Hancock County District Attorney Michael Povich certainly has his role to play as he begins the process of deciding what charges if any to file against a Franklin man alleged to have assaulted a pregnant black woman last weekend.

Tom Harnett, assistant attorney general in charge of civil rights education and enforcement, has his duty as well in deciding whether to file a civil rights complaint under Maine’s Civil Rights Act.

But what neither man can do is restore a sense of community to the small town of Hancock where Saturday’s alleged racial attack occurred.

That’s a job that only the residents of that town can do this Sunday morning when they gather for a rally on the village green.

I don’t know what sickened me more as this story unfolded. Whether it was the man, reportedly drinking a can of beer in the general store parking lot, spouting racial slurs at a pregnant young black woman and then kicking her in the stomach, or his buddies who allegedly stood by and laughed.

The story made me feel like I myself had been kicked in the gut.

I hope it made everyone feel that way.

Because of recent debate about gay rights legislation, many associate hate crimes with sexual orientation.

That certainly occurs, but hate crimes on the basis of race or ethnicity still account for the highest number, 51 percent, of reported hate crimes in the state.

That is followed by sexual orientation at 29 percent and religion at 16 percent.

Last weekend’s incident certainly appears to have sent a shock wave through that small coastal community. Heck, it should have sent a wave of shock through the entire state.

Though much progress has been made on issues of racism in the past few decades, Tom Harnett will tell you we have a long way to go.

The pig’s head that was sent flying into a mosque in Lewiston this summer and the lesbian couple whose home was vandalized are clearly testament to that.

While I find it horribly discouraging, Harnett still finds hope.

The number of reported hate crimes dropped significantly from 2004 to 2005. That seems hopeful in itself, but the real hope lies in the faces of the kids that Harnett spends day after day talking to about hate and bullying.

“I tell them that while we have made some progress, in many ways we as adults have failed in this regard and that it’s up to them,” Harnett said from his Augusta office this week before heading to Hancock County.

Saturday’s alleged assault further highlights that acts of racism and hate are not confined to cities such as Portland and Lewiston which have seen huge increases in their immigrant populations.

“Two of the last five civil rights cases we have filed occurred in Aroostook County,” Harnett noted. “One was based on race and the other on sexual orientation.”

Racism is not a big city problem. It equally thrives in the tiniest of hamlets that speckle our pristine landscape.

On Sunday, the folks of Hancock and the surrounding area have a chance to make a statement.

At its root, racism is meant to demoralize and demean a person. It’s meant to make them feel unwanted and unaccepted.

The community of Hancock should make it clear on Sunday and beyond that the tables have turned.