Maine’s taxpayer funded Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Tribal Populations (PCRITP) sponsored a hyper-woke webinar Tuesday night on “problematic” place names in Maine.
“I know that white supremacist belief systems have shaped every turn in this state’s history,” said Erika Arthur, , a project coordinator at the University of Southern Maine’s Cutler Institute. “As a white settler person, I feel grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge these truths. And I take them as motivation to recommit each day to collaboration toward a world where all beings can thrive.”
The event was hosted by Arthur and Meadow Dibble, founders of the Atlantic Black Box (ABB) non-profit.
“We empower communities throughout the place long referred to as ‘New England’ to research, reveal, and begin reckoning with the region’s role in colonization, the slave trade, and the global economy of enslavement,” says the ABB’s website.
House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) was scheduled to speak at the event, but she skipped the event without providing an explanation.
After a lengthy introduction by Arthur, who listed her pronouns as “she/they” and asked everyone to acknowledge the suffering caused by “white settler people,” Dibble gave the webinar’s main presentation.
The presentation, which lasted roughly 30 minutes, was the ultimate result of a $132,804 contract given by the taxpayer funded racial equity commission to ABB.
The presentation consisted mainly of Dibble pointing out various place names in Maine, and explaining why people should find them offensive and why they should be changed.
She criticized the name of the state itself, claiming that the Wabanaki natives called the state “Dawnland,” and took aim at Maine counties named after Founding Fathers, such as Washington, Franklin, and Hancock counties.
“Franklin County was named after founder Benjamin Franklin, who was an active participant in the slave trade and an enslaver before becoming an abolitionist,” said Dibble.
Franklin, who served as the President of the Philadelphia Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage (sometimes referred to as the Abolition Society) from 1787 until his death in 1790, remains problematic for the equity consultants.
Dibble highlighted a variety of places named after white historical figures, which she believes ought to be changed.
Even places named after Native Americans were deemed offensive because they were named by white men allegedly seeking to mock the natives.
Dibble also suggested that some names in the state denigrate women or “sexualize the landscape,” giving the example of Old Maid Rock.
She did not elaborate further, but said that the topic could be another whole presentation.
Perhaps Maine taxpayers will have to fund another $130k contract to study the offensive history of Old Maid Rock.
Many places in the state bearing the word “negro” such as “Negro Island” were heavily criticized, despite being re-named to “negro” in the 1970’s when the n-word was by law required to be removed from all place names in the state.
Dibble also took aim at the numerous places in Northern Maine that are designated by alphanumeric codes, which she believes are named for the sake of resource exploitation.
“Maine is full of the soulless quantifiers that have served to parcel out land to timber barons. And I just want to contrast those numerical names designed to facilitate resource extraction with Dawnland,” said Dibble.
The rest of the speakers echoed the points made in Dibble’s presentation.
Maine State Geologist Steve Dickson spoke about his need to use old “offensive” topographical maps in his work, which still reflect old names which have already been changed.
Jessica Lambert, a member of the federal Wilderness Society and an advocate for changing names federally, tried to illustrate harm done by “offensive” place names, citing her reluctance to go to any place with an insensitive name.
“I’ll be looking on Google Maps and see like a name that I’m like, that’s suspicious or oh, that’s derogatory. And I don’t want to go there. I don’t feel comfortable going there,” said Lambert.
The speakers spent some time discussing the upcoming bill, LD 1667, which would establish a State Names Authority, which would facilitate the change of names deemed offensive.
LD 1667 enshrines racial discrimination in the law, requiring members of the State Names Authority to be of particular races.
At least one member of the proposed government entity must, according to the bill, would have to be a member of a Native American tribe and one member must be black.
The racially discriminatory bill will be presented on January 23rd.
“Proclaiming themselves to be wise, they became fools.” Isn’t there something more important in helping the people of Maine than paying over $130,000 of tax payer money to discuss names? It’s just like the leftists who want to rewrite our history books to make all white men look like fools. Are their some throughout our history that did foolish things? Yes! White, black, Hispanic and Indians. We are of ONE race – the human race! As my 91 year old mother use to say to all her children “Can’t you just get along?” Show a little love to each other and use my tax money for more important things like supporting children who need help here in Maine.
It looks as though the last name of Arthur and Meadow Dribble was a typo. Shouldn’t it be spelled Drivel?
Squaw Mountain has always been my second favorite after booby trap hill.
These people are trying to change Maine into ‘the way life should NOT be.’
If Erika Arthur, Meadow Dibble, Jessica Lambert, and the rest find Maine supposedly so “racist” and “hateful” (which it is not), why not leave?
To paraphrase Albert Einstein: The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has limits.
My taxpayer dollars are funding this kind of BS – Get rid of ALL non-profits! Stop giving my taxpayer $$$ to subsidize projects most of us are against. Yes that includes solar, EVs, wind turbine-generators, and these anti USA groups that have 4 brain cells for each member.
These people are a bunch of racists themselves. We are sick and tired of DEI and all of this bullshit. Git out of our faces and get on with your lives. We are not going to hand this Country or this State over to you. I will never vote democrat for anything again. Look at what your stupidity and the New Democrat party has done to us. Wide open borders, the world on the brink of total destruction, and moral and cultural values in the toilet. Disgusting people…all of you.
Cultures were invading weaker cultures even before the beginning of recorded history. Anyone anywhere in the world can research his family history and at some point there will be a record of abuse, war, famine, whatever that caused pain and hardship. Should everyone in the world demand “reparations,” ” name changes,” etc., in an attempt to make a correction that he perceives to be a remedy for the problem? For example, should I pursue reparations from British Parliament due to the horrors my ancestors experienced because of British policies during the Irish Famine? As well, Native Americans were warring with one another and stealing land from one another long before the Europeans entered the picture. This Commission is a complete waste of Maine’s tax funds. Find a worthwhile project on which to spend money, for goodness’ sake! What we have read in this article is so outrageous that my husband and I checked the calendar to be sure today’s date is not April 1, 2024.
For those who don’t recognize this struggle exercise, it is called “Cultural Marxism”. Those who promote it are not our friends.
Cultural Marxism is not your friend. That is correct. We are literally your enemy. Our aim is to De-Colonize the planet from Western Capitalism. This is not just a Revolution happening in America. We are at the stages where we have seized power all throughout the West. We hold almost all institutional power at this point. Mark my words, within a decade most of you will be begging us for mercy. We’re demand that you recognize and denounce your white privilege. We’re require you to recognize the oppression and destruction you have caused through the arm of Capitalism and Imperialism using oppression.
Much of the world is on our side. Including China.
My God, what bunch of idiots we have. I have no words for this kind of childish tax wasting nonsense.
They’re doing it all over our country, with renaming military bases and desecrating Arlington National Cemetery, etc. They’ll destroy our entire history if they can do it.
Do writers for The Maine Wire understand the difference between news writing and opinion pieces? Who is editing this? It’s full of biased language that doesn’t belong under the heading “News.”
@Jack, we can do it. As you probably know one we have to destroy your history. Our side can be more bold now cause we’re getting close to the end. We expecting the Capitalist/West to resist us, but there wasn’t much to resist. This is like taking candy from a baby.
We make 50 advances and you make 3. You’re weak and have weaker leadership. Mark my words. In a decade you will be begging us for mercy and denouncing your white privilege and condemning America as a Colonialist and Oppressive Nation that needs to be dismantled. If you don’t, you will be imprisoned.
Finally most of us can begin to take our masks off. Bellows is a true leader in Maine and a great ally to Maine DSA. We’ve officially seized most institutions in this State.
Thank God our Founders, and leaders that followed, fought so hard to allow freedom in this country. If it were not for them, we would neither be reading about nor disagreeing or agreeing with this clown show or have to deal with the connor trolls.
@Bryan, you and your friends are nothing like the “founders”. You’re all fat boomers who reap the rewards from people of the past through Oppression and Colonization. You have no arguments. You have no power. We control the youth. All you can do is look back to the past while we seize the future. Mark my words. Within a decade you will be begging us for mercy while you denounce your white privilege.
@Bryan….and if you haven’t notice, we’re Dismantling the past, statue by statue, Text by text. Most of the youth HATE the “founders” and regard them as White Supremacists who committed genocide and Colonized the land of Natives. Check mate bub.
If they don’t like it here with the names we have always used, why don’t they just pack up and leave? Their presence will certainly not be missed.
@Robert, it’s not us who will be leaving. Why would we leave a country that we are conquering? The constitution is just a piece of paper that most of us and the youth reject. We hold all the institutional power.
“As a white settler person,”
What to hell does that mean? Is he’s a flatlander, or was born here but is a woke libtard?
“House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) was scheduled to speak at the event, but she skipped the event without providing an explanation.”
Had a coyote that needed a decent burial maybe?
Reading these comments are far more entertaining than the article. Its interesting to read one commentator that says even China is behind us! I can’t help but wonder if the reference is the same China that purged all minorities during the “cultural revolution” . The same China that has millions in concentration camps doing forced labor today because they are Muslim. The same China that is drooling over adding yet another colony called Taiwan,this comment must be a brainwashed bot.
@Kerin, the difference between China and America is that China seeks an Equitable outcome for the world. They want to get rid of Capitalism. They fully support Diversity. And as a local bipoc, I fully endorse any powers that are putting an end to White Supremacy.
No words for the ignorance. They think they’re so intelligent but they’re just a waste of space. To the moron talking about China on your side😂 do you know anything about what China is like? What happened in Russia? Cuba? Vietnam? I had a Vietnamese man doing my nails in Portland the other day talking pure rage against the socialist Marxism that’s spread like a cancer in Maine. He said these ignorant kids have no clue about what it’s really like to go through communism. He was so enraged, he was trying to convert me assuming everyone young person was a brainwashed liberal. When he found out I wasn’t liberal he was so elated. I’ve been to these countries. My friends live there. The funny thing is the people think we’re all idiots for not seeing it. Color revolution ? Wake up. Respect history and the names. Deal with your feeling and mental illness and look within.
Lol @connor China is incredibly racist. Travel and experience it yourself instead of sitting behind your keyboard. You can’t speak freely. They disappear you and your family if you have the wrong opinion. Please do some research before espousing gibberish
It’s ok to be racist against white people. This is the justice for the racism they have enacted upon all of us. No one is hiding this. China supports the Marxist Revolution that is happening before your eyes.
So that’s why all those blacks and Hispanics and other BIPOCs are illegally crossing the borders into China!
No, they are coming here to get what they are owed. This is what achieving Equity looks like through the initiatives of Diversity & Inclusion. To achieve Diversity we must exclude some(many) who were privileged before.
Miss Dribble should reminder herself that female homosexuals are not and never were born and raised on the the island of Lesbos in Greece and CAN not CALL THEMSLVES Lesbians…. they are female homosexuals. he name game can go on as long as Miss Dribbles trust fund last. But the real crime is that she has the time to spend thinking this SH%T up.
@connor There are many original slavers . slavery was and IS everywhere. Irish? Treated worse. All the European races enslaved each other, all the African races enslaved each other. China currently has slaves. Sex slavery is everywhere NOW. You don’t care, you identify with your superficial level of melanin in your skin and hold your hand out like it means something. It’s like a pretty girl thinking she deserves everything but did absolutely nothing to earn it except be born. You’ve been tricked into thinking you’re less than. Take responsibility for this life on earth that you chose and become a successful contributing addition to the human race and preach oneness instead of separateness.based on the absolute most superficial aspect. That is how you change things. I have dna ancestry from every single continent except Antarctica.. my network of ancestors is mind bogglingly extensive. I show up everyday and do my work from my heart and soul because that is where the power they handed now lies. Take responsibility for your life. No one owes you anything. We were all different races in past lives, we are all part of the same collective consciousness. If you’d like to effect change in the here and now and have energy to channel can I suggest current modern day slavery horrors that has no skin color. Or how about women who have been sex slaves since the beginning of time.. reparations? No because the trauma can’t be identified by skin color or eye color or anything superficial. You are enslaved in the mind, you’ve been caught up in the modern day color revolution. Btw Chinese generally don’t like black people. Try being a Chinese girls boyfriend and getting brought home to mom in China. Won’t go well, they will mourn their daughters choice. I’m not being racist I’m being factual albeit broadly speaking. Now Chinese-American mom might be different, they might be more open …because we have been a melting pot forever and our consciousness as a country reflects that. Fighting aged men are pouring over the border because we are at war. The c
I wonder if those idiots on that “council” know that most native american tribes forcibly enslaved their neighbors.
Tax revenue…..attacked like a bird feeder, full of starlings.
Connor sounds like a Chinese troll with incredible copy and paste skills. Maine is going to do great with zero tax revenue from the old, retired people and the lazy young DSA as all the working taxpayers move away or drop out of the workforce. Who will deliver your door dash to your mom’s basement Connor? Weird how Connor wants a small minority of woke Maoists to lord it over an unwilling majority like the South African apartheid government or “colonizers” would do. He even relishes the idea repeatedly of his enemies begging for mercy. Yeah, you’re the good guys, right?
@MikeH, we are replacing the old white people in Maine with asylum seekers and undocumented workers. We’ll have the state drop below 90% white soon and continue past that. Every old white boomer that passes away will be replaced with 5 new Mainers. We’re obliterating you, and Janet Mills and others have our backs. Portland and other cities are carrying out this initiative as we speak. Suck it up buttercups.
This was a giant waste of $132,000.
These people have nothing better to do than whine and complain and claim this country would have been better off without anyone from outside the continent ever coming here?
Like that’s realistic.
These people need real jobs.
Thank you for a great laugh this morning. These people are nuts. Not going somewhere because you don’t like the name? Really?
I can’t wait until Donald is sworn in in 2025.
Trump was just officially shown to be in the Epstein documents. He will not be sworn in.
Conner…..yawn.