans going back to circa 1903. I felt so lucky and proud to be staying in the summer cottage of the Honorable Royal Bolling Sr., who in 1961 was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served six two-year terms, and in 1965, sponsored the state’s Racial Imbalance Act, which led to the desegregation of Boston’s public schools.

I parked in front of 6 Narragansett Avenue and immediately said good morning to the distinguished-looking family of beautiful women sitting on the porch of an exquisitely landscaped cottage named Jatomi directly across the street. I could not have known that a friendship of twenty-five years was blossoming when one of them remarked, “I see you’re from Connecticut.”

I was still thinking back then, “No, I’m from Boston,” but I said respectfully, “Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“Do you know where Hartford is?”

“Yes, I live in Hartford.”

“Do you know Upper Albany?”

I chuckled incredulously. “Yes, I live in Upper Albany!”

“Do you know where Deerfield Avenue is?”

Mouth open, head slowly shaking from side to side, they probably expected a negative answer. “Yes, I live on Deerfield Avenue!”

The matriarch of the family, Ozella Dowdell, replied, “We were the first Black family to own a home on Deerfield Avenue.”

Later, they shared how the neighbor with the welcome basket rang the bell, then turned and left in a huff after begrudgingly accepting the fact that the beautiful Black woman who had answered the door was indeed the lady of the house. Said neighbor took her basket of goodies with her and soon after, the “neighbors” rallied together and asked the bank to rescind their mortgage.

Mr. Moses Fox, magnate of G. Fox, which at the time was the nation’s largest privately owned department store, employed Ozella’s husband Luther Dowdell as his chauffeur and intervened on the family’s behalf. They continued to live at 28 Deerfield Avenue until they decided to move in 1971. Once again, they were trendsetters, moving into the recently built senior citizen facility, Immanuel House, on Woodland Street in Hartford. I told them that after years of white flight from and disinvestment in the Upper Albany neighborhood, the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund dubbed my husband and me “pioneers” in their publication when we bought our home on Deerfield Avenue in 1981.

For the next twenty-two years, I summered in the Bolling cottage, Abundance, one house away from Town Beach, aka Inkwell, and across the street from the cottage the Dowdell family had purchased in 1956. I spent many memorable hours with the sisters enjoying a cold beverage; sharing news of the island, world politics, the comings and goings of the Obamas; and sometimes simply sitting in companionable silence, catching the breeze while gazing out at the sea to the horizon from their pleasant, wraparound porch.

Their porch was their queendom, and food for thought was served free of charge. The sisters dished out a magical blend of intellect, wisdom, and straightforward mother wit made to order. My friend Regina Dyton recalled, “Millie and her sisters were the first to welcome me to the Vineyard. As I embarked on my first walk to Circuit Ave., I heard a familiar tone of admonishment: ‘Girl, you need a hat!’ It was the voice of every Black grandmother telling me what I needed to do. On generic autopilot, I snapped my neck toward the voice and heard myself say, ‘Yes, ma’am.’ I went downtown, bought a hat, and have worn one in the sun ever since. All day, every day, a never-ending parade of eclectic, culturally diverse people stopped by and paid homage to the Dowdell women formerly of Hartford, Connecticut. Their cottage is prominent in many island calendars just as they themselves are prominently featured in several books and other various historical accounts of life on the Island, the remarkable women lovingly known as “the sisters.”

During my annual and numerous porch visits, I learned, among other things, about the plunder and pillage of the Vineyard, formerly known as Noepe, as named by the Wampanoag Native Americans. When the English invaded the twenty-six-mile-long island, they held little regard for the native Wampanoag tribe, who had lived on the island of Noepe for thousands of years. A British sailor, Bartholomew Gosnold, renamed Noepe after his daughter Martha. The beautifully named town Aquinnah, home of breathtaking cliffs, was changed to Gay Head. In 1997, a community of Native Americans finally regained the rights to call it Aquinnah. I also learned the origins of Inkwell. Legend has it that whites, some say the Dutch, dubbed Town Beach “Inkwell” in reference to the skin tone of the beachgoers. Whether this is factual or an Oak Bluffs legend, many of Oak Bluffs’ elders rebuke the use of that label to this day, as do I.

All three sisters were graduates of Thomas Snell Weaver High School in Hartford, Connecticut. From Weaver, Kathryn, the eldest, attended Wilberforce University in Ohio, then completed her bachelor’s in early childhood education at Bennett College in Greensborough, North Carolina, followed by Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Ruth earned a bachelor of science degree from Bennett College in 1944 and a master of arts from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1948. Millie, the baby of the family, went on to Hampton Institute, now Hampton University, in Hampton, Virginia, and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, where she earned a master’s degree in library science. After college, one by one, the sisters made New York their home.

The sisters shared their love of learning with innumerable Black youth in their various posts at New York schools. Tonetta said of her mother Millie, “It was especially important to her that her people understand their historical struggles and accomplishments.”

The sisters retired well, dividing their time between their homes in Oak Bluffs from May through October; in Rockville Center, New York, during the holiday season; and either in Montego Bay, Jamaica, or Sarasota, Florida, during the winter months. I desperately want to follow in their considerable footsteps!

In addition to their profound leadership as educators, the Dowdell women led by example in their lifelong commitment to human rights and social justice as demonstrated by their membership in various organizations: NAACP, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Tanglewood Civics Association, the Salvation Army, and the Wilberforce Alumni Association. “My mother was also known for being frank; without hesitation, she would share what was on her mind,” said Tonetta. “She held local politicians accountable for their decisions and vociferously spoke up when she perceived an injustice.”

All three were members of the Cottagers in Oak Bluffs––Ruth and Millie for more than sixty years. Kathryn worked diligently as a fundraiser for various charities supported by the organization. Ruth, a member of the Polar Bears, led a small group of swimmers and nonswimmers each morning in water aerobics. Millie enjoyed sitting on the benches at Town Beach and joined in the Polar Bears’ activities and camaraderie throughout the summer of 2019 when she was ninety-four. Now, four decades later, that small group of women has evolved into a large group of women and men, all who share a love for Town Beach and the Martha’s Vineyard way of life.

Like their father before them, Millie and Ruth were former trustees of Union Chapel, and Millie was appointed trustee emeritus. On Sundays after church service, the three sisters would hold court during the sumptuous, soul food brunch at the legendary Lola’s.

About a decade or so ago, I met Tonetta Henderson, daughter of Millie and beloved niece of Kathryn and Ruth. We became fast friends. Why had it taken us so long to meet? I thought maybe I had been missing her visits for fifteen years. I was astounded to learn that much like her friends, the Bolling siblings from across the street, she had grown tired of being on the Vineyard for the summer, every summer, and not to mention that she was a married mother of two boys and employed full-time. Their grandmother, Millie, invited her grandsons to spend six weeks on the island each summer from July through August, so tradition is upheld!

As time passed, the sisters lost their beloved parents, and Millie Henderson, the youngest of the three, lost her sisters Kathryn Dowdell Allen and Ruth Scarville Bonaparte in 2011 and 2018 respectively. Millie continued to “represent,” keeping up with her duties on various boards and committees. At the age of ninety-four, she could be seen taking her early morning walk to the beach to join the Polar Bears and later running errands around the island. She shared the cottage with her daughter, who once again spends her summers in Oak Bluffs.

Tonetta and I share the love of writing and many other interests. We communicated with each other over the winter months, so it was not unusual to receive a phone call from her in March. It was the news she shared with me that was unexpected. On March 15, 2020, Millie, as she was affectionately known by all, passed away in Tampa, Florida, at her daughter’s home at the age of ninety-five. It was her recent passing that inspired me to...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 18.8.2023
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-0389-8 / 9798350903898