Celebrate Martin Luther King Day in Maine: Despite Governor LePage

Panel from Seashore Trolley Museum's "A Seat for Everyone" Bus Exhibit

It saddens me to hear the Governor of my home state use language such as "kiss my butt" and "go to hell" on record, let alone direct such language at our nation's President and at Maine's NAACP. Fortunately, many civic (and civil) leaders have articulated clearly that the history of the NAACP is intertwined with Maine's history of securing social justice for all citizens. I have family members who remember the Klu Klux Klan march against Catholics and Jews in Portland. The history of African American experience with violence and prejudice is not solely African American history. Hatred and prejudice never stop at one target. Tolerance for hatred toward one group is to invite it toward one's self at another place and time.

Perhaps more than any other day, I feel good about promoting civil rights education, cross-cultural tolerance, and an awareness of difficult histories. Did you know that one of Maine's museums, Seashore Trolley Museum, curates a vintage 1964 bus that operated in Washington, D.C. when Martin Luther King, Jr. was giving his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington and when the Civil Rights Act was signed? King Middle School students' work on Civil Rights has helped the museum convert the bus into a mobile bus exhibit. If you would like to know more, check out educational offerings at Seashore Trolley Museum and watch this short, narrated slideshow "A Seat for Everyone."

Fifth Maine Regiment Museum Joins Portland History Docents Program

Portland History Docents on site visit at Tate House

Cultural tourism is here to stay in Maine. Few programs support it as well as the Portland History Docents program.

For years, the Fifth Maine has hosted the program's graduation ceremony at its historic Queen Anne building looking out over Whitehead Passage. The exciting news is that this year the Fifth Maine Regiment Museum has joined the contingent of organizations that offer this twelve-week program. Also, this inclusion of the Fifth Maine occurs on the eve of the 150th anniversary (the Sesquicentennial) of the Civil War!

If you are interested in this excellent training program, see Maine Historical Society's website for registration information.