African American Culture (Portland, Lewiston, South Portland: stats, population, ethnicity)

[8635angelvalley]

Is that book Black Bangor? Maine PBS did a doc about being African -American in Maine about 10 years ago. It was very good.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by 8635angelvalley

Is that book Black Bangor? Maine PBS did a doc about being African -American in Maine about 10 years ago. It was very good.

As a matter of fact, it is

Amazon.com: Black Bangor: African Americans in a Maine Community, 1880-1950 (Revisiting New England) (9781584654995): Maureen Lee: Books

I have also mentioned this on another thread specifically about Bangor. //www.city-data.com/forum/maine...l#post19682531

I feel like this needs to be taught more in our schools.

[8635angelvalley]

Don't know if you are aware of this but there has been an influx of Jamaicans to the tourist areas so people may think there are more African Americans in Maine but they might be Jamaicans.I know way more Jamaicans that I do African Americans in my town just beacause there are so few African Americans and I know them all.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by 8635angelvalley

Don't know if you are aware of this but there has been an influx of Jamaicans to the tourist areas so people may think there are more African Americans in Maine but they might be Jamaicans.I know way more Jamaicans that I do African Americans in my town just beacause there are so few African Americans and I know them all.

Which town is this?

No surprise there about Jamaicans going to Maine. In Bangor, there were Black people coming from Canada settling in Bangor and some from the West Indies.

[8635angelvalley]

Mount Desert Island

[8635angelvalley]

Most that I know are here for the wages. They can make enough money washing dishes to put their kids in private school.Lots of the women chambermaid during the day and wash dishes in the evening.They haven't settled here although many return year after year. Also some Jamaicans rake blueberries during that season. We tease the ones that have been back here many years and call the JaMainers or JahMainers.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by green_mariner

I felt I needed to post this because I found some newfound information. I have just found a book about the African-American population in Maine, specifically Bangor. I found a few interesting things about Maine and its African-American population. One thing I found is that Bangor's African-American population increased steadily up until 1930 or 1940, then declined around 1950. The African-American population of Lewiston, however, decreased significantly from 48 in 1890 to 8 in 1940. What I found odd was that Lewiston was a growing industrial city.

A lot of the Black people in Bangor came by way of the Maritime provinces of Canada, the Caribbean and a few from the South. Sometimes I wonder about cities like Lewiston that are or were growing industrial cities, but don't have a noticeable Black community. Or didn't until recently.

[ckhthankgod]

There were Blacks that were brought to Maine after the Civil War by Union soldiers. Actually, HBCU Howard University is named after a White Mainer that was in the Freedmans Bureau(Oliver Otis Howard).

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

A lot of the Black people in Bangor came by way of the Maritime provinces of Canada, the Caribbean and a few from the South. Sometimes I wonder about cities like Lewiston that are or were growing industrial cities, but don't have a noticeable Black community. Or didn't until recently.

Not a noticeable Black community until much later. Lewiston gained some controversy in the early 2000s because of some controversy involving the Somali population that was living there. In the link is the story about the Somali community in Lewiston.

» Five years after Somalis migrated to Lewiston, Maine USA (http://harowo.com/2006/03/02/five-years-after-somalis-migrated-to-lewiston-maine/ - broken link)

[green_mariner]

I am checking stats for the Black population in Maine. Maine has one of the fastest growing Black population in the USA. I think Idaho has the fastest growth. List of towns and the Black population between 2000 and 2010

Auburn,ME: 133 (2000). 876 (2010).
Bath,ME: 141 (2000). 253 (2010)
Biddleford,ME: 133 (2000). 242 (2010)
Lewiston,ME: 361 (2000). 2,654 (2010)
Portland,ME: 1,611 (2000). 3,748 (2010)
Presque Isle,ME: 28 (2000). 122 (2010)
South Portland,ME: 135 (2000). 464 (2010)
Westbrook,ME: 128 (2000). 316 (2010)
Sanford,ME: 52 (2000). 209 (2010)
Waterville,ME: 119 (2000). 421 (2010)

Maine's Black population at large has increased from 6,760 in 2000 to 15,154 in 2010.