they got Black people in Portland, Maine?

Check out my journey to find Black Culture in Maine, and other New England States

For those of you who caught my most recent YouTube video, you’ll recall that I made a MAJOR change to my 2020 travel goals. I did it not just because I have to (#ThanksCOVID), but because I want to be more conscious about the ways that I celebrate and uplift Black culture around the world. If you haven’t had a chance to yet, check it out here! If not, no worries lol. I basically said that all of my future travels will be Blackity Black Black Black (in some way shape or form).

We are gunna #travelblack now y’all!

After making this declaration, I was pretty excited to start creating Black focused itineraries. So, of course, my first socially distant road trip of summer 2020 was going to be no exception! I was all set to go until I realized that I (unintentionally) planned a trip to Maine, aka the whitest. state. ever.

Had I realized that Maine was so void of melanin, I probably wouldn’t have committed to going. I mean, my decision to go there was pretty haphazard anyways since my only criteria for a road trip was to choose a place that a) I never visited before, and b) I could drive to by myself in a day. Maine just happened to check both of those boxes, so I was like, why not! All jokes aside, despite my perceived difficulties about creating a Black itinerary, I had heard a lot of great things about the state, so I figured the trip could be enlightening. From the dope views of the water, to the pretty hikes, to the bomb lobster, there seems to be a lot that they can offer! So, I put all these fears to the side about struggling to make a Black itinerary, and prepared myself to start out on my mission to find Black culture in the whitest state ever.

wish me luck

#challengeAccepted

I packed my masks, a few sandwiches for lunch, and other key road trip essentials to make sure that I wouldn’t have to make too many stops along the way (you can check them out here so you can plan your own socially distant road trip)!

Then I was off to start my 8.5 hour drive from the DMV to Maine! There was some annoyingly long traffic around New Haven, CT, but other than that, the drive was very smooth. I opted to take 95-N most of the way, just so I could get there quickly and efficiently. But if I ever drive up the East Coast again, I would opt to take the scenic byways so I can see more of the beautiful coast lines throughout the New England states! I did make stops in New Haven, CT and Providence, RI, on the way up, and Portsmouth, NH and the suburbs of Boston, MA on the way back, just to take a break and explore a bit more... from my car of course!

When I finally got to Maine, I was happy to see majority of the people wearing masks and following the 6 foot rule! I stayed at the Westin Portland Harborview, and it was lovely! For the most part, the hotel did a good job of protecting visitors! All staff were wearing masks, and there was a physical barrier between the concierge desk and the check in table to help protect the staff. The restaurant in the lobby took the name and number of each visitor for contact tracing, and there were signs everywhere reminding people to stay 6 ft. apart and wear their masks.

At the time of my trip, the state of Maine required all visitors to either have quarantined for 14 days before arriving, quarantine for 14 days in Maine after arriving, or provide proof of a negative COVID test taken within 72 hours of arrival. I opted for option #3, and signed a waiver agreeing to this, as provided by the hotel. But, the hotel staff did not ask to see proof of my COVID test at check in, which seems to be the case for most places.

When I got to my room things were pretty clean! There were a few pieces of hair and trash in a drawer leftover from previous occupants, so I was a little irritated and disappointed by that because it made me question how well the room was sanitized, and whether that was enough to protect me from COVID. Idk if I was being paranoid or overly critical, but I didn’t catch COVID from this trip, so it’s all gucci.

time to explore!

after I got settled into my hotel, I was ready to get breakfast! As I was exploring, I noticed that Portland is super walkable. You can reach the Eastern Promenade (see above pic); the Old Port, which has a bunch of shops, bars, and restaurants along the water; and the grungier Downtown, with museums, theaters, thrift stores, and art exhibits galore; these areas are all within a 30 minutes on foot/scooter/whatever mode of transportation suits you!

After searching around for the right spot, I am happy to say that I was able to get a table at the Bayside American Cafe. I HIGHLY recommend eating here, because the breakfast options (both savory and sweet) are BOMB. This restaurant was DEFINITELY committed to protecting customers and staff from COVID-19. While they only really offer indoor seating and curbside pickup, they are spacing out tables and limiting the number of guests who can enter at any given time. Their staff all wears masks, and the owner/manager explains their policies to you in detail to make sure everyone is on the same page. What I appreciated the most is that they asked each person to wash their hands before entering the restaurant to ensure some standard of cleanliness within their restaurant bubble. Now, it is a super long wait to get in, because (again) the food is bomb, so call ahead if you can! I did not do this, and had to suffer a 45 minute wait (sadly).

But, I wasn’t trippin, because as I was waiting, I saw….ANOTHER BLACK PERSON!

Alexa, play My N*gga by YG

I FOUND THE BLACK CULTURE IN PORTLAND!

Papa Clo’s Grocery: A Market for the Immigrant Community

boy oh boy, I WISH you could see the look on my face when I saw another Black person in Maine! I was shook! I saw them enter this random store (right next to the cafe), so of course I did what any other person would do: I followed them in lmao. Now, before you judge me, I swear I didn’t do this in the creepy stalker kind of way! I waited the customary 10-15 seconds before going in, and I did a quick look around to figure out what kind of store I was walking into, cuz I’m not tryna get into no shady sh!t. Once I got in, I was happy to see that it was Papa Clo’s Grocery, an African Market run by a Congolese man to provide goods to the growing West, Central, and Eastern African immigrant communities in Portland! They sold all of your typical West and Central African food essentials, from fufu, to pounded yam, to raw aloe vera. I didn’t really need much, but I still wanted to support his business, so I chatted with him for awhile and bought some Maagi cubes to take home! Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised by this! Papa Clo’s is right next door to American Bayside Cafe, so if you’re ever over there, please check it out!

Toni’s Touch Salon & Yardie Ting

After I hit up the market, I ventured up a short hill to Toni’s Touch Salon, a Black owned hair salon/beauty supply combo in Portland! Luckily, I found out about this salon from the Black Girl in Maine Media website before I went up to Maine, so that made everything a lot easier for me! Because, as I’ve said before, the key to any successful trip is proper research and planning!

But, before y’all get too caught up in that mantra, also remember the importance of spontaneity lmao. Because, without it, you could miss out on some dope experiences. I know I did on this trip. Crazy enough, as I was walking around downtown still waiting for my table, I came across this street sign that seemed really cool. So, I busted out my DSLR camera, took a few test shots so I could learn how to focus things at different depths, and then walked away without ever thinking about it again. Once I got back home to the DMV, I started looking closely at my camera reel. I came across that picture again, and finally started looking more closely, only to find out that I took a pic of a sign for a Black owned Jamaican restaurant called Yardie Ting.

are you fucking kidding me lmao. Here I was on this elaborate mission to find Black businesses, and my dumb ass missed one.

Like, I busted a mission all the way up to Maine, and stared RIGHT IN THE FACE OF A WHOLE JAMAICAN RESTAURANT AND DIDN’T GET A BEEF PATTY. GAHHDAMN.

This was a sign from God, LITERALLY. So, again, because I was too preoccupied to notice Yardie Ting, I cannot give you any details on the restaurant! But, hopefully y’all can check it out and let me know what it’s like in the comments below.

United States of…

So, after I blocked my own blessings and potentially missed out on life saving oxtail and curry goat, I walked over to Greenhut Galleries, a free art gallery in the Old Port District. I went there on purpose, because, like I told y’all, I like to do my research before I go on any trip. And, thanks to my basic internet sleuthing, I found out about Daniel Minter, a Black artist who creates pieces with themes of Blackness, displacement within the African diaspora, and what it means to feel at home. And because my homegirl God is always looking out for me, Daniel just so happened to have an exhibit on display at Greenhut Galleries during my trip! So, of course I had to pull up.

We tank God.

The exhibit itself, titled United States of…, was very moving, and (to me) seemed like an exploration of what currency looks like in a country that is founded on racism and exploitative forms of capitalism. What is currency? Is it people? Is it things? Or is it money? And, better yet…what is America?

What I liked most about the art is that it incorporated subtle elements of Black life in Maine while still commenting on the struggles of the diaspora at large. The pieces shown here pay homage to the Black freedom colony that existed on Malaga Island. For those of you who don’t know, Malaga Island is this tiny island off the coast of Casco Bay, Maine (like 45 minutes away from Portland). Essentially, this place was an interracial freedom ground where a few Black and White families lived and intermixed harmoniously shortly after the Civil War. They survived for decades by providing services, such as laundry washing, upholstery, and fixing garments for people on the mainland. Things were happy, until they weren’t…right before WWI.

Now, some historians say that during this time, the owner of Malaga Island wanted to sell it, and potentially put a hotel there instead, thus displacing the current residents. But, when the community grouped together to try and buy the island so they could continue living there, the local government outbid them and evicted everyone instead. Why, you may ask? Because #racism/this is what always happens when white people start to get suspicious about Black people having fun. So, all of the inhabitants were forcibly evicted, even though many left before this happened to protect their safety and identities. Some that remained were institutionalized in mental hospitals because there were rumors of incest and ‘feeble-mindedness’ among the residents.

Before y’all ask, no, I did not go to Malaga Island, because the only way to get to there was to canoe/kayak, and I don’t have the strength for that. But, I did ‘see it from afar’ through Daniel’s art.

Come to find out, Daniel not only makes dope art, and helps bring more attention to Malaga Island, but he also led the development of an entire Black History trail called the Portland Freedom Trail, which highlights Black contributions to Portland, ME over the years. This particular trail is apart of the Maine Freedom trail network, so you can still find one in another city when you visit. I didn’t have time to check out each place on the trail, but I was fortunate enough to make it to one stop though: the Abyssinian Meetinghouse, which was THE SPOT for Black churchgoers, Abolitionist discussions regarding the anti-slavery movement, and even folks passing through the Underground Railroad. It’s the third oldest Black Church in the country!

The meetinghouse wasn’t open when I went because it seemed to be under construction. It was also smack dab in the middle of a lot of other construction and development, which brings me to my next and final point about Portland:

gentrification in Portland is real

I believe that the true measure of a city’s kindness is how well it treats its most disenfranchised people. While this isn’t a novel revelation, it is something that I was reminded of when I was in Maine. Because, based on my experience there, it seems like Portland is on the tail end of a major development (cough cough gentrification) project. What used to be a quiet and somewhat desolate shipping harbor has now been turned into a trendy downtown with several stores, outdoor restaurants, and beer gardens. Like, every piece of land has now been turned into a spot for public/alcohol consumption at the expense of people who used to either live or squat there at a more affordable price.

Even though I did enjoy Portland, I did not like witnessing and contributing to the gentrification. I saw many people who were displaced, and temporarily experiencing homelessness at the expense of this cultural expansion. It is really frustrating when cities ignore areas and people that need help for decades because they don’t want to invest in them. Then, as soon as that same area becomes popular or has the potential to be profitable, they turn around, redevelop it, and re-economize the land for rich(er) people to benefit off of without actually taking care of the people who used to live there and are now displaced because of the revitalization projects. It’s like they want to “make things better” but at who’s expense? And who gets to benefit from this once it’s done? I’ve seen it happen so often all over: In, DC, Brooklyn, DTLA, and shoot, it’s even happening in Accra right now too! It’s frustrating every time I see it, so I tend to call it out, because in most cities, the people who get impacted by this the most are Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples. Now, this didn’t seem to be the case in Portland, but I’m no expert in the happenings of this city. These are just my humble observations.

other notable things in New England

Because I don’t want to leave things on a sour note, I did want to share a few other ways to see Black culture in the New England states! Here we go!

• Headed to New Haven, CT? Check out this Virtual Walking Tour highlighting the BIPOC history throughout the city. It was created by High School students at the Metropolitan Business Academy

• Hungry in Providence, RI? Well, check out this Essence Article with a list of Black owned restaurants to choose from

• Happen to be in Portsmouth, NH? Well, make sure you check out their Black Heritage Trail to learn a little bit more about their history

No lie, I would definitely check out Portsmouth if you can! It’s right next to the Maine - New Hampshire border. So, if you’re looking to cut back on costs, you could opt to stay here and commute into Maine because the hotels here are significantly cheaper. And, the city seems to be so quaint and cute! Just check out my pictures if you don’t believe me (I’m lowkey obsessed).

that’s a wrap!

Thanks for making it to the end! But please let me know what you thought of this post!!! Are you all tempted to head to Maine, or any of the other New England states that I mentioned?