Island Light: A Place Apart
Clamming in the shallows in Edgartown.
Clamming in the shallows in Edgartown.
Union Chapel awaits warmer weather to open doors again.
Union Chapel awaits warmer weather to open doors again.
Icy surface to Priester's Pond in West Tisbury.
Icy surface to Priester's Pond in West Tisbury.
Icicle whiskers form along an East Chop pier.
Icicle whiskers form along an East Chop pier.
Walking on Crystal Lake is more common than paddling in January.
Walking on Crystal Lake is more common than paddling in January.
Black Dog wharf receives a dusting of snow.
Black Dog wharf receives a dusting of snow.
Flurries accumulate in front of Camp Ground cottages.
Flurries accumulate in front of Camp Ground cottages.
Endless waves crash at South Beach.
Endless waves crash at South Beach.
Lone walker greets the Atlantic in Katama.
Lone walker greets the Atlantic in Katama.
Fishing boats tied to their docks in inclement weather.
Fishing boats tied to their docks in inclement weather.
High tide gathers around Bangs shuck shack on the Lagoon.
High tide gathers around Bangs shuck shack on the Lagoon.
Barnacles along a hull.
Barnacles along a hull.
Dredging the culvert at the opening to Farm Pond.
Dredging the culvert at the opening to Farm Pond.
Old truck has seen many winters in Vineyard Haven.
Old truck has seen many winters in Vineyard Haven.
Towering pines in West Tisbury.
Towering pines in West Tisbury.
Offshore at Squibnocket.
Offshore at Squibnocket.
Friday brought heavy waves to West Chop.
Friday brought heavy waves to West Chop.
Choppy harbor water for Shenandoah.
Choppy harbor water for Shenandoah.
Nstar crews repair power lines due to high winds.
Nstar crews repair power lines due to high winds.
The Vineyard is justifiably proud of its history as a place apart from the mainland, a place where African Americans were welcomed when they were not elsewhere.
Above all, the Island has been a place of tolerance and community, where we accept and rely on each other.
And what better way to observe the life and leadership of the man than to recall the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., spoken from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, before hundreds of thousands of people stretching from the Tidal Basin to the Washington Monument:
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’”