UPDATED, February 13, 12 p.m.: The program scheduled for Feb. 18 has been postponed due to illness, and will be rescheduled to a later date. The Pea Island Cookhouse in Manteo will also not be open on Sunday, Feb. 19.
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The Pea Island Preservation Society, Inc., is pleased to announce the special Black History Month program Checkerboard Crews and Colored News to be held on February 18, 2023, at 3:00 pm at College of The Albemarle – Dare in Manteo, where the second floor lounge of the new building has been named the Keeper Richard Etheridge Lounge.
This program is being held as part of Pea Island Preservation Society, Inc.’s continuing efforts to raise awareness of black history in northeastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks.
The program will feature the unveiling of a new painting, The Checkerboard Crew, by the artist James Melvin, a painting designed to bring additional support and attention to making the black history of the area broadly known.
This program will also include a special presentation about various sites connected to the black history of this area besides the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum in Manteo, a location which primarily focuses on the story Etheridge, who was once enslaved on Roanoke Island, and the all-black crew he commanded.
Each of the sites on Roanoke Island are designed to provide a deeper understanding of the area’s black history and a more inclusive community.
Checkerboard Crews, a term used to identify integrated crews in the United States Life-Saving Service with white and black surfmen is a poignant reminder of the need to raise awareness.
Sadly today still many do not know the inspiring story of Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers.
Yet alone, the story of integrated crews that Etheridge and other blacks served on. This history has been over shadowed by the more popular historical events here such as the Lost Colony and the famous Wright Brothers first flight.
Colored News, a section in certain southern newspapers during the Jim Crow era published limited news about “colored” people (people who today are referred to as black), is yet another important reminder of untold history.
Typically this section contained just one or two sentences or paragraphs, brief nice to know information such as news about people who were visiting from out of town, birthdays, family gatherings, etc., but nothing substantive.
Using the words Colored News as part the program name for this upcoming event is intended to be a reminder of overlooked history.
Unfortunately, many today have little or no knowledge about the black history of Roanoke Island, particularly about the lives of the enslaved, free people of color, mulattos, and Native Americans (who frequently were identified as being black) who also lived here and in surrounding areas.
Like the Colored News section in old newspapers, their stories have been overshadowed by other more popularly known historical
events here, or simply not made known.
Titled to remember this, the Pea Island Preservation Society’s program and unveiling of the new painting The Checkerboard Crew is intended to raise curiosity and to promote and encourage a deeper understanding of the black history of Roanoke Island.
Please mark this date on our calendar. As we move closer to the event additional details will be provided.