Clayton Herbert, of Damariscotta, joins more than 50 others to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an anti-racism vigil in Newcastle. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
At noon on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 18, more than 50 residents of Lincoln County gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Newcastle to honor the spirit of the civil rights leader. These are some of the reasons why.
“It’s obvious that we have a pretty fundamental problem in this country with systemic racism. But I also think we have the opportunity to change it. There’s a level of awareness now that we haven’t seen.” — Nigel Calder, Newcastle
“The inspiration of Martin Luther King, particularly in such a divided country, and the need for all of us to show our support and say, ‘What’s going on right now is not acceptable.’” — Carla Dickstein, Wiscasset
“It’s Martin Luther King Day and I wouldn’t miss it. I was 16 when he was assassinated and it’s been part of my growing up. Now I’m 70.” — Alice Smith, Alna
“I think it’s the right thing to do. It’s a beautiful day to be out here and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and especially today of all days.” — Maggie Nevens, Newcastle
“I’m here to honor Dr. King and to keep his dream alive.” — Mike Stevens, New Harbor
“I’m here because Black people are dying disproportionately to people that look like me. Whether it’s through being killed by police more readily than white people or whether it’s coronavirus.” — Sarah Highland, Pemaquid
“Today and every other day so far, George Floyd.” — Darcy Austin, Damariscotta
“I have a lot of strong feelings about democracy and equality for all. And I have certainly seen a lot of Blacks and other people of color not having equal justice — over many years. I’m 76 years old, so this is not new. This has been going on throughout our entire history.” — Jody Telfair, Bristol
“My conscience, I think, and my awareness of all the work that still needs to be done. In 1968 I lived in Atlanta, Ga. and Martin Luther King came to speak to the students at Georgia State College, and then, a few weeks later, he was killed. I saw his coffin roll by and I thought, OK, this is it. And in spite of everyone’s best efforts, here we are. So I’m speaking up.” — Paula Christiansen, Nobleboro
“I came out because I’d like a better future for my daughter.” — Leanna Landry, Bristol
“White people have it pretty easy, comparatively, in this country. And it’s kind of on us to do what we can to make things better for everyone else that needs it.” — Dan Rackauskas, Newcastle
“I’ve been going to these regular vigils here in the park for some time now — since the murders of Black men, specifically this past spring. And the murders are continuing. It needs to stop. I’m very inspired by Dr. King’s message about bearing witness for those people that we’ve lost.” — Mary Finn, Wiscasset
“I am actually out here most Mondays so that people don’t forget. All too often an event happens, we turn out, and then it falls off. And we forget. So I come every Monday.” — Lindy Gifford, Damariscotta
“It’s Martin Luther King’s birthday, a day of service. And I’m a Black Lives Matter Monday regular, so it’s a double bang for your money.” — Jeff Burke, Newcastle
“I know what racism is. I’m Franco American and we were targets of the klan for a long time. At one time there were 200,000 klanspeople in Maine. My mother remembers the klan coming through town, so I grew up with that. I’ve lived a little bit of the history. I will be 90 in May and I will still keep standing here.” — Suzanne Hedrick, Nobleboro
“We’ve got a big problem in this country. And I think we’ve got to step up and we’ve got to talk and we’ve got to raise up the issue of the explicit racism that runs through every part of our society.” — Mary Stevens, New Harbor
“There’s no equivalent between a Black Lives demonstration and what we saw on Jan. 6.” — Mary Voskian, Bremen
“I’m a white American male and all of this stuff is right inside me. I want to be aware of it and I want to try to work against it to whatever extent I can. I’m an old man and, you know, my life is pretty much done, but I have a little bit left and that’s what I’m using it for.” — Carl Albright, Edgecomb
“I’ve been coming out every Monday at 12 o’clock for the Black Lives rally here, but today it’s Martin Luther King Day. I was so happy to see that there was something going on outside that I could participate in. This is a new era for us; it’s a new civil rights movement.” — Judith Burke, Newcastle
“There are a lot of disparities in this country that we need to address, that we need to claim. We need to stand for those of us who don’t have a voice and say, ‘We need to be doing things differently, we need to care for everyone.’” — Corinne Eisenman, Pemaquid
“Seemed like a pretty good thing to do on the Martin Luther King holiday.” — Jim Hatch, Bristol
