The Chesapeake Heartland Team - Out and About!
The Chesapeake Heartland Team — comprised of Jaelon Moaney, Deputy Director; Darius Johnson, Project Director; Melissa Prunty Kemp - Digital Archivist and Historian; Carolyn Brooks, Community Historian; and Airlee Ringgold Johnson, Community Historian — have traversed the highways and byways of the Eastern Shore and beyond to bring African American history and culture to life, then give it access in as many venues and formats as possible. With a host of students workers who develop their academic studies in history, archives, technologies and oral histories, the Heartland Team captures local culture, supports thought activities on historical and architectural preservation, and provides access to archives collections. The breadth of their travels have galvanized significant collaborations and fostered the creations of community collections and repositories. Most importantly, they are continued to display extraordinary and everyday African American existence on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Scroll bellow to review our team’s outreach work and appearances over the past few years as they expand from Kent County throughout the upper and middle Eastern Shore.
Water As Archives - Public Arts Project
Chestertown, Maryland
July 9, 2026
The Chesapeake Heartland Team presented table exhibits of Queen Anne County African American History.
Juneteenth 2026
Community Curator Carolyn Brooks represented the Starr Center at the event.
Frederick Douglass Community Reading
At the Frederick Douglass Statue
Easton Maryland
June 11, 2026
Jaelon Moaney, Deputy Director, represents Washington College at the community reading and commemoration of the life and works of Frederick Douglass.
Local Chesapeake Heartland Pioneer Recognized
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, Maryland
May 23, 2026
UMES - Starr Center Internship
Princess Anne, Maryland
May 8, 2026
Mount Olive Community Day
Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church
Butlertown, Maryland
April 25, 2026
Intrepid oral history student intern Kim Andrews, ‘28, accompanies Community Historian Carolyn Brooks to her home church, Mt. Olive AME Church, for their annual Community Day. While the parishioners visited food and cultural booths and viewed performances, the Heartland Team offered visitors one of its panoramic history displays.
Celebrating the Legacy of Kenneth Walley, Funeral Director
Walley Funeral Home Restoration
Chestertown, Maryland
April 22, 2026
Kenneth Walley was an entrepreneural pillar of Chestertown’s African American community and its Black Business District of Calvert and Cannon Streets. Walley’s Funeral Home was the only burial service available to African Americans during segregation. This landmark is being restored, and the residents of Chestertown along with the Starr Center Staff enjoyed this commemoration with BBQ, music, games and review of restoration plans.
Old School High Social - All Eastern Shore African American High Schools Reunion
Cambridge, Maryland
April 18, 2026
Preserving the history of African American high schools on the Eastern Shore has been a constant activity of the Chesapeake Heartland Team since its inception in 2020. It began its archives with the collection of as much information on educating African Americans in Kent County as its generous community supporters could gather. The team’s work has helped to propel the Kennard African American History Museum, which was the former Kennard High School. In the images above, a celebration of the significance of African American Alumni Associations and school gatherings is depicted. Ms. Carolyn Brooks was the Starr Center and the Garnett High School representative in 2026.
The 16th Annual Lemon Project Spring Symposium
William & Mary University
Williamsburg, Virginia
March 20-21, 2026
This annual meeting of scholars and students joined together to discuss and learn about this year’s theme: “United We Stand: Fortifying Black Communities through Courage, Dignity, and Joy.” Former Starr Center Fellow Dr. Jajuan Johnson, who is now the current Interim Robert Francis Engs Director of The Lemon Project, opened a rousing day of seventeen panel discussions. The Heartland’s own Darius Johnson, Project Director, along with Vanessa Adams-Harris (Muscogee (Creek) American Indian with African American/Scot/Irish ancestry) delivered a Plenary Panel entitled “Descendant Communities Speak.” The entire Heartland Team (Airlee Ringgold Johnson, Carolyn Brooks, and Jaelon Moaney) led a panel, “Curating 400 Years of African American History on Maryland’s Eastern Shore,” moderated by Darius Johnson.
Rooted on the Shore with Maryland Public TV
Zoom and Chestertown, Maryland
March 10 and March 28, 2026
The Heartland Team and Maryland Public Television collaborated to offer a two-part genealogy presentation and workshop entitled Rooted on the Shore: An Exploration of Digital Humanities with the Chesapeake Heartland Project. The presentations began on March 10th with an online Zoom broadcast of an episode of Henry Louis’ Gates, Jr.’s PBS show Finding Your Roots. The evening concluded with a discussion of genealogy research and resources with Corey Lewis of the Maryland State Archives and Darius Johnson, Chesapeake Heartland Project Director. This introductory interest pique was followed by an in-person workshop in Chestertown, Maryland on Saturday, March 28, from 10am-4:30pm. Dr. Chris Haley, Director of the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland at the Maryland State Archives, Melissa Prunty Kemp, Digital Archivist and Historian, and Darius Johnson led workshops on genealogy research in the Maryland State Archives and the Chesapeake Heartland Archives.
Black History Month - Rock Hall Elementary
Rock Hall, Maryland
February 26, 2026
Airlee Ringgold Johnson and Carolyn Brooks guide Rock Hall Students through local history during Black History month. Rock Hall history is a foundational collection of Kent County artifacts in the Chesapeake Heartland Digital Archives.
