Confronting History...

Introduction — UPDATED

This is an article written by my granddaughter, Alexis Soares. At the time of this writing she was a 3rd year law student at Suffolk University, a recent recepient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "Creating a Dream" award, President of Suffolk Law's Journal of Trial and Appellate Advocacy, and Vice President of the Black Law Student's Association to mention a few of her accomplishments. She has now graduated with her JD.

Through her article she answers the question why now and points out the relationship to current events.

...Truth Before Reconciliation

The murder of George Floyd (and many others), the revival of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the sudden “social awakening” that took place last summer sparked many conversations between me and my grandparents. Throughout the numerous phone calls and FaceTime calls, the hurt became personal – as I learned of my own family’s encounters with racial injustice and inequality on Nantucket Island. My ancestor’s struggled to make a better life for myself, my sister and for future generations

At the time, my grandfather was writing a novel, titled Oh, Nantucket. He told me that this is a story that needed telling and I want to help him share his story. He had a unique way of describing it to me, he said, “The story is neither fact nor fiction but rather originates from the eye of the beholder, the place where reality resides.”

His name is Peter M. Browne (Gomes), a septuagenarian, Nantucket native, Cape Verdean, retired corporate executive, author and most importantly, my amazing grandfather.

When he wrote Oh, Nantucket, he thought he was writing solely about the past, about a time long ago, only to discover that the island (like Boston and this country as a whole) is still struggling with the issue of racism. To Nantucket’s credit, in early 2020, town officials started developing action plans to achieve equitable outcomes in the workplace and within the community through a newly created Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion department. As we’ve seen in the News, with the current resistance to inequality comes the active bigot, vandalism, explicit graffiti and verbal assaults. The Select Board’s goal to de-institutionalize racism in town government and in the community as a whole through the creation of this department is a commendable first step.

Their search began in June of 2020. After a few bumps in the road, finally in February 2021 Kimal McCarthy was hired for this position. Town officials acknowledge this as a starting point to addressing racial inequity on the island. Kimal stated, “One position and one person in town government can’t solve all these issues, but it’s a start in the right direction.”

It is evidence that town leaders at last recognize the problem and are taking action. “I applaud their effort. Better late than never”, was my grandfather’s response. “However, without confronting the Island’s history it is not giving the respect due to those long ago disrespected: Cape Verdeans, African Americans, Wampanoags.

Through the better part of the 20th Century three generations of our family endured the social dissonance imposed upon them by the ruling class on the Island of Nantucket. In less euphemistic terms the racial discrimination imposed by white people, that permeated every aspect of island life restricted opportunities and disenfranchised people of color, namely the Cape Verdeans who were the prominent minority during that time period.

He said, “My heart has been heavy, all these many years with this untold story, that my grandparents, aunts, uncles, parents, I, and our community had to live through, which ultimately caused this community to all but disappear from the Island. The diaspora that brought Cape Verdeans to the island was repeated as many departed in search of a better life. The question asked and answered in Oh, Nantucket, is ‘how can one man’s paradise be another’s purgatory?’”

He describes it as a fictionalized factual account, as an acknowledgment of what had transpired, what must be told, what must be remembered, what must be confronted, and as an admonition to the island, its citizens and the community for conduct that marginalized so many lives.

My grandfather and I have had many conversations over the past few months about our family’s history. It is important to me that these conversations are captured and shared with generations to come. I want to give you a peak into one of conversations after I read Oh, Nantucket for the first time.

A Call with My Grandfather – January 6, 2021 @ 3 p.m.

Alexis:

Grandpa, you’ve been a corporate executive for a major Fortune 500 Company, been happily married for 48 years, lived many places, and travel widely. What impact has growing up on Nantucket had on your life?

Grandpa:

And so much more! But this is all in spite of, not because of, my early life on Nantucket. When I was growing up on the island racism was passive. People understood their place and did not push for change. As Daniel Monteiro points out in the book, I learned to become an expert at reading people, a skill that every member of a visible minority must hone.

Institutionalized racism is not unique to Nantucket. I experienced it in the military, while stationed in Biloxi Mississippi, in corporate America when managers promoted those who looked like them over those more qualified. I encountered it when looking to purchase a home and being steered to swamp land in Bedford, New Hampshire. I met them at social gatherings offering cold shoulders and an evil eye. I have also met the well-educated, well-intentioned and well-informed who lack the ability to see institutional racism that they have sponsored, spawned or unknowingly nurtured. Nantucket prepared me -- to know one when I see one.

Alexis:

You’re a Nantucket native and have so many memories on Nantucket, yet you have a summer home on the Martha’s Vineyard, why is that?

Grandpa:

Wow, that’s a loaded question. I guess the best way to explain it is that Nantucket is yesterday. For a long time, it has held no attraction for me. Though my mother’s entire family is buried in the Catholic cemetery and my father’s ashes were scattered in Nantucket harbor, there is nothing else that binds me to that island.

Alexis:

But you wrote Oh, Nantucket, why? So, Nantucket must be on your mind.

Grandpa:

Oh, Nantucket, is a gift to my family and to all those who experienced those difficult times. It is in memory of them, their suffering, their perseverance and the recognition that they have been here and our lives are better thanks to their sacrifices. In the book, Daniel Monteiro said “there’s not much worth telling” but I disagree. This is a story that needed telling. I wanted to confront the island with its hidden history. But most importantly, I wanted my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to know their history, their language, their culture – good and bad. To know that in the midst of this country’s chaos, striving for a better tomorrow for the future generations of this family by confronting history.

Alexis:

What are you hoping for as an outcome from the book?

Grandpa:

Two things. I want those who are unaware of Cape Verdeans to learn a little about our struggles and our culture and secondly, I would like every Nantucket town official to read this book and understand their legacy of racism and bigotry, and its impact on a people. Let me make it clear I’m not asking them to purchase my book I would be glad to donate several copies that they can share.

Alexis:

What do you think Confronting History means?

Grandpa:

That there can be no reparation. What has been done cannot be undone. But it can be acknowledged and the record can be written to reflect that awareness. I had high hopes that my grandchildren would not have to endure the corrosive effects of racism but I can see from current events that we have many more generations before that dream is realized.

The plight of Nantucket’s minorities cannot be diminutized for it is part of a broader landscape that stretches coast to coast and border to border.

Confronting history means removing confederate statues, renaming racist street names, schools, military bases and playgrounds and embracing the names of minority contributors beyond just Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Confronting history means quality education for minorities, the uplift of minority communities and equal access to life’s essentials: healthcare, jobs, housing, credit. Confronting history means that black lives matter because they historically have not mattered, from the days of slavery, through reconstruction, segregation and the conduct of law enforcement toward people of color, to this day.

Confronting history means establishing the unfettered right to vote in states and counties where gerrymandering and suppression continue to exist. Confronting history means right-wing radicals are quieted by the overwhelming majority of fair-minded citizens who are at last true to their religious beliefs.

Confronting history means holding up to the light the conduct of our fathers and forefathers and being honest in our assessment.

Alexis:

What are your thoughts on where this fight for social justice stands today?

Grandpa:

Two words – successive approximation. No major change can be achieved by legislation, the stroke of a pen or ethical appeal. It must be won in small increments over time through confrontation, perseverance and sacrifice. We have been able to move the needle of racial (in)justice toward equality but there are equal forces in opposition. Keep the faith. Keep the fight. Continue to confront.

Call Concluded - speaking to the reader.

I share all of this to say, Confronting History is a necessary change agent. If not now, when?

Though there is still much progress to be made, as the quote goes “I am my ancestors wildest dreams.”