ORONO – A rally to protest hate crimes and racism will be held at the University of Maine from noon to 1 p.m. today on the mall in front of Fogler Library.

Sponsored by UM student government, the Greater Bangor Area NAACP and Human Rights Coalition, the rally was spurred by a Sept. 9 incident in which Sarah Norris, 21, of Trenton, who is black and was pregnant at the time, allegedly was kicked in the stomach by Robert Dow, 59, of Franklin.

Dow has been charged by the state Attorney General’s Office with violating the Maine Civil Rights Act.

UM President Robert Kennedy and other officials have been invited to the rally, during which Assistant Attorney General Thomas Harnett plans to provide an update on Dow’s status.