Oak Bluffs and the Black Elitism Debate: Conversations on Class, Culture, and Community

College cardigans, crisp whites, and maritime stripes. The Ralph Lauren Oak Bluffs collection seamlessly blends classic American prep with the ease of the Northeastern Coast of the United States. These landscapes have traditionally been showcased as a segment of American society exclusively available to the white upper class. However, the Oak Bluffs collection corrects that narrative, paying homage to the history and black generational ties to Martha’s Vineyard. 

The short film released in conjunction with the Oak Bluffs collection highlights generations of African-Americans who grew up on the vineyard and attended HBCU’s. One of the main pillars grounding the community in Oak Bluffs is black second homeownership, leading to the ability of African-Americans, who had been historically marginalized, to build generational wealth. 

Wrestling with a complicated history of enslavement, the island carries the legacy of both violence and sanctuary. Differing from other cities in the United States, African-Americans had the right to property, inheritance, and to use the courts to challenge their status. During Slavery, the vineyard was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and continued to serve as refuge for African-Americans throughout Jim Crow Era America. As Slavery ended, African-Americans like the Shearers, opened Shearers Cottage, providing a space for visitors who were excluded from white-only establishments. 

The Vineyard served as a cultural, art, and intellectual hub for African-Americans. From Harlem Renaissance icons like Langston Hughes and Dorothy West, to modern political and cultural  figures like former President Barack Obama and director Spike Lee. These prominent black figures have the money and privilege to embrace a restorative summer on the Vineyard. This has sparked many concerns and conversation within the black community. Who is this collection for?

The Oak Bluffs collection was done in collaboration with Spelman and Morehouse College with many connections drawn online with both HBCU’s and the Oak Bluff’s Community attracting only affluent African-Americans. Many have taken to Tik-Tok to discuss their perception of the black elite and their lifestyle, even past just vacationing on the vineyard such as participating in programs like Jack and Jill.

Among the discourse, some say the Oak Bluffs collection promotes black elitism, while others believe Oaks Bluffs is a segment of black history that should be celebrated. Black elitism arises beyond university institutions and vacation destinations, and develops from the attitudes by the elite towards those of a lower socioeconomic class. Carlysle, a Tik-Tok creator garnering over 61,000 followers, offered a strong rebuttal at critiques of the Oak Bluffs Collection saying, “You are not the target audience for this. It wasn’t meant for you… We are not a monolith… If this collection is out of your budget and that is why you’re upset, that's a totally different conversation to have.” This rhetoric promotes black elitism in a way that is more than accumulating generational wealth and wearing tailored clothes. Instead, this creator’s tone looks down on lower income black communities, perpetuating the idea that black elitism is the acceptable form of blackness.

While Oak Bluffs does highlight a black elite class that deserves to be celebrated for their cultivation of cultural, intellectual, and economic advancement, it must be understood that black elitism is rooted in respectability politics. W. E. B Du Bois's The Talented Tenth highlights that the most wealthy and educated faction of African-Americans, will advance the community forward. In addition, Du Bois advises that this elite embodies “high-class” values, challenging racial stereotypes by pursuing higher education and avoiding traits—such as laziness, impulsiveness, and lack of ambition—that white supremacist rhetoric often attributes to Black people. These ideas have subtly been upheld by the black elite beginning with Dubois’ writings, and continuing to be perpetuated in various forms of black media. The Oak Bluffs collection embodies the classic American dream through the east coast prep style,  however, it is no longer a dream if it requires assimilation and adherence to respectability politics. Engaging with capitalism in the ways we were unable to for so long does not lead to liberation, but rather perpetuates the same systems white supremacy and colonization have upheld for centuries, granting permission for society to look down on black people of lower socioeconomic statuses. 

Then comes the other side of the conversation. For those whose families have been attending HBCU’s for generations, putting their kids in Jack and Jill Programs, and vacationing on the vineyard – those who are genuinely part of the black elite – do not deserve to be pushed to the margins for their affluence. Excluding these stories from being highlighted and celebrated creates a single story of blackness rooted in struggle and poverty.

There is space for Oak Bluffs’ rich history and amazing contributions to be celebrated through tailoring and classic prep style, depicting an American Dream that is inclusive and accurate. It highlights a different facet of black history – one rooted in community, leisure, and escape. However, two things can be true at once. While Oak Bluffs deserves to be celebrated, black elitist attitudes that uphold respectability politics pose a risk to the community. Attending HBCU’s and attaining a certain level of affluence is not the issue – upholding the idea that the only black people worthy of respect are the wealthy and educated is damaging. The Oak Bluffs Collection is not inherently elitist by focusing on the black elite, however, it does open the community up to a deeper conversation on harmful black elitist attitudes. It must be recognized that economic success and elitism cannot protect the community from structural oppression. However, the formation of a black elite class, one of the first with the ability to build generational wealth, escape the unwelcoming feelings brought on my segregation, and truly find pleasure in a life and society that has discriminated against them for so long, is something to be revered for centuries to come.