Echoes of Excellence: The Harlem Renaissance’s Dorothy West and her Island legacy By Nydia Simone

Another recollection comes from Stephen R. McDow ll, Oak Bluffs resident and heir to the artist, educator, and advocate Delilah W. Pierce Collection. “When I was a child on the Vineyard we would always visit the Bonaparte’s home on Narragansett for one of their seafood dinners. I recall Dorothy came over to sit on the porch and later moved in with us for dinner. Everyone who knew them always LOVED the Bonaparte’s seafood salad and stuffed baked seafood imperial and this time didn’t disappoint! Since Aunt Louise was one of the founding members of the Cottagers, she, Dorothy, and the Bonaparte’s talked for hours about Island gossip, the arts, and education — always asking me about how I was doing in school and to leave the girls to after I got my education!”

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