Begin Again: reckoning with intolerance in Maine
Sugar bowls are a reminder of the legacy of colonization and slavery attached to Maine businesses and industries.
Slave ship evading the Royal Navy, 1878
The slave trade that supported the triangular trade market was outlawed in England in 1807, and in the United States in 1808. In 1820, the U.S. Congress further declared that anyone engaged in the international slave trade was guilty of piracy, but slavery on U.S. soil was legal until 1865. Though the penalty if convicted of slave trading on the sea was death, the potential profit, plus the high wages, meant there was never a shortage of people willing to risk their lives in this endeavor.Franklin Stanwood was a self-taught painter and sailor from Portland. This monumental painting shows a ship transporting enslaved African people being chased by the British Royal Navy.
NAACP buttons featuring Martin Luther King, Jr., 1996
Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. A group of Black residents under the leadership of Gerald E. Talbot established the Portland Branch of the NAACP in 1964 to advocate for racial justice.
kči-čči (The Great Penetrating Arrow), 2019
Penobscot artist James Eric Francis Sr.'s painting is a depiction of the Gluskabe story, where he shoots an arrow into the brown/black ash /basket tree, and the people come forth singing and dancing, along with many of the key animals in Wabanaki cosmology.Beyond its cultural significance, the representation connects Wabanaki people and places, and critical natural resources found across our landscape. The teachings contained within the stories of Gluskabe and the animals provide not only ecological insights, but the responsibilities all Wabanaki people have to these resources.
Reverend Smith's cane, 1750
The most valuable possessions held by Reverend Thomas Smith were his enslaved persons. Upon the death of his son, Thomas Smith, Jr. in 1776, the father bought his son's enslaved people, "a man and a likely young negro woman" for 700 English pounds—about $130,000 today. A census of Falmouth Neck (Portland) in 1749 counted 21 "slaves" in the population of 2,346.An image of Reverend Smith shows him displaying this silver-tipped walking stick, an extravagant item for the time. Smith's diary entry from 1769 demonstrated his pride in material possessions: "Had a new wig, a rich one, and hat. Had my super fine black clothes."
Sugar bowls are a reminder of the legacy of colonization and slavery attached to Maine businesses and industries.
Margaret Chase Smith hat and pearls, 1964
In 1964, milliners from around the country sent Margaret Chase Smith hats to "toss into the ring" as she sought the presidency. A tag attached inside the headband of this one states "Best & Co. Fifth Ave. New York."Smith was known for her signature hats and pearls. While Smith noted the discrimination she faced as a woman, her campaign song, Leave it to the Girls by Gladys Shelley, embraced gender stereotypes: "But leave it to the girls They're heaven sent It could be that our next president Will wear perfume and pearls Be diplomatic in pin curls For love and glory leave it to the girls!"
Map of the British and French North America, 1775
Englishman John Mitchell's monumental map demonstrates how British and French governments attempted to use European laws to control Indigenous Homelands. The effects of settler colonialism are visualized here, like a snapshot in time. The land that had been affected by colonization since the 1600s show English and French place names imposed on Native territories, especially along the coast of what is now Maine and Massachusetts.Areas further west retain Native names—and the mystery of the unknown and what the European Imperialist mind viewed as "empty spaces." Notes on the map describe how the land might be used for profit, the natural resources and potential for settlement of frontier regions. Some describe the Tribes and show ancient Native routes. The Library of Congress's Geography and Map Division called Mitchell's map "the most important map in American history."
Sugar harvest in Cuba, 1873
William F. Chadwick of Portland painted this scene of a sugar harvest in Cuba. He was the son of merchant Samuel Chadwick, and the family's Portland-based vessels are documented as having traded for molasses in Guadeloupe and Cuba. Chadwick lived in Matanzas, Cuba from 1870 to 1876 and witnessed the brutal labor in the sugar cane fields. His idyllic painting of slavery in Cuba would have been a powerful propaganda tool for swaying public perceptions about the forced labor associated with sugar products.Although the United States and Britain abolished their slave trades in 1807 and 1808, Cuba remained one of the most common destinations for slave ships through the 1860s. By 1850 the sugar industry accounted for four-fifths of all exports, and in 1860 Cuba produced nearly one-third of the world's sugar. Slavery continued legally in Cuba until 1886.
Sugar bowl fragments, circa 1830
In the 1600s, European importers sourced sugar from Asia and the Middle East. Because it was a rare and new commodity, there was no material culture associated with sugar. As a result, artists patterned the first sugar containers on the Chinese covered rice bowls used to hold and protect the sugar during shipping. Even after sugar industries moved to the Americas, the covered bowl shape stuck, and today most sugar bowls have a cover.This pearlware sugar bowl with Chinese motifs was made in England in the 1830s, but the resemblance to a rice bowl is evident. Archaeologists excavated the fragments during a 2008 dig at 47 Brown Street in Portland.Sugar bowls throughout the exhibition are a reminder of the legacy of colonization and slavery attached to Maine industries.
Wool blankets were often part of trade agreements between settler colonialists and Wabanaki people. These blankets are a reminder of every treaty that the governments of Great Britain and the United States have broken with Indigenous people in Maine.
Child's corset, circa 1860
Corsets were tied tightly with as many as fifty laces, supposably to impose modesty upon the wearer—even children.
Sugar bowls are a reminder of the legacy of colonization and slavery attached to Maine businesses and industries.
Last will of Charles Frost (1678-1724)
"One silver-headed loading staff, a plate-hilted sword, and one Negro man (Hector); One tobacco box, one seal ring, one plate hatband, and one Negro man (Peince); One riding horse (the best), furniture, pistols, and one Negro man (John); and All the gold rings (except the seal ring), a steel-hilted sword, and one Negro boy (Cesar). The riches (and sins) of the father passed to the sons."Krystal Williams, 2021 Last will of Charles Frost of Kittery and Berwick
George Floyd mural, Portland, 2020
George Floyd's murder by police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020 sparked a Black Lives Matter surge across the nation—and the world. Kathy Amoroso took this photograph in Portland of a large mural on the side of Aura Club on Center Street memorialized Floyd and other victims of police violence.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 across the United States.
Children performing at Allen School in Portland, 1924
White people using makeup to portray Black people in stereotypical burlesque "minstrel" shows became popular in the 1920s, about the same time these photos were taken for the Portland Press Herald. Minstrelsy includes comedic performances of "blackness" by Whites in exaggerated costumes.Also rising in popularity in Maine in the 1920s was the Ku Klux Klan. These racist caricatures and stereotypes of Black people perpetuated the fallacy that Black people were inferior.Collections of Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media
Mary Pepperrell's snuffbox, circa 1760
This snuff box belonged to Mary Hirst Pepperrell, wife of William Pepperrell. Snuff is a smokeless tobacco made from ground tobacco leaves.The lid is carved ivory and the bowl is made from a tiger cowrie seashell. The tiger cowrie lives on the ocean floor in the Indo-Pacific region, from the eastern coast of Africa to the waters of Micronesia and Polynesia. Once common, the cowrie is less abundant today, due to shell collecting and the destruction of its habitat. The tiger shell, and possibly the entire snuff box, likely came to Maine on the same boats that participated in the Atlantic slave trade.When William Pepperrell died in 1759, he willed "any four" of his slaves to his wife. After her death in 1779, Mary Pepperrell's will freed her slaves.
Corey Hinton's thoughts on the Declaration of Independence
The line from the Declaration of Independence that always sticks out to me is the one that includes "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." That line is probably one of the most romanticized pieces of American prose ever written, yet it's just a poetic façade that masked the true beliefs of its slave-owning authors.The majority of the signers literally owned human beings as personal property at the moment they signed beneath those audacious words. Were "all men" truly equal in the eyes of the Founding Fathers? Of course not. After all, just 21 years earlier, the Phips Proclamation of 1755 offered bounties for the capture and killing of Wabanaki people in what is now Southern Maine.Michael-Corey F. Hinton (Passamaquoddy)
Anti-immigrant violence
Read Matthew Jude Barker's story on My Maine Stories.
We Gonna Be Alright, 2020 by Ryan Adams
Smith family christening dress, circa 1737
Reverend Thomas Smith (1702-1795) was the pastor of First Parish in Portland for 57 years. During his long life of 94 years, he also worked as a physician and real estate speculator, becoming very wealthy.Sarah Tyng married Thomas Smith in 1728. Their family included eight children, at least one of them was christened in this gown. The quality linen twill fabric, with appliqué crocheted floral lace trim on the overdress, represents the wealthy status of the Smith family. The shape is unusual for a christening gown, since it resembles adult clothing rather than the elongated cotton gowns normally worn.
The constitution of the state of Maine, 1825
The Maine State Constitution took effect on March 15, 1820 when Maine separated from Massachusetts. Maine's Constitution extended to: Every male citizen of the United States of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, excepting paupers, persons under guardianship, and Indians not taxed.While the constitution provided strong protections for religious freedom, extended voting rights to Black men, and had no property requirement to vote, it disenfranchised women, the poor, and "Indians not taxed," recognizing Tribal sovereignty but also tying representation to taxation.
Letter to Elizabeth Mounfort from Cuba, July 4, 1847
A woman identified as "Maria" living in Trinidad, Cuba, wrote to abolitionist and member of the Maine Anti-Slavery Society, Elizabeth Mountfort, about the brutality of slave labor in the sugar cane fields. Maria told of, "An American lady speaking of the warmth of the weather in the summer season, said, "I should like to spend some time in the country, were it not for the shrieks of the slaves, which you hear constantly, some one or another, being nearly all the time at the whipping post."
Women's Suffrage march in Houlton, circa 1912
"Sisters Unite," "Let the Women Rule," and "Down With the Men" are signs we might have expected to see at the height of the women's movement in the 1970s. But in Houlton, Maine, circa 1912?Suffrage parades were spectacles intended to dramatize women's call for the vote, but their use was relatively new in Maine at this time. Women marching with signs and banners would be sure to result in newspaper coverage and provoke discussion. Note the lead marcher with the drum; such instruments lent a military air and helped draw attention to the event. They certainly seem to have succeeded in Houlton that day.Anne Gass
John Sawyer letter about Penobscot agriculture, 1810
John Sawyer wrote this letter about his meetings with Penobscot Tribal leaders and General Blake regarding teaching colonial settler agricultural methods on the reservation, and assimilating Penobscot people into the dominant society.Sawyer and Blake did not understand that for millennia, Wabanaki people have always been experts at cultivating plants in their Homeland. Traditional foodways were disrupted as colonization efforts like this one, radically changed Wabanaki diets and lifestyles, adversely affecting health.
The Death of Metacom, 1881
Metacom, called "King Philip" by the English Puritans, became the Sachem (leader) of the Wampanoag Nation in what is now known as Massachusetts after the death of his father Massasoit and murder of his brother, Wamsutta. Like his Wabanaki counterparts, Metacom's role included negotiating land privileges with the settler colonialists.Metacom's tenure as sachem came at a time of tension between the Plymouth Colony, which was increasing in population, and the Wampanoag who were defending their Homelands. King Philip's War broke out in 1675, with what is now known as Maine at the northern edge of the fighting.Metacom was murdered on August 12th, 1676, but the successive wars resulting from colonial settler theft of Indigenous Homelands raged in Maine until 1763.
Samuel and Roger Courtney being tarred and feathered
The summer of 1919 is known as the "Red Summer" when race riots and lynchings broke out across the United States. Two brothers from Boston, Samuel and Roger Courtney, were sophomores studying at the University of Maine in Orono were tarred and feathered in April of 1919. Karen Siebert of the University of Maine recently documented this event.The Courtneys, two of only a handful of Black students at the University in 1919, were stripped of their clothes, their heads were shaved, and they were made to apply hot molasses to one another. The mob covered them with feathers from dorm room pillows. The police were alerted during this hours-long event, but no arrests were made. Local reports of the story were absent, but newspapers in Chicago and Boston covered it. The Courtney brothers never finished their studies and returned to Massachusetts.
"The sweetness and decadence of sugar belies the toil required to harvest it. When I see this sugar bowl, I do not think of cakes and other pastries. Instead, I think of black bodies dripping with sweat; machetes, tarnished from use, raised high in defiance and supplication." Krystal Williams
Dunlap Declaration of Independence, 1776
The Second Continental Congress representing 13 colonies in America declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, and formed the United States of America. This founding document, one of 26 surviving copies printed by John Dunlap, is based on the noble principle that "All men are created equal," while in reality it excluded women and people of color. Forty one of the 56 signers owned slaves. William Whipple is widely known as the only Mainer to sign the Declaration of Independence—his merchant business participated in the Atlantic slave trade and he enslaved Africans on his Kittery estate—though during the American Revolution he freed some of his slaves and supported emancipation.
Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, by Arisa White, 2021
Arisa White, the Cave Canem fellow and an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Colby College wrote this poem in reflection of the 1825 Maine Constitution. Her repeating questions, shall be shall not shall have, examine the inequities of who has historically benefited from Maine and the U.S. government's guiding documents.
Family in front of their house on Malaga Island, circa 1909
In 1860, a community of Black, mixed race, and White people started living on Malaga Island, off the coast of Phippsburg. They created a closed community where they could live outside of the racism present in many majority White towns. Courtesy of the Maine State Museum (96.38.189)
Reverend James Woodside, 1726
James Woodside was ordained the minister of Dunboe, Northern Ireland in 1700. He and about 160 Ulster Scots settled in Brunswick in 1718 at the suggestion of the Pejepscot Proprietors and Massachusetts Governor Shute.The Town of Brunswick asked Woodside to replace their first preacher, Harvard-trained Joseph Baxter, in 1718. Woodside lasted only ten months, eventually leaving Brunswick to return to England in 1720. Thomas Gibson (circa 1680-1751) created this painting which is in the Collections of The First Parish Church of Brunswick, Maine, United Church of Christ
Human neck shackle, 1862
Captain Charles C.G. Thornton, who served in the 12th Maine volunteers, filed t[his iron collar and chain](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/6644) from the neck of a Black enslaved field hand who came inside the Federal lines from the Confederacy in 1862 at Pontchartrain, Louisiana during the Civil War.Thornton presented the shackle to the Maine Historical Society with the following note: "The collar originally had three iron prongs reaching to the top of the man's head and was fastened by the chain to a shackle around his ankle, carrying a ten pound ball. He said he had worn it a year and the condition of his neck and ankle, calloused in deep ridges, verified his word. The prongs and ball he had got rid of before he reached our lines.The irons were put on him because when forbidden to visit his wife, who had been sold to a planter living ten miles away, he ran away. He was recaptured and his master caused irons to be riveted on him."
Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Domination, 1493
Indigenous people in what is now known as North and South America developed their own religions and governmental organization over millennia, but Europeans regarded their complex societies as "barbarous" and therefore open to colonize, convert, and enslave. Pope Alexander VI's Papal Bull Inter Caetera proclaimed all land not inhabited by Christians was open to be "discovered" by Christian Europeans—the basis of colonization.Two Papal Bulls—1452 pertaining to Africa and 1493 to the Americas—are known as the Doctrines of Christian Discovery and Domination. These documents allowed European settler colonialists to profit through taking ownership of land and enslaving Black and Indigenous people. Although it is 528 years old, this Doctrine is the underpinning of American racism—and Christianity is at the center of it.
Corn and Acorn baskets, 1999
Paula Love Thorne, a member of the Penobscot Nation, made this [corn](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/108746) and [acorn](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/108747) basket from ash and sweetgrass. Thorne hails from a long line of basketmakers. Her mentor was renowned Penobscot weaver, Christine Nicholas.Baskets made in the forms of vegetables and fruits are common in Wabanaki culture. Wabanaki people, usually women, grew varieties of corn, beans, and squash in what are called Three Sisters planting mounds. Wabanaki diets also relied on foods like acorns and butter nuts—trees that were decimated by European harvesting for timber and masts. The corn form could reflect tribal histories relating to the First Mother, who sacrificed her life to provide corn and food for the people.
Corset, circa 1950
For centuries, women have worn corsets, or laced bodices, to embody society's perceptions of beauty relating to the female figure. Corsets fulfill a desire for a tiny waist and full bust. Over time, the tight lacing can cause physical deformities, and women from the 15th to 19th centuries damaged their health from the constriction.Corsets began as a marker of class and society. Later they were seen as a form of female oppression and victimization. Today they are sometimes used as a symbol of empowerment and feminine rebellion a-la the pop star Madonna in the 1980s.
History of the Penobscot Tribe of Indians, 1941
Florence Nicolar Shay (Penobscot) was the daughter of Penobscot leader and author, Joseph Nicolar, and the great granddaughter of Lt. Governor John Neptune. She was a historian, author, basketmaker, and life-long advocate for Indigenous people.Shay worked with her community to raise educational standards for Penobscot children, persuaded the state to build a bridge to Indian Island, and demanded suffrage for Wabanaki people, who were denied the right to vote by the State of Maine until 1967.
Portland Group Returns from March on Washington, 1963
Protest has long been a form of resistance. The Civil Rights movement in the 1960s brought issues relating to inequity, race, and segregation to the forefront, including police brutality and race-based job discrimination.The caption for this photo from the Portland Evening Express read, Tired but still enthusiastic, this delegation returned today from the civil rights demonstration in Washington. Left to right are Gerald Talbot, Alfred Burris, Lawrence Graham, the Reverend Valton V. Morse, Elizabeth Aldrich, Joseph Robey, and the Reverend John C. Bruce.Less than a year later, Talbot had organized the Maine chapter of the NAACP.Collections of Portland Public Library Special Collections & Archives.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) was a prominent abolitionist, temperance, and women's suffrage activist, as well as a widely-published poet from Baltimore. She was the first Black woman to publish a short story.
Ku Klux Klan robe and hood, circa 1925
An unidentified person used this [robe](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/28642) and [hood](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/28836) in Hollis in the 1920s, when the Ku Klux Klan was at its height of membership in Maine.The secret society mandated hoods and robes to hide the identity of members. Milton Charles Bennet of Bangor published sheet music for his song The Klansman's Rally Song where the chorus lines are: Crosses burn, our hearts all yearn with love each for his brother. All thru the night Our robes gleam white, For God, for country, and each other.
Redline map of Portland and South Portland, 1935
Redlining is the practice of denying or limiting financial services to certain neighborhoods based only on their racial or ethnic composition. The term "redlining" refers to using a red line on a map to delineate areas financial institutions viewed as risky, and where they would not invest. Use of redlined maps was endorsed by government entities such as the Federal Housing Administration.[This map](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/105920) has labels from 1935 denoting Polish, Italian, Jewish, and Irish neighborhoods, and indicates their "Grade of Security." The map is a little hard to read, but the Polish and Italian neighborhoods in what is now known as Bayside were among those considered most risky.
Say it Loud, 2020 by Ryan Adams
Ellen Crocker's Purr-Sist story
[Read Ellen Crocker's story ](https://www.mainememory.net/mymainestory/Purrsist)of creating the Purr-Sist button after the Women's March in Augusta in 2017.
ERA for ME button, 1984
When 38 states failed to ratify the federal ERA, advocates pushed to ensure that similar language be adopted in state constitutions. This button is from the campaign in Maine, which was led by the Maine League of Women Voters.Ultimately, this campaign was unsuccessful. Advocates continue to introduce the amendment into each legislative session. In recent years, equality of the sexes has become a partisan issue; in its most recent version, in 2019, the Maine ERA was defeated on party lines. In 2021, women are still not equal to men under the foundational document of our state–or our country.Collections of Maine Historical Society
Wool blankets were often part of trade agreements between settler colonialists and Wabanaki people. These blankets are a reminder of every treaty that the governments of Great Britain and the United States have broken with Indigenous people in Maine.
Toy Len Goon's outfit, circa 1920
Though Toy Len Goon brought some [traditional outfits](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/10494) with her from China, including four mud silk, cotton, and wool outfits, they remained in storage. Upon her arrival, her husband Dogan bought her a sewing machine and told her to make American style clothing for herself. Toy Len wore her characteristic uniform—a house dress and apron—as she worked 16 hour days doing both house and laundry work, and caring for her eight children. Her workload increased when Dogan became ill and passed away in 1941, requiring her to pull Carroll, the oldest, out of high school to help run the laundry. All of the children helped out with laundry or housework, while also earning excellent grades at Deering High School. All went on for additional education, eventually achieving solid middle-class status.
The Meeting House & Meeting House 2: All Present, 2020
Portland based artist Daniel Minter's work reveals Maine's Black history, the Underground Railroad, and the abolitionist movement. The Abyssinian Religious Society was formed after Black parishioners of the Second Congregational Church in Portland refused to be segregated on balcony seating, and experienced animosity by White members who discouraged their attendance. The Abyssinian was a place for worship, but also hosted abolition and temperance meetings, and the Portland Anti-Slavery Society.Minter's artist relief print titled [The Meeting House 2; All Present](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/108716) shows the Abyssinian Meeting House full of life. A companion print, [The Meeting House](https://www.mainememory.net/artifact/108737), shows the empty interior of the Abyssinian Meeting House, much as it appears in 2021, undergoing an extensive renovation to preserve the original character.
During the Renaissance, sculptors carved figures based on Greek and Roman statues, erroneously believing that the ancient sculptures were purposely created with white marble to represent White skin. Recent research and writings by people living in the ancient world, such as Pliny the Elder, demonstrate that the marble was actually highly decorated and painted to reflect the diversity and color of Greek and Roman society.The 16th century misconception of linking classical beauty to whiteness led to centuries-long preferences toward sculpted portraits devoid of color. Marble busts and even plaster casts like these ones—which would have been easy to paint—perpetuated the cultural belief of White supremacy through whitewashed sculpture.The plaster casts displayed here acknowledge the pervasive preference for Whiteness and privilege in museum collections, but do not discredit the lives or work of the men they represent.
"If it were made from gold or silver filigree, the shackle pictured could easily be mistaken for the style of necklaces that are so popular today. My body reacts physically and viscerally to the words "human neck shackle." My stomach heaves with a nausea that does not pass easily. I have never liked wearing necklaces. I now wonder if my body recognizes the trauma of my ancestors and refuses to submit to metal around my neck, even if for decorative purposes." Krystal Williams, 2021
Wabanaki peaked hat, circa 1850
Wabanaki women have worn these conical wool hats with ribbon applique and beadwork as part of their daily dress for centuries. Today they are mainly worn during special occasions.Wabanaki people have always designed and decorated their clothing in beautiful and innovative ways. Materials such as red and blue wool gained during treaty negotiations and glass beads and ribbons purchased at trading posts saved time from processing skins, stones, and shells. The introduction of brightly colored silk ribbons and standard-sized glass beads from Europe led to a flourishing of innovation in Wabanaki adornment and fashion. Collections of Boston Children's Museum
Facing the Past: Malaga Island, 2014
Watch a[ ten minute video](https://youtu.be/ia-WHVRLQFQ) Produced/Directed/Written by Anita Clearfield about Malaga Island Courtesy of Maine Public
Ku Klux Klan field day, Portland, 1926
Members of the Ku Klux Klan from various Maine communities gathered in Portland for a field day on August 28, 1926. The Portland Expo building is seen at the back right.The Klan sought to influence Maine politics and anti-immigration policies through political influence. In 1920 almost 4,000 immigrants arrived in Portland from European countries. French Canadians were also coming to Maine in large numbers, seeking employment in the textile and lumber mills—few of them spoke English and many were Roman Catholics.
Order from George R. Gilmer, Governor of Georgia, 1838
Order from George R. Gilmer, Governor of Georgia, appointing George G. Millen as agent to receive fugitives Philbrook and Killerun [Kellerun] and convey them to trial for the crime of simple larceny, 1838Collections of the Maine State Archives"The story of Atticus, a Georgian slave who befriended White, Maine shippers and escaped on the ship Susan, 1837Two states at war Over a slave, really a boy 15 years of life, all spent enslaved he chased freedom over the waves from Georgia to Maine his freedom secured until by deceiving friends he was lured back to the ships' docks and slavery's stocks a Controversy never fully resolved."Krystal Williams, 2021
