In celebration of Juneteenth on Monday, June 19, from 2 to 4 PM the Parrish Art Museum is presenting screenings of two short films focused on the SANS neighborhoods of Sag Harbor, followed by a panel discussion. Organized in collaboration with Eastville Community Historical Society and the Southampton African American Museum, the program includes screenings of “HOME: Long Island: Sag Harbor” from AppleTV, and “A Beach of Our Own,” produced by T—The New York Times Style Magazine.
The panel, moderated by Brenda Simmons, Executive Director of Southampton African American Museum, features Renee Simons, SANS Sag Harbor President; Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, Executive Director of Eastville Community Historical Society; Dr. Beverly Granger, artist and SANS resident; and Sarah Kautz, consultant, cultural resources and preservation. The panelists will discuss the films and how SANS—an anagram for the communities of Sag Harbor Hills, Azurest, Ninevah, and the subdivisions—came into being and have remained a haven for African American families on the East End for generations.
In addition to admission to the films and panel, guests at the event may explore the exhibition “Artists Choose Parrish Part I,” which includes work by artists who in the past or present have made SANS their home: Romare Bearden, Nanette Carter, Claude Lawrence, Leslee Stradford, and Frank Wimberley, who is referenced in the T Magazine feature story.
“HOME: Long Island: Sag Harbor,” produced in 2022, highlights the crusade of locals from SANS — one of the few remaining Black beachfront communities — to preserve their neighborhoods’ history and future. The film includes archival images and testimonials from residents whose families have summered in the area for generations. “A Beach of Our Own,” produced in 2020, provides a glimpse into the history of Sag Harbor’s Black communities — beginning with the Black men who secured work in the whaling industry in the 1800s, through the founding of the Black communities during the mid-1900s, and the struggle to maintain those communities in the face of development.