This column first appeared in The Amendment, a biweekly newsletter by Errin Haines, The 19th’s editor-at-large. Subscribe today to get early access to future Election 2024 analysis.
Each August, the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard is abuzz with talk of race, culture and politics. This year is no different – and after the past few weeks, the main topic is Vice President Kamala Harris and her potentially historic presidential campaign. From cottage porches to coffee shops to panel discussions and private fundraisers, Harris and the moment of possibility around her candidacy have been the conversation among islandgoers.
“The excitement around Vice President Harris is palpable on the island,” said Angella Henry, a year-round resident of the town of Oak Bluffs who, with her husband, Dan, hosts Vineyard regulars, newbies and dignitaries alike at their historic home. “Everywhere you go, people are talking about their renewed hope in our country.”
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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, Reps. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut and Robin Kelly of Illinois, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Spike and Tonya Lee, actor Colman Domingo, and NAACP President Derrick Johnson were among the parade of VIPs spotted at events and on the streets of Martha’s Vineyard so far this month.
Harris – who has been blitzing battleground states and preparing to officially accept the Democratic nomination for president at the party’s convention in Chicago next week – has not made an appearance this year. But she has been a visitor to the island in recent years.
Since the 1920s, Martha’s Vineyard has been attracting the Black upper- and middle-class communities, a destination that’s both a testament to leisure and an act of resistance.
Inkwell Beach and Oak Bluffs developed into places where successful Black Americans could vacation, relax and socialize with their families in peace and with autonomy, free from the confines of white supremacy. Over generations, Black folks have created their own world on the Vineyard and found safety and joy in these spaces.
Celebrities, entrepreneurs, businessmen and women and the professional class all envisioned Martha’s Vineyard as a safe haven for leisure, and they brought their politics and socio-cultural institutions with them as well.
Black organizations and institutions — educational, political, cultural, and social — all increasingly became part of the life of Martha’s Vineyard. By the time the Obamas — who had previously visited the island — first vacationed there as the First Family in 2009, the island had already had multiple fundraisers in his honor.
Today, the island is a reflection of a Black political and leadership class that is vested deeply in the notion of democracy and equality and shows the makings of a broad-based political movement akin to the Obama era, said political historian Leah Wright.
“Their enthusiasm is a barometer of the feel of the election, in particular because of their fundraising potential and their mass organizing abilities,” said Wright, who has also been a frequent summer visitor to the island.
“It’s more than hope,” Wright said. “If anything, it highlights a kind of resilient determination to carry the first Black woman president squarely into the White House, by any means necessary.”
Harris’ candidacy has sparked a new excitement among Democrats, as seen in crowds and donations nationwide. There’s a similar dynamic among Black visitors and residents at Martha’s Vineyard, one also defined by their willingness to get involved in the campaign beyond voting.
“The island’s buzzing like everywhere is buzzing right now,” said Samantha Tweedy, chief executive officer of the Black Economic Alliance and a longtime visitor to Martha’s Vineyard. “We know we have to be buzzing, because we are not at all fooled by the sugar rush … We can’t forget what this country is, we can’t forget that this fight is real, we can’t act like momentum is the same as victory, and so we’re going to keep buzzing until the victory is real.”
Sitting on the porch and people watching at the Edgartown Inn, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts described what she’d seen on the island in the last couple of weeks. It’s a contrast to earlier in the year, when Democrats said they planned to vote for President Joe Biden but were less energized.
Her assessment: “There’s no enthusiasm gap here.”
People asked Pressley about how to sign up for door-knocking shifts in different states, whether their campaign merchandise purchases would help Harris get elected, or if the South was competitive this year.
There was also a recognition, Pressley said, that down-ballot congressional races are key to the success of a would-be Harris-Walz administration on priorities like maternal health, criminal justice, voting rights and the Supreme Court.
“We don’t want a situation where we have the White House but we can’t move things out of the House,” Pressley said.
Within moments of greeting one another at brunches, dinners, or events around the island, people could be overheard saying: “Can you believe it? Do you think she’s going to win? What can I do to help?” Many are convinced that she is going to win — but also know victory doesn’t happen without hard work.
Desirée Rogers, who served as White House social secretary during the Obama administration and is now a Democratic Party delegate for Illinois, started coming to the island during college more than 30 years ago. In addition to people asking about how they can get more involved and support the campaign, much of the chatter Rogers said she’s heard is from people scrambling to make plans to head from the island to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention next week.
“There’s this fever pitch now of people wanting to be involved,” said Rogers, also the CEO of the Fashion Fair Cosmetics. “People are saying, ‘I want to be there. I want to see it.’ They understand that this is a historic, once-in-a-lifetime event, and so this feels like a rallying place for people to get organized.”
Letitia James, the New York attorney general who successfully charged Trump with civil fraud, has been a panel fixture since arriving on the island on Saturday. She’s making the case for Harris’ presidency and touting her accomplishments while talking about the threat of a Trump presidency and Project 2025. As she walked down busy Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs over the weekend, people were stopping James for selfies and high fives – not just for her efforts in prosecuting the former president, but to celebrate the moment of another potential political first.
“People were thanking me, hugging me and asking me about the campaign. … I probably made it about two blocks before I had to apologize to my friends,” James said. “There is so much energy. Each and every day, it’s been about Vice President Harris,” James said.
Tweedy — whose organization held an event on Sunday and who sat on a panel I moderated about the Black agenda, the election and Project 2025 — echoed a similar sentiment.
“This excitement, it’s not just from the stage, it’s not just over drinks,” Tweedy said. “It’s across the board. It’s all one and the same — and the buzz is turning into real action.”
Martha’s Vineyard is the place where Black Americans go to exhale, to dream, to celebrate and to strategize. It is as peaceful as it is political and as good a place as any to gauge the 2024 vibes among Democrats with 82 days to go until Election Day.
To see relaxed vacationers bringing up Harris practically as a greeting was the latest sign of the continued momentum around her campaign. Even in her absence, her name and likeness were everywhere. Many frequent visitors may later remember this summer as the one when tradition collided with history.
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