Library of Congress in 2000 designated the Blacks of the Chesapeake as a Local Legacy Project. The Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation(BOC) is a non-profit educational, historical, and environmental organization. Since the mid 1990’s the (BOC) has been documenting the contributions of African-Americans in the maritime and seafood related industries. The signature of the (BOC) has been to utilize t
he history and culture of minorities on the bay as the gate way for engaging under-severed and non-traditional populations in environmental stewardship. African-Americans who have worked and continue to work in the maritime and seafood processing industries in the Chesapeake Bay region are an integral part of this area's rich culture and heritage. In 1994, the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation began to document this aspect of Americana. The foundation serves the community with a broad range of historical, cultural and educational activities. Documentation includes the book, The Chesapeake Bay through Ebony Eyes, which provides a history of African-American contributions in the Chesapeake's maritime industries, and includes a collection of seafood recipes, poetry, photographs and sketches; and the book, Blacks of the Chesapeake, An Integral Park of Maritime History, which provides a pictorial history of African-Americans at work as ship captains, sail makers, watermen, and seafood processing plant employees.
