In this panel, leaders in BIPOC- and youth-led organizations will delve into their expansive work towards racial justice and a more equitable, just future in Maine.
Protesters Demand Action After UMaine College Republicans Defend Columbus On Social Media
“Lokotah Sanborn, a 24-year-old activist and member of the Penobscot Nation, called the messages hateful and offensive and said the administration needs to do more to make indigenous students feel supported on campus.
“We demand action from the school system, student body, student government — real actionable change. Otherwise, what will they have done?” Sanborn says.”
Rally for the Penobscot River and Wabanaki Sovereignty
“The state of Maine has been in an ongoing process attempting to steal the river from the Penobscot people.
We will have speakers from Penobscot Nation and other Wabanaki Tribes discussing movement forward and how to best show up to support Maine’s Indigenous peoples in our fight to uphold our sovereignty and our fundamental role as protectors of the Penobscot River.
Our sovereign rights, and ability to protect the River do not solely impact Penobscot People; our sovereignty is crucial for securing a livable future which includes all peoples in Maine. We must all come together to show solidarity.
Current organizational co-sponsors include Sunlight Media Collective, Dawnland Environmental Defense, Land Peace Foundation, Bomazeen Land Trust, Racial Equity and Justice, and Community Water Justice.
Where we are: In 2012 The state of Maine claimed that the Penobscot River was not a part of Penobscot Territory which means the state would have sole jurisdiction when it comes to water quality standards, environmental protections, and elver and fishing regulations. We took the state to court and in 2015 the State of Maine ruled that the Penobscot River is not a part of Penobscot Territory. We immediately filed an appeal and in 2017 the State again ruled against our sovereign kinship ties and roles as protectors of the river, stating that Maine had somehow come into ownership of the main stem of the river without being able to cite how or when that happened.”…. Learn more by watching: https://vimeo.com/140310974
Passamaquoddy artist Geo Neptune makes list of nation’s 100 most influential LGBTQ leaders
Geo Neptune, a Passamaquoddy artist, educator and Indian Township school board member, was named this week to the Out 100, a prestigious list released each year by Out magazine of the 100 most influential and inspirational LGBTQ leaders in the country.
Neptune, 33, who is non-binary and two-spirit, is a nationally acclaimed master basket maker, who learned their art from their grandmother, renowned artist Molly Neptune Parker. Last year, they became the first trans person to be elected to public office in Maine, when they were elected to the Indian Township school board.
The Band Lula Wiles Formed A Quarantine Pod. A Folk Protest Album Came Out Of It Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email
“OBOMSAWIN: Yeah, I was just going to say also in the particular time period when we were recording, we recorded, you know, over the weekend of Juneteenth and, you know, the week surrounding that. And obviously, at that point, George Floyd had been murdered, and the Black Lives Matter uprisings and protests were, like, in full swing throughout the summer. You know, even before, I guess, the actions of the summer and the spring, we were really in that space of trying to confront within ourselves what our blind spots are and what privileges we all hold, respectively.”
At Black Lives Matter protests, Dillon Murray sees what he didn’t growing up in Bangor: people who look like him
“I put down my sign and I started to get down on one knee, but the organizer said, ‘No. You people of color and Black people, you stand up,’” Murray, 28, said a few days later. “So, I’m standing up and looking around and seeing people of color. We were being seen and we were seeing each other.” -
Mainers with Bangor’s Racial Equity and Justice react to Chauvin verdict
David Patrick didn’t know how he would react to Derek Chauvin being found guilty.
“I didn’t think I would be, because we do this work seven days a week supporting families and individuals in the worst situations you can imagine,” Patrick explained.
As the Co-Founder of Racial Equity and Justice David Patrick is echoing the message that while this is a step in the right direction there’s more work to be done.
“There’s still a lot of injustice and corruption and pain and a lot of decolonization that really needs to happen,” Vargas explained.
They say society and race are deep community issues that need to have community solutions.
“People still need to be applying pressure for more equality, more justice. More redistribution of resources into exploited communities,” Vargas added.
Read moreAfter massive protests, Maine cities try to turn rallying cries into change
“The police provide a convenient shield for the rest of the community to kind of hide behind when addressing issues of race, discrimination, racism, bias,” said David Patrick, co-founder of Bangor-based Racial Equity and Justice, which offers diversity consultations and trainings and organized a racial inequity protest June 1 in downtown Bangor.
“We want to be able to have community education. We want to have more resources distributed to communities that are marginalized,” said Desiree Vargas, who co-founded Racial Equity and Justice in Bangor. As an Indigenous woman, she and her family members have experienced the trauma of both racial slurs and physical violence in Maine, she said.
Maine Public Radio Call In with co-founder Desiree Vargas
Hot Radio Maine: Interview with co-founder, David Patrick
Hot Radio Maine Interview
David Patrick from racialequityandjustice.organd the co-organizer of Monday’s peaceful protest in Bangor called into the moring show with Ryan Deelon. Listen right here!