Grant to historical society helps prevent history 'being erased,' grateful director says
Georgette Grier-Key, executive director of Eastville Community Historical Society. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
Georgette Grier-Key, executive director of the Eastville Community Historical Society, shed a tear Sunday when she heard the news: The Sag Harbor-based historical society had received a $200,000 grant from New York State.
Grier-Key was in Albany at a Black, Puerto Rican, Asian, Indigenous American Legislative Caucus workshop when Gov. Kathy Hochul made the announcement. Grier-Key said in an interview it was meaningful to receive the money during Black History Month and at a time when "our history is being erased."
"People want to stop talking about slavery. They want to stop talking about civil rights," Grier-Key said. "This is our job more than ever. It's important to continue telling the history."
The Eastville Community Historical Society, founded in 1980, preserves the historic St. David AME Zion Church, as well as its cemetery. It also pushes for preservation of the Black, Indigenous and people of color area in Sag Harbor, Grier-Key said.
The historical society has a collection of historical artifacts, such as photographs and manuscripts. It also maintains pieces of contemporary art, Grier-Key said.
The grant money will go toward capital improvements for the church, the cemetery, and the Heritage House that serves as its headquarters.
"New York State is deeply rooted in rich history, and it is crucial that our students and communities have the opportunity and space to learn about the significant people and movements that formed the society we live in today," Hochul said in a statement.
Grier-Key said she wants to create a climate-controlled open storage area to display more of the historical society's archives in the Heritage House. She is hoping to do some mitigation work in the church, and in the cemetery, she wants to raise some stones and remove dangerous trees.
It is all part of the historical society's mission to "tell the story of the enslaved and free Africans that settled on the East End of Long Island."
"History is being erased, dismissed, disregarded," Grier-Key said. "It's a call [to] action for us to continue to hold up the banner of telling our history. The good, the bad, the ugly."
Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Winter break is full of fun NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday Deputy Lifestyle Editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at activities to do with the family this winter break.
Winter break is full of fun NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday Deputy Lifestyle Editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at activities to do with the family this winter break.
