The Legacy of Legacy Day
On the evening of August 16, 2014, nearly 1,500 partygoers gathered in Chestertown to inaugurate Legacy Day.
They cheered the floats, classic cars, and community groups that paraded on High Street; danced to the music of Quiet Fire (including Kent County native Jasper Hackett) and the recorded oldies played by DJ Stansbury; savored the soul food offered by vendors; and caught up with old friends.
They also came to honor entrepreneur and civic leader Charlie Graves, whose Uptown Club had showcased such giants of jazz and rhythm and blues as Louis Armstrong, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, and Sam Cooke. Several attendees commented that Legacy Day 2014 was the most diverse gathering they could remember in Kent County. Then-Mayor Chris Cerino said, “We need to do this every year.”
Legacy Day 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of our annual celebration of the history and culture of Kent County’s African American citizens. In recognition of this milestone, Legacy Day 2023 is taking a retrospective look at the celebrations of the past decade that have expanded from a Saturday night dance party to a weekend of partying and education. We also recall the historic contributions of the African American community in music, business, education, religion, sports, and the military.
The first Legacy Day was proposed by a community history committee in the Historical Society of Kent County (Airlee Ringgold Johnson, Jeanette Sherbondy, George Shivers, and Bill Leary) to figure out how to direct attention to the largely ignored history and culture of the African American citizens of Kent County.
As Legacy Day’s scope of activities has expanded in the past decade, the original goals and expectations have stayed constant. Legacy Day should increase the awareness and appreciation by Kent County’s Black and White citizens of their shared history and culture, and provide a good time with good music and good food. All activities should be free and open to all. And even if the August heat becomes uncomfortable, it should never rain on Legacy Day!
Legacy Day 2015 continued to explore the important role of music in African American life by recognizing local music venues and Kent County musicians from the 1960s and 1970s. The venues included four beer gardens in the 300 block of Cannon Street that offered rhythm and blues via the jukebox. In addition to the Uptown Club, the Concrete Club near Great Oak, also owned by Charlie Graves, and the Rank Poison Inn in Butlertown, later renamed the Blue Moon Tavern, featured live music. The best remembered local musician was saxophonist and singer Randolph “Jazz” Johnson; others were the Highlanders, the Rotations, the New Breed, and Black Soul.
Legacy Day 2016 paid tribute to Black business owners of the 19th and 20th centuries. Successful 19th century entrepreneurs included restaurateurs Samuel and William Perkins, Levi Rogers, siblings Kitty and Thomas Toomey, and Henry and Louisa Harris; butcher and grocer James Jones; and real estate operator Thomas Cuff. In the mid-20th century, commercial activity flourished on Calvert and Cannon streets. Calvert Street was home to the Uptown Club, the Munson family store, and the Kenneth Walley funeral home. Cannon Street included three barbershops, two beauty parlors, four beer gardens, and the first Black electrician’s store.
Legacy Day 2017 honored 32 African American educators who taught or served as principals in segregated Kent County schools and later, in most cases, in integrated schools. A consistent theme of their recollections was that despite many discriminatory aspects of segregated schools, Black students received a quality education before the long-delayed integration of Kent County schools in 1967. They attributed that success to well-prepared and committed teachers, strong leadership that enforced high academic standards and discipline, and strong support from the African American community.
Legacy Day 2018 honored the Black and White students who participated in the tumultuous early years of integration in Kent County schools. Gradual integration between 1963 and 1967 was the work of more than 100 “pioneers,” Black students who volunteered, or were volunteered by their parents, to attend formerly all-White schools before full integration in 1967. These pioneers included Robert “Bobby” Brown, Michelle Towson, Herbert Warren, Vanessa Isaacs Ringgold, and Ellsworth Tolliver, whose experiences ranged from the good to the bad to the downright ugly.
Legacy Day 2019 honored African American churches of Kent County by documenting the history of the 24 early churches, all of which were founded at least 125 years ago and belonged to a branch of the Methodist church. Given the widespread poverty and discrimination that African Americans had to contend with, the construction and preservation of 24 churches (roughly one for every 275 Black residents) represent a remarkable testament to the faith and resourcefulness of their congregations. This achievement also emphasizes the essential role of the Black church as a community institution that not only fulfills spiritual needs but also helps to advance the social, educational, and political aspirations of its members.
In response to the covid-19 pandemic, Legacy Day 2020 went virtual with several online events, including a genealogy workshop hosted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a spirited discussion of Black student life at Washington College, and a video previewing our tribute to outstanding African American athletes and coaches postponed until 2021.
Legacy Day 2021 featured some of the most successful basketball and football teams at Garnet and Kent County high schools, the community baseball teams that flourished in small towns from the 1920s to the 1970s, and the church league basketball teams of the 1970s and 1980s. We honored 44 athletes and four coaches.
Legacy Day 2022 saluted more than 1,700 African American men and women from Kent County who served in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard. This record of service began during the American Revolution and continues to the present. During the Civil War, more than 44% of eligible Black men in Kent County, free and enslaved, fought to emancipate themselves, their families, and their brethren, and to preserve the Union. Local African Americans enlisted in significant numbers to fight in every major war of the 20th century. Legacy Day 2022 was a modest effort to say, “Thank you for your service.”
Legacy Day 2023 plans to honor the dozens of volunteers and donors who have produced an annual festival that documents and celebrates aspects of the history and culture of African Americans in Kent County. The Honorees’ Reception will include a special tribute to Airlee Ringgold Johnson, who has provided the indispensable leadership, inspiration, community links, and driving force that have made Legacy Day a success. Visit the Sumner Hall website for a schedule of the free events August 18-20.
Bill Leary, a retired historian and archivist, is on the board of directors of Sumner Hall. He has worked on Legacy Day exhibits since 2014, shortly after retiring to Chestertown.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
