Black Mainers: A History of Resistance and Resilience

This presentation looks at the period leading up to World War I. It is intended for middle and high school students. It is not meant to give a comprehensive history of the Black experience in Maine but used to complement and supplement the work that teachers are already doing in their classrooms. The primary ideas that we hope students take away from this program center around Black Mainers persistence, resilience, and resistance to oppression.

When talking about persistence: African Americans live in Maine and have lived in Maine for at least as long as people of European descent (and most of us are ignorant of this history because we do not learn about it). And when we talk about resilience and resistance to oppression, we mean to demonstrate that African Americans (and others) in Maine have actively resisted racism and inequity in their lives and throughout Maine’s history. This program does this by focusing on individuals and their stories.

While the program touches upon the enslavement of African Americans, it concentrates on how enslavement existed here in Maine. Again, this is not a comprehensive history of that experience throughout the United States. And it was important to us not to focus solely on that experience, but to also show the strength and humanity of those who resisted slavery, racism, and othering.