Shay 
While I am known for my writing online (and sometimes for various publications) and for public speaking work as “Black Girl in Maine” (or BGIM) those things are not my job. They are the things I started doing over 20 years ago to keep me sane as a Black woman who had moved to a …
I have long considered myself a reluctant Mainer. I often refer to myself as a Chicagoan exiled in Maine. I never set out to be known for anti-racism work; I never set out to become someone known as a local leader, an activist, an organizer, or even a social justice writer. Rather, life dealt me …
For generations—for most of its existence, in fact—the United States promoted itself as a beacon of light and hope, a place where all would be welcomed and all could achieve success if they worked hard. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The United States lifted itself up as …