MLK Day at Bates is a community-wide opportunity to discuss, teach, and reflect on the legacy of civil rights in a continuously changing social and political environment. Begun thirty-four years ago during the tenure of Bates President Don Harward, this year’s event was once again a “day on, not off” for Bates students, faculty, staff, and off-campus community members and scholars who grappled with issues of justice, equity, and freedom in today’s context of ongoing conflict, war, racial inequity, climate change, and threats to democracy. Individuals and groups from both on and off campus were invited to propose sessions for this year’s event, whose theme was “Bending Toward Justice: Peace and Nonviolence.” Staff at the Harward Center worked with a range of partners to organize or support multiple opportunities for participants to explore civic engagement through volunteering, deliberative dialogue, organizing and advocacy, and engaging community perspectives. The sessions we worked on are summarized below.

Spoken Word Festival

The college’s MLK Day programming actually begins the day before, and this year we were delighted to help our friends in the Multifaith Chaplaincy welcome one of our valued community partners into the spotlight at Gomes Chapel for the second annual MLK Day Spoken Word Festival. Joseph Jackson, Director of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition and Co-Director of Maine Inside Out, was one of two featured guest performers for the event, delivering poetic provocations that stirred both heart and mind. The other guest performer was Portland’s Kenya Hall. Described by Rolling Stone as a “soul powerhouse,” Ms. Hall’s soaring vocals and original compositions, including a contemporary riff on the national anthem, set the tone for an evening of talent and truth-telling.

Dream Big With the Bobcats:

Sponsored by the Bates Department of Athletics, Athletics Committee, Athletics Equity and Inclusion Council, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, and the Athletics Committee of Bates Student Government, Lewiston youth in grades 1-6 were invited to campus to participate in a community day with Bates student athletes. Over 40 student-athletes welcomed local youth for an informal discussion about Dr. King and his legacy, reading, crafts, optional sports activities, and lunch. Associate Director of Athletics Adrienne Shibles ‘91, the lead organizer of the event, expressed appreciation for the opportunity to work with the Harward Center’s Mohamed Awil and other campus partners: “This was a fun event for our students-athletes to engage local youth in the spirit of community and Dr. King’s legacy. I’m looking forward to building on it for next year.”

Builder’s Movement Initiative:

Ananya Rao ‘25 has deepened her engagement in the Harward Center this fall as a Bates Votes Ambassador and student facilitator with the 2024 Election Connection Conversation series.  Her interest in political polarization and social conflict led her to pursue a fellowship through the “Builders Movement Initiative,” a national organization that trains selected student leaders in the skills, tools, and capacities needed for flexible thinking and problem solving. On MLK Day, Ananya’s Builders Movement training led an audience of students, faculty, staff, and community members through exercises and practices for combatting polarization and engaging authentically across differences.  

One participant in Ananya’s session, Ethan Chan ’25, reflected on the workshop: “I was very excited to attend Ananya’s presentation. As a student who has been civically engaged on campus throughout my time at Bates through the Harward Center and the Bates College Student Government, I think it has become clear that students need outlets to have constructive dialogue across differences, and as a community we need to provide the necessary tools for them to do this. I appreciated Ananya’s emphasis on bridging differences through dialogue, and giving students an introductory opportunity to put these skills to practice in a low stakes environment.”  – Ethan Chan ‘25

Local Antiwar Organizing Today

In the context of conflicts both near and far, a timely workshop focused on the antiwar and divestment efforts being led or supported by Maine organizers. Sponsored by the Lewiston Ceasefire and Divestment Working Group, along with Bates faculty members Christine Martinez (Environmental Studies), Darby Ray (Harward Center), and Asha Tamirisa (Music), the discussion centered on the challenges, motivations, strategies, and hopes of organizers working to call out and end U.S. involvement in violent conflicts abroad.  

Eric Dyer, Assistant Director of Learning Strategies in Student Academic Support at Bates, shared his takeaway from the workshop: “While I care deeply about peace, and identify myself as someone who is already against the next war, it’s all too easy to look at where I’m located, both geographically and hierarchically, and feel too removed from points of conflict and those making the decisions to pursue war to be able to have an impact. Hearing from people here in Maine who are making a difference on a daily basis was both inspiring and energizing.“

Working Class Discontent:  

Another workshop addressed the fact that even as MLK Day marked the inauguration of a new president, some voters find themselves still processing the results of the 2024 election. One of the national narratives since election day is Trump’s victory across most voting groups, especially the nation’s working class. Working-class discontent has been described as the reason for Trump’s victory, but the U.S. working class is diverse, stratified, and largely unorganized. While Trump won the popular vote in several states, including Maine, down-ballot races that featured abortion rights, pro-worker ballot measures, and union candidates often saw impressive victories in the election. 

What is often left out of the narrative are the actual views and perspectives of worker and union voices. In response, Harward Center staff invited a diverse group of union leaders to share their insights and perspectives–viewpoints that are not widely seen or understood on selective liberal arts college campuses: Linda Deane, president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of United Steelworkers Local 900; Garrett Stewart, President of the A. Phillip Randolph Institute of Maine; Maine State Rep. Kilton Webb, vice president of the Western Maine Labor Council and member of IBEW Local 567; and Phillip Joseph, an electrician and member of IBEW Local 567 Young Workers’ Committee and also a Board member of the Southern Maine Workers Center.  

Karsten Stiner ‘26, a student activist and participant, shared what was impressive about this offering: “The Working Class Discontent panelists shared prior and current experiences advocating for workers rights in Maine, including working in unions and campaigning for local office. The panelists talked about their involvement in local legislation and job programs designed to help empower workers and protect their rights, which I had not known about before. The panel reminded me that concerns about workers’ rights and our material conditions are not new phenomena but actually have a long history in Lewiston and the United States as a whole.  Panelists and audience members shared different ideas about the racial divides in the United States and if they could be overcome in a movement to further workers’ rights in an equitable, inclusive, effective direction. Among other topics, the Q&A explored the apparent disconnect in the recent election between the Democratic party and average voters, which was very engaging.”  

Reclaiming Public Memory:

The question of public memory – a community’s understanding of its own history, and the stories it tells or doesn’t tell to future generations – prompted a lively panel discussion organized by Harward Center staff in collaboration with Associate Professor of History and Environment Studies Joe Hall. Panelists demonstrated how in Maine, grassroots efforts from scholars, artists, and culture keepers are shaping public conversations in ways that open up new possibilities for relationships and learning that have policy or political impacts for Wabanaki and African American communities. 

Panelist Meadow Dibble introduced participants to the Atlantic Black Box, an organization she founded to pursue historical recovery and a reckoning with New England’s role in colonization and enslavement. While this work started with Meadow’s exploration of her own family history and its connection to place, Atlantic Black Box now equips “citizen historians” to examine place names, research local history, and identify the narratives that are left out of public view.  

James Francis, Director of Cultural and Historic Preservation for the Penobscot Nation, used some of his time as a panelist interrogating what is considered “public memory,” noting that the term, like race, is a construct. In Maine, Penobscot culture has often been defined by the academy, through the fields of anthropology and archeology, in ways that have dispossessed the tribes from self-determination. Francis suggested a different approach to memory, one that is reimagined through the lens of landscape. 

A third panelist, Bob Greene, is a retired journalist whose African American lineage in Maine dates to the 1700s. Many are surprised to learn that Black people have been in Maine for centuries, but Greene’s research into the state’s African American history helps excavate and reclaim that history.

Heidi Nydam ‘25 attended the workshop and shared what surprised her about the intersection of environmental studies and history: “In an echo of much of what has been emphasized through my environmental studies curriculum and some personal reading and experiences in outdoor education, I really appreciated the way the presenters encouraged us to look back on Maine’s history, beyond the fact that we might not have confederate statues to topple, but that we do have what are perceived as idyllic coastal towns and mansions, which are really built on captains of ships engaged in the slave trade. Who has walked this soil, interacted with these oceans, who may not be written in history, and what do we owe them? Activism has to go beyond just reckoning with this and towards truly making remedial advocacy. One other thought I had is to look deeper into my town’s and Lewiston’s present, the stories told by the existing monuments/street signs/library books/family oral histories etc., and how that has created my perception of the past.”

These and other MLK Day workshops and activities helped make January 20th a day of learning, connection, and dialogue across difference – welcome pursuits on an emotionally charged day for our nation.