Thank you to all who attended the recent Soup & Social Justice presentation on Civil Rights and Cancer Alley. For those interested, a digital copy of the resource list mentioned at the event can be found below:
Resource List : Civil rights and Environmental Justice
Slavery/Civil Rights Resources
Equal Justice Initiative - A History of Racial Injustice: daily enewsletter about history of civil rights
Mississippi Burning (movie): based on the 1964 murder of civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, James Cheney, and Andrew Goodman
The Barn by Wright Thompson: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi - tells the story of Emmett Till’s murder and how it was kept secret for many years
Till (movie): based on the true story of Mamie Till, an educator and activist who pursued justice after the murder of her 14-year-old son Emmett in August 1955.
US Civil Rights Trail by Deborah Douglas: A Traveler’s Guide to the People, Places, and Events that Made the Movement.
For Us, the Living by Myrlie Evers (wife of murdered civil rights hero Medgar Evers
James by Percival Everett: The story of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, an enslaved man. Will make you challenge what you remember about the “adventure” story you read in high school.
The Descendants Project: Grass roots group focused on Black history. They have just purchased a plantation house, the first to be Black owned. They plan to turn it into a museum and history center. www.thedescendantsproject.org
Whitney Plantation: Historic plantation and museum focused on the enslaved people who lived and worked there. www.whitneyplantation.org
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/1/12/remembering-matilda-the-last-survivor-of-the-transatlantic-slave-trade : article on the history of slavery and the civil rights movement through the eyes of the last survivor of the Middle Passage, who died 85 years ago today.
Movie - Selma - powerful depiction of the events leading up to the march from Selma to Montgomery.
Movie - Six Triple 8- story of the first all Black WAC regiment during WWII, including pervasive racism in society and the military.
Mississippi/Louisiana Culture
The Deepest South of All by Richard Grant. Part history and part travelogue, this book offers a gripping portrait of a complex American place, as it struggles to break free from the past and confront the legacy of slavery.
Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta. An exploration of the Delta’s beautiful decaying landscape, its blues history, the extremes of local crime and politics, and the realities of its lingering racial tensions.
Climate action
The Yarmouth Climate Action Board is a new Town committee focused on implementing the Climate Action Plan and enhancing sustainability and resilience of our community. To organize the Board’s efforts, the 15 Board members are organized into small-group subcommittees (called Action Teams) that focus on different topics and implement specific priorities of the Climate Action Plan. Contact Meddy Smith at msmith@yarmouth.me.us. If someone is interested in getting involved without committing to a term on the Board, they could:
Help out the Board with potential projects: library of things/ community reuse programs, green business program, sustainable landscaping education, and more
Learn about opportunities to take personal action - see my resource list on the Town website
Organize community or neighborhood events related to sustainability and resilience
Introduce the Climate Board to an organization you're involved in to help grow our network for future collaboration
Sign up for my monthly newsletter to stay in the loop
Connect with me to share ideas for Town sustainability programs, events, or projects - msmith@yarmouth.me.us
Share your story of climate action to be turned into a case study (enjoying your EV? Transitioned your home to heat pumps? Focusing on native plants in your garden?)
Article on the successes and setbacks in the fight to clean Up Cancer Alley. Written by Sue Inches. Read it HERE: https://wagingnonviolence.org/2024/12/history-of-success-drives-ongoing-struggle-to-clean-up-cancer-alley/
Louisiana Bucket Brigade: A nonprofit that has mentored a number of grass roots groups in Cancer Alley and provides research, tools and resources. www.labucketbrigade.org
RISE St. James: A grass roots organization that led the campaign to stop Formosa Plastics from building 4 new plastics plants in their town. www.risestjames.org.
Inclusive Louisiana: A grass roots organization that is working on a legal case challenging the zoning that allows industrial facilities in residential neighborhoods. www.inclusivelouisiana.org
Racial Equity, Tribal Sovereignty and Justice in the Maine Legislature
Our Values
We believe in equity, inclusivity and equal opportunity for all Mainers, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, income or immigration status.
Structural racism exists in Maine, and racial equity must always be the focus of our policymaking.
As a state, we cannot make true progress until the inherent sovereignty of the Wabanaki Tribes is officially recognized.
We will work to reduce barriers for new Mainers and other underserved and underrepresented populations.
The policies we enact must combat existing inequities and prevent exacerbating future disparities.
Every Mainer is entitled to timely legal representation. Justice delayed is justice denied.
We will work to continue to raise awareness about the importance of racial equity, tribal sovereignty and justice.
In 2023, we passed legislation that will:
Create the Maine Indian Child Welfare Act, ensuring important rights and safeguards for custody and child welfare proceedings involving Wabanaki families (LD 1970)
Ensure that the Mi’kmaq Nation has the same jurisdictional rights and benefits as the Passamaquoddy Tribe and Penobscot Nation, giving them the same authority over internal tribal matters, natural resources and subsistence fishing rights (LD 1620)
Update the provisions governing the Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, allowing it to function more smoothly as it meets and develops policy recommendations to the Legislature (LD 1679)
Require the text of Article X, Section 5 of the Maine Constitution – which pertains to Maine’s treaty obligations with the Wabanaki – be included in printed copies (LD 78)
Increase ongoing funding for the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (LD 258 – Supplemental Budget)
Provide $10 million in funding for new judiciary positions to help alleviate the current backlog of cases (LD 258 – Supplemental Budget)
Prevent retaliatory evictions (LD 45) and make sure that tenants facing eviction are given information and resources about what to expect from legal proceedings (LD 330)
Reestablish the Criminal Records Review Committee (LD 1622)
Restrict the early release of domestic abusers from county jails and require stronger efforts be made to notify victims when an early release does occur (LD 692)
Reduce sexual exploitation by decriminalizing sellers engaged in prostitution (LD 1435)
Create civil penalties for non-consensual condom removal (LD 1683)
Create a military sexual trauma liaison in the Maine National Guard (LD 1783)
Protect access to absentee ballot drop boxes (LD 1568)
In 2024, we passed legislation that will:
Expand the rights of the Wabanaki Nations by recognizing the jurisdiction of Wabanaki courts for misdemeanor and some felony crimes that happen on tribal lands and involve tribal members (LD 2007)
Ensure the Penobscot Nation has exclusive authority to regulate drinking water on their tribal lands (LD 2007)
Prevent extremist groups from engaging in paramilitary training that is intended to sow civil disorder (LD 2130)
Update Maine’s domestic violence and stalking laws to align with the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Counterman v. Colorado (2023) and ensure the state can continue to hold perpetrators of these crimes accountable (LD 2085)
Invest $2 million to create 20 new legal services positions to help ease the current backlog of cases in the judicial system (LD 2214 – Supplemental Budget)
Expand anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) protections to better protect the rights of individuals and organizations to engage in public discourse (LD 870)
Remove the age requirements for sealing criminal histories (LD 2218) and give more Mainers the option to seal criminal records for minor cannabis convictions prior to the drug’s legalization (LD 2236)
Add a third option for gender on state forms (LD 2235)
Create a Wabanaki Veterans Memorial in Capitol Park in Augusta (LD 2228)
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