The Luxury of Safe Spaces: Why is Ralph Laurens, Oak Bluff’s Collection, So Bothersome?

By: Mikayla Harper

Oak Bluffs, “The Black Martha’s Vineyard” welcomes thousands of African American visitors every summer: A haven for artists, families, politicians, entrepreneurs, college students, vibrant historic cottages, lush greenery, and clear beaches, all embodying a Black Metropolis that thrives on a still predominately White Island (Only 5% of Black Residents, residing mostly in Oak Bluffs make up Marthas Vineyard’s population).

After the abolishment of slavery in 1865, the question amongst Black communities became “what’s next?” Although some job opportunities at the time involved sharecropping, sailing, or working for wealthy families as servants, earnings were small, and work environments oppressive - making opportunities for upward mobility incredibly slim. In addition to an increasingly violent South, many decided to incorporate their skill sets for better job opportunities in industrial cities (known as the Great Migration from 1910-1970). In Massachusetts, Black fisherman proficient in the agricultural and whaling industries resided in coastal communities, a major one being Oak Bluffs.

It was the introduction of Shearers Cottage in 1903 purchased by Charles and Henrietta Shearer, that transformed Oak Bluffs from a small connected circle of modest black property owners to a rich destination for Black communities in the Northeast, producing Black-owned newspapers, inns, bakeries, barbershops and more.

“We were always stared at. Whenever we went outside the neighborhood that knew us, we were inspected like specimens under glass. My mother prepared us. As she marched us down our front stairs, she would say what our smiles were on tiptoe to hear, “Come on, children, let’s go out and drive the white folks crazy,” said Dorothy West in Fond Memories of a Black Childhood.

“Oak Bluffs,” Ralph Lauren's latest capsule collection in relation to Morehouse and Spelman College has created convoluted discourse on social media, some garnering insightful discussion, others hinting at internalized racism. From the disapproval of Jack and Jill memberships for Black “Elite” youth spaces to Marthas Vineyard summer homes, speaks to a much needed conversation regarding self-erasure of our own history and experiences, ironically on an island created as a rebellion to segregation. Since the Reconstruction era (1865-1877) Black people have obtained positions of power in congress and in our own insitutions, an example being HBCU’s which this collection is done partially in appreciation of. I feel that any backlash towards this collection further contributes to the false generalization that the entire Black population is subjected to states of poverty and turmoil. Experiences throughout any community has variation, and I applaud James M Jeter and Ralph Lauren for contributing newer perspectives for mainstream media to celebrate.

Most of all this collection depicts the freedom, elegance, and opportunity for today’s Black college student through a reintroduction of the cable knit sweaters, polished loafers, neck scarves, clean monochromatic suits, seersucker shorts, pearls, and straw hats creates a seamless wardrobe that would easily make sense in 1925 as it does in 2025. A wardrobe made to suit of a life of ease and comfort in the pursuit of evolution and ultimately, legacy.

This is not the first time Ralph Lauren has paid homage to HBCU campuses, in 2022 James M. Jeter created a capsule collection exclusively for Morehouse and Spelman students gathering inspiration from 50s-60s sorority and fraternity fashion. Although commentary was mostly positive for this collection there still remained an overwhelming response regarding “respectability politics” and glamorization of Jim Crow era fashion.

What happens when we refuse to acknowledge the power of our own circles? What happens when we refuse to imagine an “American” dream of prestige, joy, intellectualism, bravery, and elegance in conjunction with Black faces? Ralph Lauren’s collection isn’t a tone deaf branding of elitism amongst the Black community, in fact it’s the opposite. It’s branding that reminds us of triumph in the face of uncertainty, a reminder that creating “safe spaces” isn’t just a need born from survival. It’s inheritance.