Maine’s race problem and Cliven is so misunderstood!
Like many Americans, I have been following the story of Cliven Bundy, the squatter rancher who refuses to get off federally owned land or to pay the his fees for using federal land. Instead, when the...
View ArticlePersonal Choices and Unintentional Racism or Where You Live Says a Lot!
According to a recently released Gallup poll, Maine made the list of having residents who are least likely to leave their state. The local social media community here in Maine has been abuzz with all...
View ArticleThe culture of good and why good is often toxic
My daughter wraps up the third grade this week and with it, what I hope is her incessant need to be “good” and “nice.” For many parents, a child intent on always being good and never hurting anyone’s...
View Article12 years a Mainer-Musings on how I came to be here and the next chapter
Today’s post is a bit reminiscent of the type of posts that were once the norm here in BGIM land. Nothing heavy but a need for me to give voice to my words and say them aloud. Over the years as this...
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Black life in Maine and what racism in Maine looks like…a student’s story
When I moved to Maine in 2002, I did not set out to become one of Maine’s best known Black residents. I was simply a mother who didn’t want her child to be caught up in a protracted custody battle. Yet...
View ArticleThe inhumanity train ride or where are the good white people?
For those of us in the northeast corner of the United States, the past month has just been one non-stop snow storm. Poor little Boston, the city I actually work in, looks like the snowpocalypse. The...
View ArticleKilling a child’s spirit or growing up Black in Maine
Living in Maine as a non-white person has at times meant swallowing bits and pieces of my own humanity in order to survive and keep the peace with the inhabitants of this place. In the real world,...
View ArticleWhen gelato gets racial or a little girl hears the N-word for the first time
As the wheels continue to fly off my personal life, moments of simple joy and normalcy are increasingly hard to come by. My son’s unexpected visit home this week promised to be an opportunity to simply...
View ArticleMusings on power, privilege and last thoughts on the n-word ordeal
It’s been 10 days since that most unfortunate incident and while I am moving beyond my rage and even my shame and getting ready to rejoin the land of the living, it seems appropriate to share a few...
View ArticleVoices from People of color in Maine or thriving against the odds
One of the challenges of being a non-white person living in an overwhelmingly white state is that when matters of race relations come up, it creates awkward moments. It’s hard to share your lived...
View ArticleMusings on D-Money, Shifty, Smoothie and Maine’s Governor…or Why The Hate...
“These are guys by the name D-Money, Smoothy, Shifty. These type of guys that come from Connecticut and New York. They come up here and sell heroin, then they go back home.” “Incidentally, half the...
View ArticleAddressing Racism in Maine…upcoming events
Part of solving a problem involves admitting that a problem exists. Talking about racism in Maine is a loaded issue, no one wants to see their beloved state being slammed and sullied. Yet I have been...
View ArticleOoops…he did it again! Maine’s governor and his mouth
“Unlike race and racial identity, the social, political and economic meanings of race, or rather belonging to particular racial groups, have not been fluid. Racial meanings for non-European groups have...
View ArticleOpen Letter to Gov. Paul LePage from a Black Mainer
Dear Paul, I hope that you don’t mind, but I am going to call you by your first name. I don’t stand on formality and titles are so overrated. Besides, to be frank, using language like “Honorable”...
View ArticleTake a stand against the hate train when it comes to your town…The Trump Show
In recent months, many of us have watched in horror as Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has gone from a sideshow attraction worthy of laughs to what appears more and more to be a legitimate run for...
View ArticleLiving in Maine while non-white…the 2016 update
“Similar to the criminal justice system, stark disparities, particularly with respect to race, exist in school discipline. Black students, for example, are nearly universally overrepresented in...
View ArticleMoving to Maine…the Black Edition Updated for 2016
I originally wrote this post in 2011 back when I had all of 17 readers and most of the them family members. However, this post remains one of my most-read with requests asking for updated information....
View ArticleDelusions of Change…We Must Do Better Now
Today’s post is dedicated to all the women and girls color in the state of Maine who stand tall in the face of racism and continue to work in the face of hate. To the girls who steal shy glances and...
View ArticleGo Back to Where You Came From, or Casual Racism
In big cities, warmer weather often seems to correlate to an increase in crime and in Maine, I am starting to wonder if warmer weather correlates to an increase in random and casual racism. Looking...
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Break the glass in Maine…A Black woman in our legislature?
Living in Maine as a Black woman is an adventure; at the very least, I get my fair share of ribbing. After all, are there even Black people in Maine? All jokes aside, there are more than a few Black...
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