Summer laboring on the Vineyard
OAK BLUFFS, MASS. — August in Martha’s Vineyard isn’t a formally organized Black political conference — but this year, it might as well have been. This week, the 100-square-mile island was home to an impressive collection of fundraisers, networking and low-key dealmaking that point to the shape of politics in New York and beyond.
Money was front and center, of course. Attorney General Letitia (Tish) James raked in close to $50,000 at an event held at the home of Spike and Tonya Lewis Lee. The fundraiser — which was scheduled long before James’s devastating report on sexual harassment allegations led to the resignation of Gov. Cuomo — crackled with excitement, with many attendees curious about whether James would announce a candidacy for governor.
No such luck.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” James told the crowd. That was good enough for a round of cheers.
Everywhere you turned, there was evidence of historic political breakthroughs. City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson was there; she is well on her way to making history as the first female and first Black borough president of the Bronx. Alvin Bragg, who recently topped a crowded field of candidates to become the Democratic nominee for Manhattan district attorney, was there.
So was state Sen. Brian Benjamin, beaming from ear to ear and slyly not quite denying rumors that he is on the short list to be tapped as lieutenant governor by Kathy Hochul after she ascends to the top spot next week.
A handful of councilmembers who recently lost their bids for higher office or re-election — Robert Cornegy, Darma Diaz and Alicka Ampry-Samuel — were all in good spirits, eager to land their next elected or appointed job in public service. They, like many other attendees, got a little face time with Sheena Wright, the president and CEO of the United Way of New York City, who is poised to chair the transition team for Eric Adams if he wins the fall election for mayor. (Adams is expected to arrive for his own fundraiser in the later part of the week.)
New York has no monopoly on buzz, bucks and historic breakthroughs. Raphael Warnock, the U.S. senator from Georgia whose victory gave Democrats control of the chamber, raised more than $100,000 at an event a few days before James. Kim Janey, the first Black woman mayor of Boston, passed through to raise money for her campaign. And Rep. Val Demings of Florida, who is gearing up to challenge Sen. Marco Rubio, stood next to James as the attorney general spoke.
Politically speaking, the Vineyard is a kind of Fantasy Island for liberals — a place where the burdens and barriers of the outside world appear to melt away.
Off island, the world is full of wars, poverty, grinding inequality and racial strife. By contrast, the Vineyard hosts a string of lectures, films and political fundraisers that paint a picture of peace, prosperity and tolerance, played out in a thousand friendly interactions with the whip-smart, pleasant and well-spoken folks who flock to the island.
Even the dry, cool weather is a break from the furnace that is August in New York and a counterpoint to the hurricanes, floods, wildfires and other summertime devastation driven by global warming. There’s a reason the Vineyard has been attracting vacationers for more than 400 years, including presidents from John Adams to Barack Obama.
“The Vineyard is not like the Hamptons, where you get dressed up with full makeup. Nobody here cares about that. Nobody cares about your car. Nobody asks what you do,” says Hasoni Pratts, a political operative who organized the Warnock and James fundraisers.
“We’re all so busy when we’re at home. When we’re here, we’re together without a real schedule,” she told me. “People sit on porches and talk. People hang out in backyards. It’s a real community.”
Pratts, who has been vacationing in the Vineyard for 20 years and has purchased a home in Oak Bluffs, is one of the anchors of a community that has consciously continued a generations-old tradition of Black professionals who use the Vineyard as a place to rest and recharge.
“I convene a whole lot of people,” she said, referring to her role in connecting Black middle-class families who bring their kids to the island for a dizzying whirl of parties, fishing trips, beaches and biking — all in a remarkably safe and sane setting, where unlocked doors are the rule and not the exception.
James, Warnock, Demings, Janey, Adams and others are in for political battles that are bound to get ugly, in cities and states grappling with violence, hatred and disease. All the more reason to have leaders take a break from time to time.
“This is a very special place,” Pratts told me. “I don’t feel any racial tension. It feels harmonious. To me, it’s what is possible. It gives me hope.”