Rally shows NAACP support

BANGOR – Members of the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine gathered Friday to show support for the Greater Bangor National Association for the Advancement of Colored People after the group received a threat that has caused it to cancel the Kwanzaa celebration scheduled later this month. A story about that threat was published Wednesday in the Bangor Daily News.

“No member of our community should have to live in fear because of the color of their skin,” Ilze Petersons of the Peace & Justice Center said Friday. “Our community can only thrive if we welcome diversity and respect differences.”

The Bangor NAACP canceled its celebration after Kendrick Sawyer, 75, of Brewer made statements about shooting any and all black people he saw attending a meeting of the NAACP at a church in Bangor. Sawyer reportedly made the statements to his doctor at the Togus VA Medical Center and made similar statements to a Department of Veterans Affairs police officer.

Local clergy and representatives from a variety of area organizations attended the press conference to show support for the local NAACP chapter.

“We need to address the hatred … and begin to make a difference together,” said interim Pastor Elaine Hughes of the First Congregational Church of Brewer.

She referred to a similar incident in Billings, Mont., in which a Jewish family was threatened for their beliefs. The newspaper there ran a picture of a menorah and the picture began appearing in windows all over town as a sign of solidarity.

“The community rose up, and they said ‘No,'” Hughes said. “As a community, we need to stand together.”

Maria Girouard, the Penobscot Nation’s director of cultural and historic preservation, said she was disturbed, but not surprised to hear of the threats to NAACP members.

“Racism in the state of Maine is like this big pink elephant in the middle of the room,” she said, adding that it’s a social problem that people know is there, but no one wants to talk about it.

“It won’t go away until it’s addressed,” she said.

For several years, the local NAACP has marked Kwanzaa every December.

During the seven days of Kwanzaa, people celebrate the seven principles of African cultures: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

“We believe that the threats should be taken seriously despite the age of the person who made the threats,” said Dr. Josephine Bright of the NAACP.

“We felt as a body that we could not afford to take the chance,” she said.

Gov. John Baldacci and Bangor NAACP President Joseph Perry issued a joint statement regarding the threat.

“There is no place in Maine for this kind of hatred. We will not stand aside and allow intolerance to infiltrate our communities,” the statement read. “While this may be an isolated incident, one which does not represent the values of Maine, there remain underlying racial issues that we must continue to address. All Maine people deserve respect and fair treatment, regardless of their race, color, gender, or creed. We call upon all people of this state – especially as we enter into this holiday season – to embrace the Maine values of tolerance and respect for their fellow Mainers.”