Journeys in the Light: Democracy, Diversity, and Myth in the Wake of the Mayflower

The Cape Cod Branch of the NAACP and Zion Union Heritage Museum will present three screenings of a newly released film about Cape Cod’s people of color as part of the Cape’s upcoming Juneteenth celebrations. JOURNEYS IN THE LIGHT, Democracy, Diversity, and Myth in the Wake of the Mayflower will be shown at the Wellfleet Library on Tuesday, June 13, at 7 p.m.; the Cape Cod Museum of Art on Friday, June 16 at 1 p.m.; and the Provincetown UU Meeting House on Saturday, June 17, at 1 p.m. The screenings are free to the public (in the case of CCMoA, free with paid admission to the museum) and will be followed by Q & A with the filmmaker and NAACP and Zion representatives.

The film’s creators look beyond the iconic Euro-centric Mayflower story to present highlights in the history of the African American, Cape Verdean, and Wampanoag people in this region since the arrival of the English settlers in 1620. They find in the Mayflower Compact, and antecedents in Native American governance, powerful relevance for the divided America of today. JOURNEYS IN THE LIGHT tells its tale through the eyes, historical research, and works of art of the vibrant community surrounding Zion Union Heritage Museum in Hyannis, MA.

The one-hour documentary—produced by filmmaker Janet Murphy Robertson of ArtistsAndMusicians.org in collaboration with the museum—features important local artists including Robin Joyce Miller, Carl Lopes, Pamela Chatterton-Purdy, Joe Diggs, Michael Alfano, Sean Cassidy, Vasco Pires, and others. Local historians and history-lovers associated with the museum—John L. Reed, Harold Tobey, Julia Johnson, Dolores DaLuz, Scoba Rhodes, the museum’s resident artists, and many others—provided stories and insights that give a window into this historic community and, in the process, the broader story of America.