maine insights report by maine initiatives
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As a progressive community-based foundation, we at Maine Initiatives convened Mainers across the state for conversations about our shared vision of social, economic, and environmental justice.TRANSCRIPT
Maine InsightsCOMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS ABOUTJUSTICE AND EQUITY IN MAINE
2 MAINE INSIGHTS
As Executive Director of Maine Initiatives, I am fortunate to be able to
spend time meeting with community organizers, activists, and donors—
people actively engaged in making our communities more just and
equitable. So often I find myself in a conversation about values: what
motivates someone to support progressive action in Maine;
what drives them–and us–to dedicate so much personal and professional energy to
social change?
These conversations are generative: connection, capacity, and power are all created
when you hear someone else articulate a deeply held conviction of your own. This Maine
Insights report is a testament to that phenomenon, and we are pleased to share it with you.
Maine Insights brought together Mainers in twelve meetings throughout the state. This
report—what we heard and what we learned through this process—is a clarion call for
collective action around a shared vision for Maine that reflects greater justice, equity,
opportunity, and community.
This is the essential work of Maine Initiatives. We bring people together around shared
values; we identify, mobilize, and leverage the resources and assets of our community
in support of those values; and we build capacity for independent and collective action
advancing greater justice and equity in Maine.
In this spirit, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of the Mainers who shared their
homes, offices, and community spaces with us so that we could convene these
conversations. And to our Insights participants—thank you for your generosity with your
time, talent, expertise, wisdom, vision, and values. You, as members of the Maine Initiatives
community, embody our capacity for advancing social, economic and environmental
justice in Maine.
Thank you,
Phil Walsh
INTRODUCTIONTHE PROCESSMAINE INSIGHTS
568
Welcome to Maine Initiatives.
MAINE INSIGHTS 3
FINDINGSECONOMIC JUSTICERACIAL JUSTICECLIMATE CHANGE
LOOKING FORWARDTRANSFORMATIVECOMMUNITY PHILANTHROPYIN MAINERACIAL JUSTICEAND EQUITY
25
16
22
26
101214
CROSS-CUTTINGISSUESSHIFTS IN THE MODEL
4 MAINE INSIGHTS
When working toward justice there is a temptation to think that there are two teams—us, and them. However, justice is something that is for all of us.
We’re in this together.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
MAINE INSIGHTS 5
“Every step forward is a step in the right direction. We’ve been resistant to change, and of not doing things perfectly. Choosing to act in spite of our fears allows us to do the right thing now.”
We are pleased to share this report on Maine Insights, a project undertaken byMaine Initiatives beginning in June of 2015.
As a progressive community-based foundation, we convened Mainers across the state for
conversations about our shared vision of social, economic, and environmental justice. We
invited our community members to engage in a dialogue around the issues they hold most
dear. Through twelve conversations across the state we guided over 175 participants through facilitated discussions and documented what we heard.
We met community leaders, activists, advocates, nonprofit executives, organizers, students,
entrepreneurs, retirees, small business owners, elected officials, and citizens from all walks
of life. We were inspired by the range, depth, and clarity of vision and voice we heard in each
conversation, and by the passion for Maine we heard articulated in living rooms, conference
rooms, and church halls.
This report outlines the major themes that emerged from the Maine Insights process. You’ll
hear what participants had to say, in their own words, and the themes that emerged as
consensus priorities as we traveled across the state.
We present this report not as the conclusion or culmination of a process, but as a beginning.
This process—and the report you hold in your hands—will inform our work together
going forward as we contemplate our grantmaking, our work convening and engaging
the community, and our broader role of fostering informed, intentional, and collective
progressive philanthropy in Maine.
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
Introduction
6 MAINE INSIGHTS
THE PROCESS
We started each Maine Insights conversation by asking participants to share one word that
describes who they are in the community. The words we heard were thought provoking.
Organizer. Activist. Listener. Learner. Even Curmudgeon.
We jumped into the conversation by asking people to reflect on this quote from abolitionist
Theodore Parker, brought to our contemporary discourse by Dr. Reverend Martin Luther
King, Jr., and, more recently, President Barack Obama, and to ask where are we on this arc
today in Maine?
What is one insight
you have about
social, economic,
and environmental
justice in
Maine today?
As you look around,
in your community
or across Maine,
what are the most
pressing justice and
equity opportunities
or issues you
perceive?
“Who are you in the community?”
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
It is a powerful, compelling experience to hear a deeply held belief or value of yours articulated by someone else, and in particular
by someone you don’t know. When that statement comes from a neighbor or a community member they can be even more inspiring.
With that frame, let’s walk through the Maine Insights process.
FIRST: Connect
NEXT: Engage
Reflect Analyze
THEN:
MAINE INSIGHTS 7
What is one thing
we must do to
advance justice
and equity in
Maine in the next
12 to 24 months?
Aspire
“I love the idea of a progressive philanthropic organization hosting intimate, relevant, and stimulating community conversations around the state. We need more of these conversations to occur.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
8 MAINE INSIGHTS
MAINE INSIGHTS
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
“There is a lot of divide-and-conquer rhetoric in Maine. It needs to be transformed to WAITT dialogue: We’re All In This Together.”
Rooted in the notion that we, individually
and collectively, are the agents of the
change we seek in our communities, the
Maine Insights process engaged and
connected people around the state through
facilitated conversations about our shared
vision for advancing social, economic, and
environmental justice in Maine.
It was part listening tour. It is central to
our success that we understand and
address the concerns of our stakeholders.
Through Maine Insights, we set out to
identify the justice and equity themes,
opportunities, and challenges that are
most resonant across our state.
It was also a community conversation. Maine Insights brought people together
around shared values, fostering new
connections and relationships that increase
our individual and collective capacity to
advance justice and equity in Maine.
Throughout this process we listened to a
diverse range of voices. We heard from
children as young as nine who are worried
about pollution and access to clean water.
We listened as retirees told us about
intergenerational poverty. We heard moving
testimonies from recent immigrants sharing
their dreams and aspirations for their lives
as Mainers. As we traveled across the state
we found that, although each conversation
was unique in its articulation of distinct
ideas and concerns, we were able to
identify overarching themes and messages
that clearly resonate across differences in
age, social class, race, gender, and other
seeming divides.
Across all conversations we heard a
desire and demand for collective action
around our shared values and concerns.
Despite our reputation as a state of rugged
individualists, we heard a consistent call
for unity, inclusiveness, opportunity,
and progress. Participants expressed
profound concern that our state is
becoming increasingly fragmented across
many fault lines: geography, class, politics,
identity, demographics, etc.
As participants shared concerns about
systemic inequality in every sector:
healthcare, education, criminal justice,
housing, and employment, and broader
concerns about entrenched racism, sexism,
and homophobia, they also affirmed
that ours is a community of practical,
compassionate, and altruistic individuals
eager for connections to others that can
advance social change.
While the problems are complex, the
solutions proposed by our participants are
ultimately simple: we must come together
to act on our shared values.
MAINE INSIGHTS 9
Social, economic, and environmental justice are connected: we can’t have one without the other two.
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
Three issues, in particular, emerged as defining themes:
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY RACIAL JUSTICE CLIMATE CHANGE
“Maine seems to be following the rest of the nation into deeper division along socio-economic lines.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
“Maine’s reputation as the most racially homogenous state makes some people think racism needn’tbe addressed here. As we know, the state is changing and racism mustbe addressed in Maine.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
“Our shared vulnerability in the face of climate change may bring out our worst selves in the name of self-protection, without strong, capable, wise leadership and highly-skilled community organizers and spaces to build connections.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
10 MAINE INSIGHTS
The increasing gap betweenthe wealthy and the poormakes progress toward
justice increasingly elusive,but not impossible.
Across the state, economic justice emerged
as a predominant theme in every Maine
Insights conversation. Economic disparities,
economic dislocation, and uneven access
to economic opportunity were the most
common issues and concerns.
Participants highlighted economic justice
challenges that they viewed as particularly
pertinent to Maine’s communities:
intergenerational and rural poverty,
food insecurity, the isolation of elders,
persistent income disparities for women,
and the unique economic opportunities
and challenges facing recent immigrants.
They advocated for fair wages and paid
family leave, expressing concerns about
unemployment, the cost of healthcare
and education, gentrification, and the
need for more affordable housing.
Participants recognized that in the face of
rising economic inequality, it is becoming
ever more difficult to effectively address
these issues—a reality that is both financial
and relational. Concern was raised that
Maine’s public agencies and programs
dedicated to supporting the poor have been
hindered by policy and politics, driving
those who are struggling economically to
increasingly look to the nonprofit sector
for support. At the same time, participants
worried about an increased demonization
of the poor and a fraying of the social and
political fabric that permits us to support
our neighbors in need.
14.8%of Mainers live in povertyincluding 1 in every 5 children.1
One of every two black and African American Mainers and one-third of Maine’s Native Americans live in poverty. The poverty rate for these groups topped 50% in 2013, the highest in the nation. The national average rate is 27.6%.2
50%
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
ECONOMIC JUSTICE
MAINE INSIGHTS 11
We heard deep concern about economic
justice in Maine and a clear commitment
to making our communities more just and
equitable. In the face of grim statistics about
the challenges of poverty and economic
uncertainty, we also heard from participants
stories of hope and inspiration:
Poverty Action Coalition: Citizens of
Waterville are confronting poverty with an
abundance mentality: coming together
through the Community Investors initiative
to identify and meet critical financial needs
of neighbors experiencing financial hardship
through an inspiring combination of
individual and collective action.
Food AND Medicine: In a victory for
individuals and families in poverty, Food AND
Medicine has created a fund that permits
SNAP recipients in Bangor and Brewer to
receive a 50% discount at local farmers
markets, dramatically increasing access
to healthy food while supporting the local
agriculture movement.
In addition, we heard strong support for
organizations that are organizing and
advocating for economic justice and equity
for all Mainers.
In these examples, communities have come
together to identify and mobilize their
existing resources to create collaborative
solutions. In so doing they demonstrate
that we have the collective capacity to work
together, end poverty and hunger, and build
bridges to economic opportunity. Maine
Initiatives remains committed to supporting
projects like these.
“Economic inequality means taxes increasingly vilified, our safety net shrunk, increasingly concentrated wealth and income, increasing barriers to education, and debt rather than equitable pay.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
1 US Census Data, 2016. 2 Maine Center for Economic Policy, “Census Bureau Data: Poverty Among Blacks and African Americans in Maine is the Highest in the Nation,” 2014.
EXEMPLARY ORGANIZATIONS SERVING ECONOMIC JUSTICE IN MAINE
Maine Center for Economic Policy | www.mecep.org
Maine Equal Justice Partners | www.mejp.org
Maine People’s Alliance | www.mainepeoplesalliance.org
Southern Maine Workers’ Center | www.maineworkers.org
Opportunity
12 MAINE INSIGHTS
Our communities are only as just and
equitable as we demand that they be, as
we make them. And in every one of our
conversations, Maine Insights participants
expressed concern that our communities
fall short of our shared vision of racial
justice and racial equity.
We heard about persistent and pernicious
racism: implicit, explicit, institutional,
structural, and systemic. We learned
about disparities in access to healthcare,
education, and justice, and unequal
opportunities for communities of color.
Some participants raised questions of
racial justice in the context of the changing
face of Maine and recent criticism from
some quarters about the New Mainer
communities: immigrants, refugees, and
asylees. Others highlighted the daily
experience of African American
communities with generational legacies
in Maine who are still perceived and
treated as outsiders. Still others placed
the conversation about racial justice firmly
in the context of the long arc of history
in acknowledging the primacy of the tribal
communities in any conversation about
race, justice, and equity in Maine.
Participants also expressed concern
that Maine, as the state with the largest
majority white population in the nation,
is under-prepared to confront and
address these issues.
3 Maine People’s Resource Center, “Maine Racial Justice Policy Guide,” 2011. 4 Maine ACLU, “Maine Police Departments Show Staggering Race Gaps In Arrests,” 2014.
RACIAL JUSTICE
Maine’s communities of colorgrew by 80% between 2000 and 2010, and every single county in the state saw double-digit growth in populations of color. Cumberland, Androscoggin,and Oxford Counties increasedby 99% or more.3
Several Maine cities have alarming arrest rate disparities for peopleof color: in South Portland, black and African Americans are 3.5 times more likely to be arrested than whites; in Bangor, 3.2 times; in Lewiston, 2.8 times; and in Portland, 2.6 times.4
80%
Maine’s presentand future is blocked by our inability to talk and discuss race and racism
truthfully and openly.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
MAINE INSIGHTS 13
“Maine as a collective used to be more compassionate to poor people, until the face of poverty changed.”
The call to confront racism, xenophobia,
and discrimination in Maine is clear,
but the path ahead is less well lighted.
It is clear that many individuals and
organizations in our communities recognize
the urgency of addressing racial inequity
as a root cause of injustice, though the
complexity of these questions and the
conversations required to address them
represent a challenge. The organizational
and financial infrastructure for addressing
issues of racial inequity are less robust than
those available for other justice and equity
priorities. We heard this from individuals,
nonprofit leaders, and even funders, unsure
as to how to support progress and change
on these issues.
At the same time, as we see an emerging
consciousness of the importance of
engaging on questions of racial justice
nationally, we see more energy emerging in
Maine around these issues. Organizations
and individuals working in Maine to build
cross-class and cross-cultural coalitions
for advancing racial justice indicate a shift.
Another powerful trend is the rapid growth
of organizations and funders working
together on immigrant, refugee, and asylee
rights. At the community level, we observe
an inspiring breadth of creativity—through
performing and visual arts groups, youth-
led organizations and initiatives, legal
assistance programs—as Mainers embrace
nontraditional approaches to address
racial inequity.
The consensus among our participants
was that we must act to ensure that our
communities reflect the values of diversity,
inclusion, equity, and opportunity for all.
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
EXEMPLARY ORGANIZATIONS SERVING RACIAL JUSTICE IN MAINE
American Civil Liberties Union of Maine | www.aclumaine.org
Four Directions Development Corporation | www.fourdirectionsmaine.org
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project | www.ilapmaine.org
Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition | www.facebook.com/MEImmigrantRightsCoalition
Maine Inside Out | www.maineinsideout.org
Showing Up for Racial Justice | www.showingupforracialjustice.org
Somali Bantu Community Association of Lewiston/Auburn | www.sbcmala.org
Opportunity
14 MAINE INSIGHTS
Among the three predominant themes that
emerged from the Maine Insights process,
climate change was unique. Although
it was not as frequently mentioned as
economic inequality and racial justice, the
participants raising the issue of climate
change were consistently among the most
fervent advocates for any single issue.
Environmental justice advocates also
emphasized that climate-related problems
suffer from the misperception that they
are less urgent. One participant from Blue
Hill summed it up this way: “I see our
community as a boat. And while social and
economic issues are concerns on the boat,
climate change is a hole in the boat!”
Conversations about climate change
focused both on specific environmental
implications of a changing climate and the
social and economic dislocation likely to
result from those changes.
Concerns cited by participants included
sea-level rise, shifts in farming zone
boundaries, declining forest health and
ecosystem impacts, ocean acidification and
acid rain, and unpredictable impacts on
public health.
Many participants described climate change
as being intersectional, acknowledging
a significant relationship between
economic, social, and environmental
justice and expressing growing alarm that
the negative effects of climate change
will disproportionately affect the most
vulnerable communities.
15%
44%
Our state’s snowfall – an important part of our winter tourist economy – has declined by 15% since the late 1800’s.5
Researchers forecast that stresses on the natural environment will change 44% of Maine’s landscape to a different kind of habitat.This is the highest percentageof any state.6
CLIMATE CHANGE
MAINE INSIGHTS 15
EXEMPLARY ORGANIZATIONS SERVING THE ENVIRONMENT IN MAINE
Environmental Health Strategy Center | www.ourhealthyfuture.org
Environment Maine Research and Policy Center | www.environmentmaine.org
Maine Conservation Alliance | www.protectmaine.org
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association | www.mofga.org
Toxics Action Center | www.toxicsaction.org
Participants noted that, while climate
change is a global concern, Maine has
been and has the potential to be a leader
in environmental activism. The state’s
longstanding history of conservationism
and environmental stewardship is a
proud and important legacy, and Mainers
have demonstrated their individual and
collective commitment to a better
climate future.
This commitment has been reflected by
recent environmental victories in places
like South Portland and Searsport and
in coordinated inter-sectoral efforts to
tackle these issues head-on, like the
recent Summit on Maine’s Economy and
Climate Change, which brought together
representatives from the state’s Chambers
of Commerce, nonprofit organizations,
business sector, and farms and fisheries.7
From cleaning up hazardous waste sites
that are stifling low income communities
to passing pesticide-free ordinances that
support Maine’s flourishing local and
sustainable food movement, the work of
Maine’s environmental advocacy groups
fit increasingly in the realm of economic
and social justice. This strategic placement
signals an exciting opportunity for even more
coordinated justice and equity initiatives.
5 The University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute: “Maine’s Climate Future: Update 2015,” 2015.6 Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences: “Climate Change and Biodiversity in Maine: A Climate Change Exposure Summary for Species and Key Habitats,” 2013. 7 The Kennebec Journal: “Challenges, opportunities of climate change in Maine,” 2015.
Climate change and its extremes will impact those
least able to adapt to it.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
Opportunity
16 MAINE INSIGHTS
As is the case in any wide-ranging
conversation, Maine Insights participants
brought many justice and equity issues,
insights, and concerns to the table. In
each community conversation, we asked
participants to rank the issues that were
perceived to be of greatest opportunity
and urgency. The following represents
the themes that we heard emerge as
top priorities.
“Poverty is a women’s issue. 58% of Maine women who are single heads of household with children under five live in poverty, versus 47% nationally. This means that their children live in poverty, and the effects are widespread, deep, and long-lasting.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
It is clear that a consistent and intentional
focus on equity, opportunity, and success
for Maine’s women and girls is a critical
concern for our stakeholders. The Maine
Women’s Policy Center recently published
a report8 that identifies four priority areas
for women and girls in Maine: economic
security, civil rights, freedom from violence,
and access to healthcare and reproductive
rights. All of these issues were raised as high
priorities in the Maine Insights process.
CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
WOMEN AND GENDER EQUALITY
More than 6 in 10 low-wage workers in Maine are women, and 62% of those women over the age of 25 are single heads of household.8
MAINE INSIGHTS 17
GOODGOVERNANCE ANDCLEAN ELECTIONS
LGBTQ ANDTRANSGENDERCIVIL RIGHTS
ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION SERVICES
8 Maine Women’s Policy Center: “Building a Prosperous Maine: A Roadmap to Economic Security for Women and their Families,” 2014.9 The Bangor Daily News: “AG: Maine on track to see record overdose deaths,” 2015.
“We must strategize together for a long-term vision for Maine. It should be connected to solid electoral policy, education, and civic participation.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
When the Maine Insights process kicked off
in 2015, many participants were engaged in
a ballot initiative to increase transparency
in campaign finance and strengthen our
state’s landmark Clean Election Act. On
Election Day, the grassroots work of Maine
Citizens for Clean Elections (MCCE) paid off.
Over 1,000 volunteers collected signatures
in support of Question 1, which passed by
a double-digit margin.
Even after this decisive victory—the act
became law in late December of 2015—we
heard strong support from participants for
increased transparency and accountability
in politics and government. We also heard
admiration for MCCE, their approach to
organizing, and support for similar citizen-
empowering grassroots ballot initiatives.
“As a young queer woman in Maine,I wonder how we can make every part of Maine—not just Portland—a safe and welcoming home for LGBTQ folks.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
LGBTQ issues in Maine were among the
most interesting and complex. Many
participants cited the successful passage
of marriage equality in 2012—and Maine’s
distinction as the first state to affirm
marriage equality through the popular vote,
led by Equality Maine—as a major victory
for justice and equity. Perhaps as a result,
some participants ranked general LGBTQ
issues as low justice and equity priorities.
In contrast, specific concerns were raised
about rural, youth, and elderly LGBTQ
populations and the importance of
transgender equity across the state. Indeed,
twice participants identified “Transgender
Rights” as a stand-alone issue and placed it
at the top of the priority list. “This is the fight
we’re in now,” the groups explained.
“A lot of our public health issues are tiedto other questions, including the disconnectedness and isolation a lot of people feel. I’m interested in how we rebuild our social fabric and confront mental health and addiction from that position of strength.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
Maine’s vulnerable populations die at
significantly higher-than-average rates from
preventable chronic illnesses such as heart
disease, asthma, and diabetes. Deep cuts
to public programs, especially services for
the mentally ill, laid heavy on many minds.
In particular, many participants expressed
concern about Maine’s heroin epidemic,
including record numbers of overdose
deaths in 2015.9
Participants agreed: It doesn’t have to
be this way. We heard a call for programs
and opportunities that address public
health crises and focus on education
and prevention.
True justice can onlybe achieved when
everyone works together.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
18 MAINE INSIGHTS
There is no guarantee that the moral arc of the universe will bend toward justice. It is our job to make it so. We have to pay attention, stay connected in our communities and
find our common values.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES
MAINE INSIGHTS 19
10 The National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force: “The National Transgender Discrimination Survey,” 2012.11 The Portland Press Herald: “Maine Voices: Criminal justice system needs fix,” 2015.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM EDUCATION
“As the national conversation about mass incarceration gains momentum, Maine is ripe to name and implement alternatives that achieve true justice, and to be a model for the nation.” –INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
We were not surprised to hear from
our stakeholders that criminal justice
reform is central to a just and equal
society. Participants spoke out about
mass incarceration, the privatization of
“Supermax” prisons, reducing solitary
confinement, preventing the school-to-
prison pipeline and the revolving door
for young offenders, reducing mandatory
minimums, increasing safety and
guaranteeing basic rights for prisoners,
and eliminating racism and bias in
arrests and court trials.
Participants noted connections between
criminal justice reform and other justice
and equity issues, including racial justice,
economic justice, women’s equality, LGBTQ
equality, mental health and addiction,
and more. We heard a compassionate call
for human-centered programs, such as
the Restorative Justice Institute of Maine
and the Restorative Justice Project, and
alternatives to incarceration that work,
including rehabilitation, education, and
community building.
“We must increase access to quality education throughout the state.” –INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
Education was frequently cited as a
critical building block for many of the
justice and equity challenges we face
in Maine. Participants expressed support
for well-funded, high-quality early care
and education, K-12, higher education,
and career training programs across the
board. Parents shared their concerns
about achievement and attainment gaps,
funding disparities and quality differentials
across Maine’s many school districts;
participants talked about their desire
to keep more qualified young people in
the state for college and after graduation.
We heard participants loud and clear:
education is a cornerstone of progress.
26%
$27B
of transgender adults have lost ajob due to bias, 50% have experienced harassment while working, and 20% have been evicted or denied housing.Trans women see their incomesdecrease by 30% on average,post-transition.10
In 2015, Maine’s Department of Justice spent nearly a third of its $27 billion budget on prisons.11
20 MAINE INSIGHTS
Throughout all of our conversations we heard threads addressing topics beyond the scope of any one justice or equity priority, including:
SHIFTS IN THE MODEL
YOUTHENGAGEMENT
SCARCITY VSABUNDANCE
COMMUNITY FRAGMENTATION
“There is great hope and possibility within our youth to take the reins of leadership. They are energetic, courageous, fearless and they areour future.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
Twenty-three years after the founding
of Maine Initiatives, we can attest to
the eagerness within our community to
embrace a new generation of leaders in the
progressive movement in Maine. We heard
a clear call for organizations and cause-
related efforts to make room for youth not
only to participate, but to take leadership
roles in creating real and meaningful
change. New trends in intergenerational
organizing, and preparing young
activists to take the reins permeated
every conversation.
“We are collectively limiting our ability to move towards a just and fair society by our shared agreement to believe in the mythology of scarcity.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
While there wasn’t universal agreement
on this point, a small but vocal subset of
participants felt strongly that we need
to reject the narrative of scarcity and
deficiency that is often used to characterize
our communities. They asserted that
politicians create false dichotomies
to pit groups against each other, and
that a narrative of scarcity is used more
generally to impede social progress. Other
participants noted our communities’ own
inaction in the face of opportunities, citing
deficiency and scarcity while overlooking
available resources and untapped
potential within their own communities.
“We have to destroy the concept of‘from away.’ It fuels the concept ofother and divides our community.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
It is clear that while we strive to talk about
“one Maine”, we are increasingly pitted
against each other through geographical,
demographic, and ideological divides:
“from away” vs. Mainer, Greater Portland
vs. the rest of Maine, minority vs. majority,
etc. Opportunity arose in our conversations
around a systemic breakdown of these
divisive dichotomies—if the progressive
community can model a conversation
and movement around shared values
and coalition, perhaps we can piece back
together one united Maine.
MAINE INSIGHTS 21
There are many visionary young people in Maine who care deeply
about justice and need more meaningful opportunities to
develop their leadership and critical thinking about justice
and equity.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
22 MAINE INSIGHTS
MAINE INSIGHTS 23
Looking Forward A VISION OF TRANSFORMATIVE COMMUNITY PHILANTHROPY IN MAINE
“We must build a platform for the voices of those who are currently under- or un-represented to speak for themselveson issues of economic, racial, and social justice.”–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
24 MAINE INSIGHTS
We may not share the same opinions, but we have the same fundamental values. I want my
kids to be healthy and safe, and for them to know justice. We
have to work together for that to happen.”
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
LOOKING FORWARD
MAINE INSIGHTS 25
Throughout the Maine Insights process we
heard a clarion call for greater collective
action in support of shared values. People
across Maine expressed concern that we
are becoming increasingly polarized: in our
discourse, our politics, who we talk to, who
we hear from, who we value. In many arenas
we see increasingly stark lines being drawn
between who is “us” and who is “them.”
Amidst these feelings of polarization and
division came a powerful clamor for greater
community; affirmation that we can still
come together around shared values and
act – independently and collectively – in
support of those values.
This is our work.
Maine Initiatives is a fund for change. But more than a fund, we are a network
of individuals – donors, activists, citizens –
supporting greater social, economic, and
environmental justice in Maine through
informed, intentional, and collective
action. Together, we identify, mobilize, and
leverage the resources of our community
in support of greater justice and equity for
all Mainers.
On one hand, this means money: since
1993 we have made over $3.5 million
in grants to grassroots community
organizations that have achieved lasting,
measurable victories for justice and equity
in our state. While money mobilized is
one measure of our success, our vision of
transformative community philanthropy
goes beyond money.
It is fundamentally about people: bringing
to bear our collective values, vision, and
resources on issues of justice and equity
in our state.
In this context, the Maine Insights process is
a cornerstone of our work moving forward.
This process of community outreach and
engagement affirms that there exists in our
community great untapped and unrealized
potential. Potential for:
Individuals to bring about positive
change in their communities;
Communities to embody greater
social, economic, and environmental
justice; and
All Mainers to be agents of change
in our communities, to be progressive
community philanthropists.
It is our charge and our commitmentto unleash this potential:
Through a practice of community
philanthropy that is not merely
about money, but about people –
their knowledge, experience,
relationships, resources, values,
and time;
By engaging and connecting people
on the issues that matter to them and
to their communities with intention,
with information, and with others.
This is our vision of transformative community philanthropy.
Transformative Community Philanthropy in Maine
As we pursue this vision, we do so within the context of the themes that have emerged through the Maine Insights process. While allof the themes raised throughthis process fit within the broad scope of Maine Initiatives’ mission, we will prioritize an emphasis onracial justice and equity.
26 MAINE INSIGHTS
LOOKING FORWARD
Racial injustice is woven into the
fabric of our nation. It is historical and
contemporary. It has social, economic,
and environmental expressions. And it
is something that can only be effectively
addressed through a combination of
individual and collective action.
While there is a great deal of collective
concern about racial justice and equity,
we also observe a sense of intractability
about the problem. People feel limited
individual capacity to have an impact
on issues of racial justice. Organizations,
coalitions, and even funders are often
reluctant or ill equipped to directly
engage with the topic.
Maine Initiatives seeks to address this
collective hesitancy, using our grantmaking,
programming, communications, and
convening power to build opportunities
for greater action on racial justice in Maine.
We will create space for individuals and
organizations to actively engage with these
issues and will highlight unheralded and
underfunded work already occurring in our
state that is having important impacts on
this cause.
We are inspired and informed by
organizations whose work across many
different sectors—women’s equality,
tribal rights, immigrant issues, economic
empowerment, health, criminal justice,
youth activism and leadership—is
increasing racial justice in Maine. Our
efforts will highlight these success stories
and make room for deepening our
understanding of, and our commitment
to, racial justice and equity.
Why Racial Justiceand Equity?
MAINE INSIGHTS 27
We need to nurture connectedness, shared experience and value
all Mainers.–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
28 MAINE INSIGHTS
LOOKING FORWARD
OWNERSHIP AGENCY OPPORTUNITY
Even within the progressive community,
there exists a sense that racism and racial
injustice are primarily problems of a few
bad apples: racists. As such, the solution
to the problem is to “fix” the racists. This
notion presents a problem of ownership in
that it limits the role “non-racists” have in
fostering and advancing racial justice in our
communities, beyond rooting out racism.
Even for those individuals committed
to advancing racial justice, the issues of
racial justice and racial equity are often
perceived as “original sins” of our nation,
far beyond the ability of one individual
to address. Faced with a seemingly
immovable part of our social, economic,
and historic fabric, the question becomes
“what is one person to do?” For many,
there appears to be no clear place of
purchase for engaging on the issues of
racial justice and equity.
Finally, even for a person committed to
playing an activist role on racial justice in
his or her community, there is not a clear
path to engagement and effectiveness.
For many other topics discussed, there
is robust scaffolding and infrastructure:
organizations, coalitions, and funders for
whom the issue is central to their mission.
However, the multi-sectoral nature of
racial justice and equity pursuits makes
the development of structural support
networks an unwieldy endeavor.
Three Challenges to Addressing Racial Justice and Equity:
As we address the issues of racial justice and equity through this lens, we also recognize the intricacy of these topics. The Maine Insights
conversations highlighted three challenges related to a communitarian approach to addressing racial justice and racial equity:
MAINE INSIGHTS 29
We must ask:
Who speaks for issues of racial justice?
Who supports those voices? Who convenes
individuals and organizations advancing
racial equity? Who coordinates strategy?
Who funds this work? Who celebrates
the victories?
Maine Initiatives is in a unique position to
create the space to ask and seek answers
to these questions. And we are committed
to doing so.
While we propose to address racial inequity,
we do recognize that it is one of the most
complicated justice issues facing our
communities, our state, and indeed our
nation. As such, we don’t expect to solve
the issues of racial injustice. Instead, we
expect to increase collective ownership
of this issue: engaging our full community
in the search for and support of the
solutions here in Maine.
This will be a complex process, one in which
we will need to address our discomfort with
risk taking, embrace the ideas of others,
and unify around a shared vision for Maine
and its people.
Will you join us?
30 MAINE INSIGHTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are many people in our communities and our state who are hungry for change and eager to take collective action to move us toward social, economic, and
environmental justice.
–INSIGHTS PARTICIPANT
MAINE INSIGHTS 31
Maine Initiatives
is a community
of more than
2,000 individual donors and activists
supporting greater social, economic,
and environmental justice in Maine
through informed, intentional, and
collective philanthropy.
We are a progressive foundation.We make grants to fund and strengthen
nonprofit organizations that are
advancing social, economic, and
environmental justice from the
grassroots up.
We are a public foundation.We make grants with the money we raise
from the community, pooling large and
small donations from many supporters.
We are the people’s foundation.We are a community of individuals
engaging and expressing their progressive
values with intention, with information,
and with each other.
Philip Walsh, Caitlin Gilmet, and
Andrea Berry
We are grateful to our Maine Insights hosts:
Charity West; Meri and Lee Lowry; Waterfall
Arts Center; Betsy Smith and Jennifer
Hoopes; First Parish Church in Portland;
Tom and Cindy Longstaff; Drew Christopher
Joy and the Southern Maine Workers’
Center; Pious Ali, Susan Roche and the
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project; Larry
Dansinger and the Peace & Justice Center of
Eastern Maine; Jennifer Goldman and Sarah
Lewis; Rebecca Darr Lichtfield, Jeremy
Lichtfield, and Coastal Enterprises, Inc.;
and Leslie Goode and the Blue Hill
Public Library.
Generous support from the Broad Reach
Fund and individual donors to Maine
Initiatives made this report possible.
And to our Maine Insights participants,
individually and collectively:
Thank you.
Authors
Design & Photography
Acknowledgments
About Maine Initiatives
Polychrome Collective
Thanks to Maine Inside Out, Resident
Owned Neighborhood Associations of
Maine, and the Somali Bantu Community
Association of Lewiston and Auburn for
offering their community gatherings as
subjects for our report photography.
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONSABOUT JUSTICE AND EQUITY
IN MAINE
maineinitiatives.orgPO Box 66 | 14 Maine Street, Brunswick, ME 04011 | (207) 607-4070
Maine Insights