Letter to the Chilmark Community,

On Friday, Apr 19, 2024I released a personal but public production entitled CCC Decision 2024. This video expressed my perspective on the upcoming Chilmark town meeting vote. This perspective has been formed through my involvement with culture-building efforts at the Chilmark Community Center, over the last 2.5 years. I specifically mention the last 2.5 years because it’s only been over that time that I really developed any perspective about anything in Chilmark at all.

Allow me to reintroduce myself…my name is Kyle Ralf Williams. I am the son of Jocelyn Coleman Walton and a proud ancestor of all who have called Coleman Corners, up in the Highlands, their home. The next time I touch my feet on the Inkwell will mark my 52nd season at my summer home on the Island of Noepe, also known as Martha’s Vineyard.

Until the last 2.5 years, I had probably been to Chilmark three times in my life. One was absolutely a restroom stop on my way home from Aquinnah. This is not a slight on Chilmark. Clearly, Chilmark has tremendous value. The people, the beauty, the history, the land, the influence, the community. I just couldn’t see it. I can admit that. I saw a quiet town with no beach that looked like fun. Where was the arcade? Growing up in Oak Bluffs, I played basketball EVERYDAY. Never saw “the courts” while driving through there. I wasn’t even a big fan of the chocolates.

I passed through Chilmark my whole life, knowing only what I had heard about Chilmark. As a kid, it wasn’t so much what I heard; nobody around my way talked about Chilmark, ever. It was much more what I didn’t see. I never saw any Black people. I never saw any Cape Verdean people. No Jamaican people. No Indigenous people. Only white people. More than the people, I felt the absence of representation of those cultures. Chilmark wasn’t the only time I felt that on MV. Hell, I didn't have to go too far past Second Bridge to feel that in Edgartown. Chilmark just felt so far removed. It was different because I was so used to spending my time on the Island with at least a sampling of ALL those people in Oak Bluffs, either as friends of the family, neighbors, beach goers, visitors, or community members.

So that’s what formed my perspective.  (Before any of the “non-white” members of the community who I met in the comments respond, I’m not saying that there were none of you in Chilmark in 1984, I’m just saying I never saw you passing through.) So I just got a slight glimpse, a passing through, but with a lasting impression. As I got older and more well read and aware, I learned more about Chilmark. I learned about the wealth. I learned about the fame…the HUGE houses…the big money parties. The privilege of influence. The value. I learned, as unofficial town historian Preston Harris once said, "It's kind of an exclusive town". This limited exposure influenced my limited perspective about Chilmark. With no meaningful interaction, it served me well my whole life. Until one day it didn't.

I would’ve probably lived out whatever retirement years I’m blessed to live on MV without ever spending more than another bathroom break in Chilmark if there hadn’t been an incident at a camp between a black boy and two white boys in 2021. Before you say “why does he have to bring that up?” or “why does he have to bring up the race of the kids?”, ask yourself would “he” even be here if that didn’t matter in America? Would it have been on major news feeds around the country if three white kids did the same exact thing? Would it have even made the Gazette or the MVTimes? Would there even have been a discipline report at the camp? It matters.

I arrived at the work with CTAC & the CCC bringing 50 years of perspective that I had to intentionally decide to put aside, to intentionally create enough space to be open to see things from a different perspective and find solidarity. I knew I had to if I was going to successfully work with “these people” in Chilmark. I wanted more than anything to make it work. This was an opportunity to teach and learn. To heal and to reconcile. To be courageous and inspire critical thinking. To help empower people to be heroic. A real opportunity to do what we have set out to do with the MV Community of Change. It was going to take work, and I first recognized that I had my own work to do.

I am passionate about our mission, our movement, and our opportunity with A Long Talk. There is no playbook for this. These can be messy and muddy waters. We teach the mantra of progress over perfection, and that applies to myself as well.

I’m writing this because I made a movie about something I cared about. It gave a perspective that I felt was needed in a discussion,  and which I believe is important. I’m writing this because I posted it and I sent the link to some friends on the Island. I’m writing this because in the small town of Chilmark, it went viral.  I’m writing this because I am not Thomas Bena or Scott Frank, I know there is a high standard of filmmakers and story tellers in Chilmark. Their work seems to have connected better with the Chilmark audience than mine. So, I’m writing this to make sure the message is clear.

First, I want to apologize to anyone, especially parents and children, whose likenesses were used in the images. I chose to use those images to represent all of the positive energy and growth I’ve encountered in the wonderful people I’ve met at the CCC. Regardless, as a parent and an educator, that was a box I didn’t consider checking in my zeal to tell the story. That was an error, and that is the reason the video was removed abruptly upon my waking up to the comments.

Since the “nuance” of my plot was lost on some people who couldn’t see that the mere discussion of a racist incident in the past is not an indictment on anyone in this present moment in time, let me provide the storyline this way.

• Tells history of the community center…include history of Incident in 2021…present facts & findings…Decision 2021: “What do we do differently?”...new values stated, new expectations set, new learning opportunities offered…more diverse leadership…intentionality with self evaluations, new protocols and practices…ANTI-racism ACTIVATED with board, counselors, & community!! (Praise given!!)...recognize challenges overcome & progress made…recognize the removal of a person of influence due to disrespectful behavior...recognize the powerful political support that person has drawn from leaders of the petition..offer a different perspective…offer a choice

From the comments that I engaged with under the post I gather this is a main point of clarification:

• For those who believe that I painted the town of Chilmark, any individuals in Chilmark, or the Chilmark tennis community as racists, I need you to help me. Please feel free to comment and attach the words that I said to make you feel that way. (I’ll even send you a private link if you need to watch it again to be sure). I submit this challenge not as a rebuke but as an invitation to help me better understand where the message got misconstrued so that I can do a better job of communicating with my audience. If you can get past the discomfort of the message and listen again to what I said, I believe you will literally hear me praising the CCC and the community for trending more towards the OPPOSITE of racism. They leaned into becoming actively ANTI-racist at many levels. Our sessions together were a great success. To be honest, I don’t even see this as an issue of racism; it's simply an issue of respect.  Anti-racism is in our title. So I get that when I show up, in protest, people assume we are fighting racism . We are in a War Against Ignorance. Sometimes, we show up merely to educate. Other times we show up to advocate. When called upon we will advocate against racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-semitism, islamophobia and all forms of ignorance and disrespect against others. The act of disrespect alone is enough to activate, the reasons behind it are sometimes secondary.

The goal of my video was to give you a different perspective. If I failed to do that in a cinematic way, let me try to use a piece of information that I believe has been overlooked. If you’re open, it may give you a perspective that I believe many people in Chilmark can’t see, just like I couldn’t see you three years ago. I need to preface this with a declaration that it may be difficult for you to see this if you refuse to try. I hope this helps because it's the core of the issue for me.

Read this excerpt below from Thursday’s Vineyard Gazette:

Conflict between the two groups has been developing for years now, with town affairs council executive director Suellen Lazarus saying that “disrespectful” behavior from the tennis pro and others involved in the tennis program contributed to the departure of summer camp executive director Kiera Lapsley, who was hired in 2022.

Mr. Grossman disputed this claim. In a joint address to the town affairs council and co-signed by 166 people, posted on the friends group website, members of the tennis community wrote in favor of renewing the contract of longtime tennis pro Eddie Stahl.

This is not a personnel issue, this is an interpersonal issue. With the perspective of a Black man who is the son of a Black woman who worked in supervisory positions, I’m sensitive to the patterns of disrespect that women, and Black women particularly, face. In this excerpt, something JUMPED out to me. Can you see it or is it a blind spot for you? I see a white woman in leadership affirming that another woman, the only Black woman in leadership, was disrespected by Eddie to a point where it impacted her desire to continue her work there. Do you see that? Good, but that is not what jumped out. In the very next line, a white man, who doesn’t work at the center, DISPUTED this claim. Huh?? (These are not rhetorical questions. The comments are open on this doc)

• Was he a witness to these interactions?
• Was there an investigation into her claims that proved them unfounded?
• What evidence did he see to determine his ruling?
• Did he have a discussion with Keira Lapsley about this?
• Did he even ask Eddie what happened?
• Why doesn’t he believe these women?
• Why is it so difficult to believe this could be true?
• Even if it is true, does it matter to him? Would he rescind his support for Eddie if he found out the accusation was indeed true?
• Is there a proposal from the friends group to improve conditions and address the issues of the tennis community that doesn’t include Eddie? If not, why not?

These are questions I challenge you to ask yourself about this piece of the story. As you ask yourself, don’t make the mistake of not recognizing how powerful your connection is to your existing perspective. From the perspective of most of you, it sounds like an Eddie you just can’t imagine. It goes against everything you know about Eddie. This is not the Eddie you know. Because the Eddie you know is lovable and helpful, friendly and outgoing, exceptional at teaching the game. It makes perfect sense that from that perspective you would dismiss this outright. You’ve seen him get along with everyone, from all backgrounds, he even got along well with the Black guy boss he had last year. Women support him all over the town. I 100% believe that to be your truth. That’s why you advocate for him.

Now recognize, if you are a woman who knows Eddie, but Eddie has never worked for you. You have a different perspective. He’s never taken direction from you. He’s never been denied a request by you which he believes negatively affects his income. Only two women in this situation have done that. And both of them are telling you it was a traumatic, unsettling, and disrespectful experience. What I see here is the possibility that everyone who is supporting Eddie returning to work at the center, is saying to those women, “we don’t believe you” or “we’re ok with him being allowed to do that”.  I’m sorry, but on some level, there is no other way for me to see that. If that's a blind spot in my perspective, please enlighten me. Because if you believed them, and had empathy for them, and you wanted to be part of a community center that stands for values which state,

“Physical, verbal or emotional abuse or any speech, action or behavior that creates a hostile or intimidating environment and does not treat all participants with respect is not allowed. Those who are unable to respect and abide by these values cannot participate in CCC programs”

…you would support or at least understand his removal. ^{[a][b][c][d][e]}

Finally, ask yourself this:

• If you felt disrespected by a co-worker and reported it to your superiors, and they didn't believe you, how would it make you feel?
• If you disrespected your boss at work, would you expect to keep your job?
• If you were the boss and a subordinate repeatedly disrespected you, would you agree to simply let his “chain of command” be rerouted to someone else? Or would you remove him from your staff?
• If you were a boss and removed someone from your staff who was disrespectful towards you and some of his clients and friends called you a liar and called for his reinstatement, how would you feel about them? What would you do?

Another woman has been hired this year to run the summer camp at the CCC. She decided that the best environment in which to do her duties of leading a successful experience for the children and families of Chilmark this summer didn’t include Eddie. What Executive Director in the history of Executive Directors came into the job and was forced into taking someone HE didn’t want? Why is SHE expected to do that? If the new Executive Director was your daughter, what side of this would you be on? If you believed these women, what would you do differently to protect them?

My hope is that my words stimulate better conversations around uncomfortable topics. To that end, I believe strongly that the CTAC and CCC need to do a much better job of finding ways to have more open lines of communication with the community.

If this is your first introduction to me and our mission, I hope this speaks more clearly to what we are about. What I am about. I hope more clarity can soothe whatever irritations I may have caused in those who believe in the same goal of a more perfect union, where we can openly, honestly, thoughtfully & intelligently communicate. We don’t have to agree, but we do have to survive.

If nothing I’ve said resonates or you think this is “propaganda” that is absolutely your right to do so. That’s the beauty of this country. We, the people, have the right to voice our opinions. We all have them. The goal is to be governed by our most educated opinions and ideas. If we can all agree that there are at least two sides to every story, you can’t possibly argue that you’re more educated by only understanding one, can you?

The best part of this is that we live in a society that validates the individual voter's power to determine the direction of policy and legislation. You are all living the American dream. Come Tuesday, you can use your superpower. The power to decide what type of society you want to live in. The power to decide to keep the center unified, as it’s been since its inception, or cast a divisive vote, which may also have ramifications at the town hall level. It’s your choice. Choose wisely.

Peace & Power,

Kyle

Last point. This isn’t about partisan politics for me when I say this. Those who know me know that I believe both parties are two wings of the same bird and I recognize them both for what they have always been, hijackers of the whole concept of “We the people…”  To me MAGA is different. Not the GOP. Not true conservatism. But MAGA and the nationalist movements who support it are dangerous in my eyes. You can disagree with me on that. You can minimize their threat. You can “what about the others” (I agree, they're bad too). But what you can’t do is find yourself on the same side as them and act like it doesn’t matter. At least I don’t have that privilege. So when I see names attached to this petition who are also heavy hitters in supporting the MAGA movement…you’ll have to forgive me if I pause to point this out and ask a few questions. (Again, *if my Google machine misled me and my facts are wrong please leave a comment.)

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