Sen. Mattie Daughtry

This year, 2026, marks the 100th year of Black History Month — a century of reflection, celebration and education. But Black history didn’t begin 100 years ago. In Maine, it goes back centuries, woven into the lives of enslaved people, freed Black families and multiracial communities who built lives here despite systemic barriers. Black history is often framed as something distant that was shaped elsewhere, by people far removed from Maine. But Black history lives here.

Standing in front of Democratic legislators, Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, speaks to reporters on the first day of second regular session of the 132nd Maine Legislature on Jan. 7 in Maine State House in Augusta. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer) For a long time, many of us in Maine have carried a quiet belief that some things just don’t happen here. We tell ourselves we’re different. That we’re tucked far enough away from Washington, D.C., and cable news hysteria.