We are proud to announce that our first sponsor and grantor is the Martha’s Vineyard NAACP.  1854 is also supported in part by a grant from the Martha’s Vineyard Local Culture Council, an agency that is supported by the Massachusetts Culture Council, by the Permanent Endowment of Martha’s Vineyard, the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank and the Martha's Vineyard Center for Visual Arts. 1854 is produced under the aegis of the U.S. Slave Song Project (“USSSP”), whose founder and artistic director is Jim Thomas.  USSSP is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and serves as 1854’s not-for-profit umbrella. We are grateful to Ms. Leigh B. Smith for her generosity that has enabled us to move forward.  We also are grateful for several modest donations from the Vineyard community.

 

1854 is intended to help empower the residents of Martha’s Vineyard by highlighting a crucial moment in the Vineyard’s, as well as our national history.  I hope to make the performance of 1854 an annual event.  Our goal is to promote a conversation regarding the African American experience in the context of Martha’s Vineyard and the attendant misunderstandings that may have developed through the years amongst different cultures.

 

 

 

 

 

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