Legacy of Vince Leggett, founder of Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, kept alive
BALTIMORE -- Vince Leggett dedicated his life to telling the full story of the Chesapeake Bay and the Black watermen.
He was an educator, orator, author, cultural historian and conservationist. He was even named Admiral of the Chesapeake by Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, the highest honor in the state for environmental achievements.
When he passed away at the age of 71 in November, he left behind a remarkable legacy.
Who was Vince Leggett?
WJZ sat down with Leggett's colleague and his grandson to learn how they plan continue his life's work through the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation.
Akil Leggett Jr said his grandfather, Vince Leggett, called himself the country boy from East Baltimore.
"He had the wits of someone who grew up in east Baltimore in the 50s and 60s, but he also had the easy way of life of his other family members in Tillery, North Carolina," said Akil.
Deedee Strum, Interim CEO of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, and Leggett's close colleague said when Leggett was growing up he would go back to North Carolina every summer to work the land.
"He said he believes that was the start of his connection to the environment," said Strum.
Connecting with history
Strum said Leggett also felt a connection to the past and was always interested in history.
"He started this out of I think a need to connect more with the history of enslaved Africans who were brought here and then their descendants," Strum said.
Strum said Leggett was curious about the old pictures of Black watermen who became prominent on the Chesapeake Bay in the mid 1800s, but whose stories were often left out of the history books.
"He said there were no stories along with it, no captions," said Strum. "It would just say something like 'oyster shuckers, crab pickers' and it bothered him immensely."
Determined to fill in the blanks, Leggett founded Blacks of the Chesapeake in 1984. He visited the families of Black watermen and documented their stories.
"They owned seafood processing companies. They were entrepreneurs that employed the entire community," said Strum.
Preserving legacy of Black watermen
For 40 years, Leggett worked to preserve the legacy of Black watermen through his growing foundation. He also fought to preserve one of the last pieces of land owned by a formerly enslaved man, Fred Carr, in Annapolis.
"The result is a new city of Annapolis waterfront park," said Strum.
Elktonia-Carr's Beach Heritage Park will honor the legacy of Carr's and Sparrow's beaches. The beaches served as a haven for generations of black families during the height of segregation.
Akil said it was one of his grandfather's greatest accomplishments.
"Ensuring that especially BIPOC, indigenous, marginalized, groups of people have access to the waterways once the park gets opened," said Akil.
Carrying on the legacy
Over the years, Leggett amassed a large collection of pictures, records and artifacts which he began digitizing through the Maryland State Archives in 2017.
MSA assistant state archivist Corey Lewis worked with Leggett on this project, and is still working on it today.
"He was always forward thinking, thinking about the sustainability of his collection and what he would be able to leave behind," said Lewis.
When Leggett passed away in November, Strum became the Interim C.E.O of Blacks of the Chesapeake.
"Vince was a great person who everybody embraced because he embraced everybody," said Strum.
Akil, who will take over the foundation when he finishes college, said he looks forward to expanding the foundation's youth program, The Next Generation of Environmental Champions.
Akil said his grandfather was passionate about teaching young people to be stewards of the bay and its history.
"The best way to uplift Vince and to ensure that his legacy lives on, is to ensure that Blacks of the Chesapeake lives on," said Akil.
Learn more about Blacks of the Chesapeake here.
