February 10, 2026

For Black History Month, we honor the lives and places that have nurtured Black excellence, community, and possibility across generations. Among them is Jacqueline Melbourne Brown Llewellyn ’51, one of the first Black graduates of Bennington College, whose life embodied intellectual rigor, elegance, and quiet trailblazing. Jacqueline passed away this fall. She carried Bennington’s spirit of curiosity and creativity into every chapter of her life and through several high-profile careers.

Her summers in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard—where her family became among the early Black homeowners in the 1950s—reflected the same warmth and hospitality that defined her legacy and helped sustain a place that offered refuge, joy, and belonging at a time when such spaces were rare.

Oak Bluffs itself stands as a living testament to Black history and cultural continuity, a coastal haven shaped by generations of families, educators, artists, and professionals. That enduring legacy is being newly celebrated through Polo Ralph Lauren’s recent tribute to Oak Bluffs, which honors the town’s role in the American story and its deep connections to Black life, style, and community. 

Together, Jacqueline Melbourne Brown Llewellyn’s story and the history of Oak Bluffs remind us that Black history is not only about perseverance, but also about beauty, aspiration, and the power of place.