Hello Meltingpot Readers,
From now on, on the first Friday of the month, you’ll find a post dedicated to Meltingpot History here on My American Meltingpot. The idea that the United States has always been segregated and that there has always been animosity between different racial groups is a lie. A big, fat lie meant to perpetuate White supremacy. But the fact is, white people have been living, loving, working for and with people of color since John Smith begged Pocahontas to help him stay alive. Since even before that. There are so many instances of cultural collaborations and connections in our short history that I find it absurd that people actually think there ever was a “White America” and or something like “pure white blood.” Ha! I laugh at the notion!
It is my goal then, to showcase examples of America’s colorful history here on The Meltingpot, to correct the prevailing narrative that continues to perpetuate a nation divided by the color line. That’s not our history and it shouldn’t be our future.
So, without further ado. I bring you, Malaga Island.
RACISM IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS
Malaga Island is a small island off the coast of Maine. I originally heard about it after reading Mat Johnson’s fantabulous book, Loving Day: A Novel
Originally settled by a Black man and his descendants in the mid-1800s, Malaga island was home to Black, white and Mixed-race residents who made their living from fishing. From all accounts, their lives were hardscrabble and challenging, but no more so than the people who lived on the mainland. In 1911, however, the 40+ residents of Malaga Island were forcibly removed from their homes and told to evacuate the island by orders of the governor of the state. The reason? Because racism.
Maine was starting to become a popular vacation destination for the wealthy and nobody wanted Black and brown faces to mar the perfect setting the state was trying to sell to investors. In addition, the very thought of Black and white people living together, and (gasp) procreating and building lives together was just too much for the people of Maine to accept. It just went against all of their limited thinking about race, racial purity and racial superiority. So, they got violent, burned everybody’s house down, committed many of the residents to a home for the feeble minded, dug up the graves of the deceased, and otherwise tried to erase any evidence that this multiracial community ever existed. The end.
But not really.
MALAGA ISLAND RESURRECTED
A handful of surviving descendants of Malaga Island, some intrepid reporters and curious archeologists have spent the last few years resurrecting the past. They’ve used various means to bring the story of Malaga Island to life in films, newspaper stories and multimedia installations. I’m happy to report that last summer, in 2017, a new monument was dedicated to the people of Malaga Island as well and the governor has issued an official apology for the atrocious way the state treated the inhabitants of the island.
This is just a quick summary of what went down in Maine, but if you’d like to read more details, please check out this article from Atlas Obsura and this website all about the island’s history and legacy.
So, that’s today’s lesson. I hope you share this story with somebody else so we can all know more about the real meltingpot history of these United States. #MakeAmericaColorfulAgain!
Peace!
