Keywords: African American history
Item 12363
Chapel of Our Savior, Brunswick, ca. 1940
Contributed by: Pejepscot History Center Date: circa 1940 Location: Brunswick Media: Photograph, print
Item 73
Chadwick brothers, Portland, ca. 1850
Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1850 Location: Portland Media: Photographic print
Exhibit
"Twenty Nationalities, But All Americans"
Concern about immigrants and their loyalty in the post World War I era led to programs to "Americanize" them -- an effort to help them learn English and otherwise adjust to life in the United States. Clara Soule ran one such program for the Portland Public Schools, hoping it would help the immigrants be accepted.
Exhibit
A Convenient Soldier: The Black Guards of Maine
The Black Guards were African American Army soldiers, members of the segregated Second Battalion of the 366th Infantry sent to guard the railways of Maine during World War II, from 1941 to 1945. The purpose of the Black Guards' deployment to Maine was to prevent terrorist attacks along the railways, and to keep Maine citizens safe during the war.
Site Page
"Lee, Maureen Elgersman, Blck Bangor: African Americans in a Maine Community, 1880-1950, 2005, University Press of New England, Hanover, N.H."
Site Page
Malaga Island: a story best left untold - Maine State documents and Proclamations
"We did similar things to the Native Americans here. And, frankly, ten years after Malaga Island was destroyed, the largest Ku Klux Klan rally in the…"
Story
History of Forest Gardens
by Gary Libby
This is a history of one of Portland's oldest local bars
Story
Nicole Morin-Scribner: living the dreams of her immigrant parent
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center
A 6-year-old immigrant makes the most of her opportunities while staying connected to her roots
Lesson Plan
Black History and the History of Slavery in Maine
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12, Postsecondary
Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson presents an overview of the history of the Black community in Maine and the U.S., including Black people who were enslaved in Maine, Maine’s connections to slavery and the slave trade, a look into the racism and discrimination many Black people in Maine have experienced, and highlights selected histories of Black people, demonstrating the longevity of their experiences and contributions to the community and culture in Maine.
Lesson Plan
Longfellow Studies: "The Slave's Dream"
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
In December of 1842 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poems on Slavery was published. "The Slave's Dream" is one of eight anti-slavery poems in the collection. A beautifully crafted and emotionally moving poem, it mesmerizes the reader with the last thoughts of an African King bound to slavery, as he lies dying in a field of rice. The 'landscape of his dreams' include the lordly Niger flowing, his green-eyed Queen, the Caffre huts and all of the sights and sounds of his homeland until at last 'Death illuminates his Land of Sleep.'
