Our Statement: Moving Forward in Support of Justice and Equity in Maine

Issued: November 22, 2016

Maine Initiatives is a community of people advancing social, economic, and environmental justice in Maine through informed, intentional, and collective action. As we process the results of the recent election and what it means for our work, we offer the following statement:

• Our communities are only as just and equitable as we expect them to be, demand that they be, as we ourselves make them: through our words, our actions, and in our relationships.

• We commit ourselves, individually and collectively, to doing the work necessary to ensure that Maine is a safe, welcoming, just, and equitable place for all people.

• We reject racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism.

• We affirm that racial justice and equity are aspirational values of our community, embodied when all people are equally seen, heard, valued, respected, and supported, and achieved when race is not predictive of life outcomes.

• We pledge to marshal, mobilize, and leverage the full range of our assets – knowledge, wisdom, resources, vision, and voice – in support of these values.

Signed: The Board and Staff of Maine Initiatives

Ellen Golden, President
Suzy Sonenberg, Vice President
Greg Field, Treasurer
Luc Nya, Secretary
Kate Brennan
Tracy Cooley
Leslie Goode
Leslie Hill
Elizabeth Pope
Philip Walsh
Andrea Berry