Wow, thank you so much to everyone that participated in yesterday’s 40th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observance: A Virtual Teach-In and Call to Action! Rev. Dr. King’s legacy was honored by the 1,600 Mainers that participated in the day’s offerings to learn, connect, and act in support of Black leadership and Black liberation.

We hope you finished the day with a sense of community and solidarity, and are moved to work towards greater racial justice throughout the year.

We also want to thank those who made this event possible:

• Thank you to Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross and the Steering Committee, who carried the vision of this community event.
• Thank you to the Session Hosts, who shared invaluable wisdom and called us to action.
• Thank you to the Sponsors and donors to this event, whose financial support helped pay speakers and musicians for sharing their expertise.

If you were inspired by yesterday’s event, we invite you to visit our “Call to Action” page where you can sign up to become a member of the soon to be re-chartered Portland Branch of the NAACP, and to donate to support a growing fund to create fellowships, internships and other paid opportunities for African Americans, Latinx, Indigenous and other people of color to advance racial equity and justice in our public policy.

We also intend to collect each sessions’ “Call to Action” and will add those to the webpage as well. A majority of sessions will be recorded and should be available to the public in the coming weeks.

Mariana Angelo of Black P.O.W.E.R. left us all with a powerful message at the closing ceremony, “We thank the legacy of MLK and the legacy he has given to us. Activists like myself can continue the fight.”

In case you missed it, we invite you to watch the full closing ceremony below with musical performances by JanaeSound, Kafari, and Carolyn Brady.

In solidarity,

The NAACP in Maine and the MLK Holiday Steering Committee