fight to memorialize abolitionist frederick douglass. and the power of the black committee placed on martha's vineyard. all today on "cityline." hello. welcome to "cityline." i am karen holmes ward. massachusetts played a pivotal role in the fight to end slavery. boston was a community of free african communities and that the charge for equal rights. many black and white were involved in the underground railroad, helping the enslaved escape to freedom.

serve and abolitionist movement. someone has been missing from the landscape. one group of young people have helped to highlight his legacy. ? boston and massachusetts have made significant contributions to the abolitionist movement of the 1800s. with that historic role, a link to iconic figures the contributed to change. one being frederick douglass. >> friin equality. he became an abolitionist and worked with the group of people who also wanted the same as him and wanted freedom for the black community. karen: but the residents know and understand frederick douglass and his two impact in the commonwealth? >> boston as the hub of abolition would be were a lot of

and interpretation at the amusement african african-american history on beacon hill says frederick douglass performed grand orations in the african meetinghouse. >> he wanted slavery to and then he spoke those words in here. he was very active here, and disregard for the abolitionist circles make us know that he was ton was loving its embrace him. karen: douglass was not just fighting slavery. he was fighting stereotypes, putting images of himself up for everyone to see. it was an image in stark contrast to those of most african-americans and what they had seen at the time. on view at the museum, in collaboration with an author, and inspired by his book, featuring frederick douglass,

the most photographed american of the 19th century. >> this book has inspired an exhibition that shows 160 upward photographs that frederick douglass was deliberate in taking the present a dignified image of african-americans against a backdrop of mockery and misrepresentation. impact, for over one decade, community organizers have advocated for a frederick douglass statue. >> it has been seven to eight years in the making. karen: the effort and reasoning comes from many activists, claiming a small section in roxbury as the frederick douglass district, an area where public art serves to honor his legacy. >> frederick douglass was alive

without preservation of that culture, people will not know he even lived in derived and breathed and did a lot in this area. karen: in november 2015, a proposal to the boston art commission was rejected, one of many. for community activists, this painstaking progress was causing great frustration. >> how to be preserve ourselves and keep ourselves knowledgeable about a culture and give us pride? the artists, other projects that gone up in less than one year, 1.5 years. we do not want the frederick douglass's culture to be the last. we wanted to be a springboard for lots of other ones to come. karen: why the delay? the director of the boston art commission voices solidarity

an important role in boston. there is attention placed on filling that story in a way that sort of honors his role in history and his place in our contemporary dialogue. karen: from an ever-changing statue committee to standard government rotate and landownership complications, translated to little dance made on the statue's approval. >> land, so we have to deal with the owners of the land and what they want to do. even dealing with the city and what they choose or think is best for us. karen: "the boston globe" detailed the tensions between activists in the city. they did not know the story would reach the hand again people who would spur real and actual change. >> what it means, what it means to be [indiscernible]

eighth grade teacher in dorchester. one of her main focus is is african-american history. >> we start off with ancient african civilization in the beginning and then move to the middle passage. we do american slavery, reconstruction, the great migration, and we are in the civil rights movement. we are trying to create this thread in the continuum of black history from africa to america. ka of discussion, as did the abolitionist movement and frederick douglass. history resonated with the students. >> he inspires them in terms of the desire for an education. he was a slave and was not allowed to read and write, but he learned. there is no excuse for you to do with your sparsity of its summit some and can do that against great odds. >> he is a hero.

commended for that. karen: "the boston globe's" article was brought to her desk, so she had her class write letters to the mayor art commission, joining in the call for frederick douglass memorial. >> i read it and thought it could be a cool activity for children to take on letter writing skills and articulate their voice, but we were naive. we found out that this egg issue thought it would become what it did. karen: this innocent school activity would help boost the community effort almost one decade in the making. >> i got tons of letters from students expressing their passion and why frederick douglass should have a memorial. >> i think it would have a big impact because people know who frederick douglass is that they don't know what he did in the importance he has in our country, and with that statue, people would be able to see the great person that he was.

the city because it shows what has happened before, and it shows how people have created that. karen: students, including kaylene and ezekiel, new that it would not go unnoticed. >> date extended an invitation to see the process. -- they extended an invitation to see the process. karen: they performed from -- performed for them, reading letters and reciting poetry. >> i felt good because i felt good because ahead and opportunity to make a change at the engage. >> it is pretty powerful. teacher to see your students get up there so eloquently and be willing to share their voices and experiences of people they have never met before. i was blown away and very proud

interest was good to know that they could stand up and talk about them, and some of them demonstrated what they knew about him and it was marvelous. ? karen: since the students of the conservatory lab charter school spoke to the city, there is attention being paid to the art proposal. the art commission has selected a new and more prominent location on tree on street. >> they can serve as a gateway to roxbury's community. underneath, what utilities might be running there and how we would have to work around that point installation. >> children get their buses at that corner where the new proposed side is, so they can read, play, and [indiscernible] karen: as students move on, the impact they had on a decade-long fight will never be forgotten.

we have the right mindset and you can do anything. i went other students, like me, to do the same thing to make a change, too. karen: good for them. since we spoke with everyone, the boston art commission is working with the public works department to survey the land and move toward landscape and memorial planning. catch "picturing frederick douglass" beacon hill. for those wanting to experience what it could have been like in the underground railroad, pick up the book called "underground." it was announced as the next picture oprah's book club. next, how martha's vineyard gave

dear fellow citizen, spending time hunting treasures with my daughter is wonderful. because before i'm even ready, she'll be off to college. and though i've planned for it, i may need a loan to help her pay her way there. just like i do for my son. citizens bank student loans call 1-866-999-0146 as a leader in student lending, we have student loan options that others don't. including better alternatives to federal loans. i can show you how to pay for your own child's way to college.

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karen: welcome back. the obama's return to martha's vineyard for their seventh summer vacation. the president took one year off when running for reelection. what attracted the obama's to the island retreat in the first place? in his new book "martha's vineyard: ra richard taylor says it is the vision and values of generations of african americans living that made it a safe haven for the obama family. richard taylor is with us in the studio. how are you? richard: fine. nice to be here. karen: for those who do not know, give us a brief history on how african-americans arrived and settled on martha's vineyard. richard: it was not a large

vineyard. people came largely as servants, chauffeurs, maids, cleaning people, so this class, if you will, visionary class began to buy property and they began to move on. in some cases, they stayed on. that was the original way. karen: what they servants -- richard: wife's family. karen: captains of the few whaling captains, but largely it was the service class in the 1900s and late 1800s. i can think of one. jones' grandmother came from new jersey and bought property in

with the west family. they had property on the vineyard. there are stories like that. karen: toward the west, the great renaissance writer, and many in the audience may know her association with jackie kennedy. dorothy west means much more than that. i want you to share a passage from your book about how martha's vineyard became much more widely known to the country. announced to all of black america that the most significant of the most colonist in the country was a "quaint historical place" on martha's vineyard. all pictures covered the activities. a family boarding the boats, and artist painting an easel, and some residents on the beach or her scene one of their

such articles showed leisure summer activities and spread the word about the black presence on the island. it grew beyond the oak bluffs on the island. karen: let's go back to the title -- "grace, property and the power of race -- "race, property and the power of race." how does that relate to the quote you shared? goes to the mainland of america and the ability of blacks to buy property. between homeowners associations, lawyers, brokers and the government, lacks could not buy property on the mainland, eminent domain, and just outright ordinances until really 1948 hour enforced. in parallel to the problem on

ever-increasing numbers on martha's vineyard, so that is the property piece. race, there was no institutionalized or structured racism on the vineyard. of course, the native americans, the original americans, or there. the religious communities, campgrounds, other churches, the portuguese eventually came, so there was always a strand of people of color that. the presence on the vineyard are, are you an island there or not -- islander or not? this helped create the atmosphere. karen: that atmosphere of acceptance is what led the obama's to pick martha's vineyard for the summer vacation, and you have another passage from the book to show. richard: yes, ma'am.

on resting and relaxing. a former white house aide, with obama during the first vacation, makes the following comment -- when he is not working, he plays cards, goes to restaurants and ice cream shops, reads a bit and enjoys time with his family and friends. on the president's reading list was made public and included "washington," " dimension of elizabeth coburg," and mr. obama released two of his playlist on spotify with a broad range of musical interests. doug: court -- in light karen: of course, -- karen: of course, bill clinton vacationed there, too. and we saw the obama girls out

and first lady always act with their daughters in mind, so it was the vineyard that had other young people of color. a strong tradition that initially grew them to the veneers. karen: harry seymour has created a series of art pieces inspired by the election and inauguration of president obama and the obama family. we will see some of those pieces right now. his work can b what is the series called? richard: "the obama patriot series," and i think kerry, a very talented artist and academic, -- harry, a very talented artist and academic, wanted to betray softimage is because there were negative images of our president in the early years and he wanted to balance that ended the brilliant job. karen: they are beautiful.

through quickly. this was the inoculation nights, the first dance. richard: "at last." karen: and the famous fist bump. if you are interested in any of harry seymour's work, we will give you the link to find it on a website that wcvb.com. i do not know we one more question. how long did it take to write the book? richard: off and on eighth years. karen: wonde now it is available online or at the bookstore and at harvard.com and you calo for the book printed here and catch richard taylor's event at the martha's vineyard museum on august 13. you have two other books at the gallery on what date? richard: august 20 and 27.

changing harlem, a continuous preservation of history. dear fellow citizen, hunting treasures with my daughter is wonderful. because before i'm ready, she'll be off to college. i want to help her pay her way there, . call 1-866-999-0148 as a leader in student lending, we have student loan options that others don't. if you have a question about student loans, ask me. sincerely, michele wright fellow mom and fellow citizen.

karen: welcome back. the harlem renaissance, aged world war i through the great depression, was born in harlem, usa. it was a social movement and explosion of culture and arts, drawing black writers, musicians and scholars to the city street. now, a growing hub of diversity and gentrification, residents are concerned, wondering which parts of new york's black cultural the go will survive. shayna seymour took a tour with abc news ron claiborne.

yna: ask one dozen new yorkers about their favorite parks and you get one dozen answers. ron claiborne favors morningside park in harlem. the park sits outside the gates to columbia university, where he went to grad school. ron: i lived here because as a student, we had been told very seriously do not go into morningside park day or night. it is dangerous and it was. shayna: morningside park rn different. well kept up, you do full, quite. the people are from harlem or up in morningside heights. it is quiet, tranquil and peaceful. shayna: he reserves that enthusiasm for harlem. >> the new harlem is more diverse, exciting, places to eat, safer, jazz clubs and it is harlem. it always has that special

shayna: among legendary music clubs, minton, founded in the 1930's and the birthplace of bebop. >> it was not welcome in the club's downtown. they considered it devil's music and unruly and strange. shayna: alexander smoltz's executive chef and co-owner of minton's and the sister restaurant cecil's. >> it was an elegant clubs close downtown and went to the wee hours of the morning. shayna: it was renovated and turned into a jazz club with a touch of old-fashioned glamour and attempting menu. award-winning chef de cuisine j.j. johnson. his signature dish is the low

crab, carolina rice and sure. >> my grandmother drew me to the kitchen and it is in my dna. shayna: as for the main attraction -- >> some of the best audience in my career and life. ? [piano] shayna: johnny o'neal performs tonight. he was sidelined by illness or years and now on a recently heralded by "the new york times." >> it is the highest level of performance on an instrument. there is always something to do. you have to have a lot of humility to play this music, especially when i think about the throwback gladiators that came before me. ? [piano] shayna: he says he is honored to be a part of the legacy at minton's.

displays, billie holiday, dizzy gillespie, great. shayna: what does that say about you? >> [laughter] i look at them as more like the roots and i am an extended branch from where the soul begins. it is good to continue it on and blossom and flourish. ? [piano] [applause] everything and everyone we featured on today's program by logging on to our page at wcvb.com. thank you for watching, everyone. have a great rest of your day. take care. ? [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

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