Upcoming Event: Booths at the New Gloucester Fair and Gray Blueberry Festival
Ongoing Event: Racial Equity Media Group
An ongoing monthly book (and film) discussion group which supports growth and reflection with anti-racism. Each month will feature a different material, and will include one or two discussion sessions. Participants may choose to stick with the group long-term for sustained growth, or are welcome to join month to month. Contact us for information or to participate!
Examples of Other Recent Activities & Ongoing Initiatives
- Spearheading campaign to request that Confederate flags and Confederate re-enactors are excluded from AMVETs Memorial Day parades
- Discussing racial equity-focused media within our group; lobbying the local library to create more local anti-racism-focused reading groups
- Hosting trainings and lectures, including a past discussion of race and mass incarceration with Insha Rahman of the Vera Institute and an upcoming Cross Cultural Community Services training on “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency”
- Supporting local anti-racism political initiatives, committees, and candidates
- Building a local group of visible and vocal racial equity allies and advocates
Previous Events
Previous Event: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Cultural Competency Training by Cross Cultural Community Services (CCCS)
In partnership with New Gloucester United Against Racism, CCCS provided three training sessions on how we continue to look at race that can transform organizations to being anti-racist. CCCS gave an overview of the history of race and racism in the US and Maine, described how refugees and immigrants arrive in this country, the different resettlement processes, the trauma endured, and the challenges they face to assimilate. We looked at structural racism timelines, discussed real scenarios, and identified the next steps to combat systemic racism in this country.
This free virtual series was led by Cross Cultural Community Services and hosted by New Gloucester United Against Racism.
Previous Event: Black History of Maine with Bob Greene
November 17, 7pm, New Gloucester Library
It is frequently said that Maine is the whitest state in America. Yet Black people have a long history in the Pine Tree State. Slaves? Yes. But also builders, farmers, fishermen, ship captains, educators, etc. It’s that hidden history of our state that Bob Greene will reveal.
A native of Portland, Bob Greene is the eighth generation of his family to be born in Cumberland County. His roots in Maine stretch back into the 1700s. After graduating from Portland High, Bob went off to college and a career as a journalist, covering among other things airplane crashes, Mississippi River floods and the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He has met three presidents: Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. And, as The Associated Press Tennis Writer, Bob traveled the world covering the sport. After retiring he returned home to Maine where his genealogical research has led to his deep knowledge about Maine’s Black history. He currently teaches a Black History of Maine course at OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute} at the University of Southern Maine. Bob also is the 2021 recipient of the Maine Historical Society’s Neal Allen Award, which is presented each year for exceptional contributions to Maine History.
New Gloucester United Against Racism 