|
Please Use Other Door's design (left) and Rory Turnbull's design (right)
are available this month as shirts, stickers, and cards
|
|
|
This month Peace & Justice Center hosted a Design Opportunity on the theme of "Community Justice." We received some beautiful submissions from the artists as seen above and below.
Please Use Other Door's design (above left) was selected via ranked-choice by the Steering Committee to receive the $100 artist appreciation reward. The design shows a compelling figure at a vigil that emanates strength, perseverance, and hope. Runner-up of $50 went to Rory Turnbull's colorful design (above right), which welcomes the viewer in with its warmth and sense of welcoming community. Olivia Baldacci's design (below) receives $25, with her charming characters participating in a range of activities the Peace & Justice Center is known for.
|
|
|
Olivia Baldacci's design will also be available this month as shirts, stickers, and cards
|
|
|
Each artist will receive a cash prize and merch of their own designs for participating. We loved the designs so much we decided to make all of them into T-Shirts alongside the stickers and cards! The merch will be available later this month, so be sure to look out for them on social media, email, and the website.
Thank you to all the wonderful artists that participated! Your art deserves to be recognized and uplifted, and we appreciate having you in our community.
|
|
|
To the community and Peace & Justice Center's dismay, the City of Bangor has once again removed public bathrooms from downtown. This was done quietly and without consulting us or the public. These actions show little regard for our people and the values of health, hospitality, and human dignity.
On Monday, August 23rd, Peace & Justice Center gathered with GBHC and other community members to approach Bangor City Council on the issue. Their speeches in public comment were poignant and powerful. Our Co-Program Director had the following to say on the issue:
"[...] This isn’t just a matter of some locals stirring up a fuss; this is about our moral duty to others as humans. People deserve to be treated with dignity and to have their basic needs met. While you get the luxury of using your office facility, someone on the streets out here is panicking because they have to go and they’re worried about getting arrested if they try. While you buy a bidet and double ply toilet paper another person is jaunting miles on foot to the nearest gas station because it’s all that’s open right now that won’t turn them away. While you garnish your vanity with artisanal soaps someone is crying in their car because their IBS is flaring and they’re at a loss of what to do. We cannot rely on the hospitality of private businesses to meet this need. We can’t keep ignoring the evergrowing health concern that comes with denying people a sanitary facility. We can’t continue to ignore the hurt and shame we are inflicting on our community when we deny them basic provisions [...]"
There are many ways you can help us in this effort to get bathrooms for Bangor. Write to Bangor City Council, sign our petition, speak out at council meetings, write an LTE or Op-Ed, and get involved with us at GBHC's Saturday meetings. Any support is appreciated!
Sign the petition here:
|
|
|
This fall the Peace & Justice Center's Education Committee will be exploring The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations, a book by Shirley Hager and Mawopiyane. This book focuses on how Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can come together to create meaningful and lasting relationships.
Thirty years ago, in Wabanaki territory – a region encompassing the state of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes – a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals came together to explore some of the most pressing questions at the heart of Truth and Healing efforts in the United States and Canada. Meeting over several years in long-weekend gatherings, in a Wabanaki-led traditional Council format, assumptions were challenged, perspectives upended, and stereotypes shattered. Alliances and friendships were formed that endure to this day.
Book discussions will be held via Zoom and are scheduled as follows:
- Oct 10th 6-7:30PM - General discussion (pgs. 1-120)
- Oct 24th 6-7:30PM - Discussion with the authors (pgs. 131-182)
- Nov 7th 6-7:30PM - General discussion (pgs. 183-END)
- (Tentative) Nov 21st 6-7:30pm - Discussion led by representatives of Wabanaki Alliance
You can find copies of the book at the Maine State Library, Bangor Public Library, and Fogler Library. It is also available online as a PDF or for purchase.
Check out this brief article called " Tribal Sovereignty in the Dawnland" by Ambassador Maulian Dana to learn more about sovereignty in Maine.
If you would like to join us for these discussions, please email Kay Carter ( Kaycarter08@gmail.com) or Doug Poulin ( dugbug45@gmail.com) for the Zoom link. We look forward to seeing you there! |
|
|
Greater Bangor Housing Coalition
|
|
Photo Credit: Sam Bullard
The community gathers together at the Bangor Arts & Music Expo in Broad Street Park.
|
|
|
This month the Greater Bangor Housing Coalition (GBHC) kept busy with the Bangor Arts & Music Expo and more bathroom related activism.
The Bangor Arts & Music Expo took place Saturday, August 28th in the afternoon. The event opened with a cookout and interactive art tables (as seen below), and an hour in they had an open mic for musicians and poets to express themselves. Community members were given a space to share their creative side with their voices and their paintbrushes alike after more than a year of low accessibility to these community activities.
This event also made apparent the need for public bathrooms in Bangor. With the event lasting a few hours some individuals had to walk or drive to other locations to relieve themselves. Unfortunately, the city once again quietly removed one of the only public restrooms in the area. GBHC banded together with the Peace & Justice Center to bring this issue to light in front of council. You can read more on this above in "Bathrooms for Bangor."
|
|
|
Photo Credit: Sam Bullard
|
|
The group meets every Saturday at 1:30PM in Pickering Square, with a rain location at the Unitarian Universalist Church. If you want to be part of this vital work you are welcome to join us in person or virtually. Email us at peacectr@gmail.com if you want the link, and follow the group’s progress on their Facebook group page.
GBHC is also in search of physical donations and community volunteers, as listed below. You can donate to GBHC here on their Donorbox or drop off physical donations to the Center. |
|
Needlepoint Sanctuary (NPS) has recently hired two new organizers to focus on harm reduction outreach to BIPOC and indigenous communities in the greater Bangor area. They have also been continuously been doing outreach in the Bangor community, cleaning up local areas and distributing supplies to those in need. Anyone interested in getting involved in our new projects, harm reduction, or mutual aid work please reach out to us at needlepointsanctuary@gmail.com or contact Willie at 207-505-1510.
You can also join NPS at their weekly mutual-aid tabling in Pickering Square on Saturdays from 1-3PM. The Greater Bangor Housing Coalition also meets at this time in Pickering Square- come say hi!
|
|
|
No Penobscot County Jail Expansion
|
|
|
No Penobscot County Jail Expansion's (NPCJE) began circulating a petition in July. It encourages Penobscot County Commissioners and Bangor City Councilors to use money from the American Rescue Plan to address problems that lead to many incarcerations. Nearly $50 million in total will be provided to the County ($30 million) and City ($20 million). Half has already been received. The other half will arrive in less than a year. No Penobscot County Jail Expansion is calling for funds to be used to expand mental health care, substance use disorder treatment and affordable housing.
More people are needed to attend our meetings and help gathering petition signatures. Reach out to Doug and share the petition around if you wish to help. You can sign it here.
Their next meeting is Sunday, September 5th @ 4PM. For the Zoom link contact Doug Dunbar at: dougdunbar@yahoo.com or 207-299-5626. For more information on the group, check out their Facebook page, website, or email them at nopenobscotjailexpansion@gmail.com.
|
|
|
Peace Vigils
Tuesdays at 12:00PM
|
|
|
Looking to get involved again in a safe, socially distanced way? Kevin continues to meet every Tuesday at noon with other activists for the weekly Peace Vigil. The group meets across the street from the Peace & Justice Center on the corner of Harlow and Central Street. We hope to see you there masked up and ready to demonstrate!
|
|
|
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS!
|
|
|
We will continue to monitor the State of Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and use them to inform our decisions on meetings, gatherings, and any and all safety matters or measures. We request that anyone entering the center continues to wear a face covering.
For more information regarding community and statewide resources, please visit the links below:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
