November 25, 2024
Executive Director Of Blacks Of The Chesapeake, Vincent Leggett, Dies
According to Joel Dunn, the president and CEO of Chesapeake Conservancy, Leggett's work cast a long shadow due to his work connecting various people and communities.
Vincent Leggett, the executive director and the founder of Blacks of the Chesapeake, a group dedicated to preserving the history of Black maritime contributions to Maryland and other areas of the Chesapeake, died on Nov. 23 at 71.
According to CBS News, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley announced Leggett’s death in a statement on Nov. 24.
“Vince was a tireless advocate for preserving the legacy of Black watermen,” Buckley said. “His efforts to honor their history and share their stories have left an indelible mark on the Annapolis community and beyond.”
Buckley continued, “Vince’s work went beyond retelling the stories of the Black watermen who worked the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. He had a passion to preserve stories that otherwise might have been lost to time. His deep connection to the water and the people whose lives were intertwined with it made him a respected figure in the Annapolis community. He will be greatly missed.”
Joel Dunn, the president and CEO of Chesapeake Conservancy, said that Leggett’s work cast a long shadow due to his work connecting various people and communities.
“Vince’s work transcended the archives and pages of history books — he built bridges connecting people and communities, fostered understanding, and inspired a collective commitment to justice and equity,” Dunn said. “As a mentor and friend to so many, he shared his wisdom generously, guiding others to take up the mantle of preserving and celebrating Black history.”
In addition to Buckley and Dunn, other leaders in Annapolis indicated that Leggett’s leadership grew his organization into an “influential organization, engaging with schools, museums, and community groups to educate and advocate for the preservation of the history of Black watermen and their families.”
In 2010, Leggett told the Baltimore Sun that in 1984, he wanted to tell a complete story about Black life on the Chesapeake.
Through the work carried out through his foundation, he also began to educate people about how the Chesapeake Bay and its connecting waterways were used as part of the Underground Railroad, helping to shepherd those escaping the inhumanity of slavery to freedom.
Leggett told the outlet at the time that his primary concern centered on the erasure of Black people from the history of the maritime industry pioneers in the Chesapeake.
“I’d read of all the shipbuilders, boat captains, and shipping magnates who supposedly made bay history, most of them members of the majority community,” Leggett said. “Every book would have a picture of a black crab picker or oyster shucker. The caption would simply say ‘crab picker’ or ‘oyster shucker.’ There’d never be a name. These people worked. They must have had families, raised children, lived lives. Who were they? What did they do?”
Leggett’s work with the Blacks of the Chesapeake up to that point culminated in the year 2000 when Leggett coordinated with the Smithsonian and Library of Congress to compile more than 40,000 images that portrayed Black contributions to Maryland’s seafood and maritime industries in a proper historical context.
According to the Maryland State Archives, “This irreplaceable, extensive collection began as a labor of love 35 years ago for [Black of the Chesapeake Foundation] founder Vincent Leggett. He sought to capture, document, and chronicle African American life along the reaches of the Chesapeake Bay before time and evolving generations allowed it to float away.”
Leggett was also an instrumental part of the creation of Elktonia-Carr’s Beach Heritage Park, a public park launched in 2022 on the site of two popular Chesapeake Bay resorts, Carr and Sparrow beaches, formerly havens to Maryland’s Black community during segregation.
Legendary Black performers such as Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington all performed there during segregation.
According to Chesapeake Conservancy, Leggett said it was important to him to teach why sites like Elktonia-Carr’s Beach Heritage Park are necessary pieces of history for future generations.
“Unless one walks the site of the iconic African American beaches, you can never fully understand what happened there,” Leggett said.
Leggett continued, “Unless one learns the stories of the heroes, you can never fully appreciate how their sacrifice gave us the freedoms we enjoy today. And unless you and I pass on the appreciation of these sites and why they are important, we cannot ensure the same freedom for our children and grandchildren.”
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