Portland Public Library: Celebrations Of Black History

Press release from Portland Public Library:

February 17, 2022

The cover and one inside page of the 1973 Miss Black Teenage Pageant of Maine that was held in Portland.

The pageant was the second held in Maine, following one in 1971, and was sponsored by the Maine Association for Black Progress.

Karlene Carter, 16, of Bangor was the winner.

The other contestants, pictured on an inside page of the program, were Joni Clark, 15, Hermon; Karen Cummings, 13, Portland; Belinda Dashiell, 16, Auburn; Diana Johnson, 16, Brunswick; Judith Searcy, 15, Gorham; Joyce Young, 16, Portland; and Kathy Young, 15, Portland. From Maine Memory Network

From Maine Memory Network She Took Justice: The Black Woman, Law, and Power She Took Justice Maine Memory Network photo Black Imagination It’s A Family Affair: A Personal Conversation about Black History in Maine Photo from Maine Memory Network Nineteenth-Century Black Politics in Maine Fees and Hour Black Teen Voices PPL Teen: Black History is Now Black Publishing Power Newer Titles in Black History Black Freedom Struggle in the United States Digital Maine Library The Diversity Studies Collection The US History Collection The Diversity Studies Collection Blacks in Maine Black History in Maine: The Stories and Contributions of Maine’s Black Individuals and Communities

George Floyd’s murder by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020 was filmed, and sparked a Black Lives Matter movement across the nation. In Portland, Floyd was memorialized with a large mural on the side of Aura Club on Center Street.

Portland artists Ryan Adams, Jason McDonald and Mike Rich painted the mural during June 2020, which includes the words “Again We Rise” along with the names of Black people who have been killed by police officers over the years across the United States. From Maine Memory Network.

From Maine Memory Network.

This press release was produced by Portland Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.