Mr. Leggett with his mentor, Captain Earl White, both of whom have been honored as "Admirals of the Chesapeake Bay" by the state of Maryland. Image courtesy of Vince Leggett via sanctuaries.noaa.gov.
In honor of Black History month, Gunston welcomes Vince Leggett to campus on Friday, February 3 to speak to students and faculty about his experiences as one of the only remaining Black watermen working on the Chesapeake. Mr. Leggett is the founder and president of the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation (BOCF), whose work brings to light the maritime history of African Americans in the Chesapeake Bay. Within the foundation’s collection of records exists artifacts, genealogies and more than 40,000 photographs that represent 200 years of African American life and work in the seafood and maritime industries. In 2000, the Library of Congress designated BOCF as a Local Legacy Project, and in 2003, Maryland Governor Glendening commissioned Vince an honorary Admiral of the Chesapeake. Mr. Leggett is an advisor to our very own Coach Imani Black, whose graduate studies focus on minorities in aquaculture.We thank both Coach Imani and Mr. Leggett for providing this unique perspective on the history of black culture on the Chesapeake Bay.