EqualityMaine

07/27/2025

Join Black Travel Maine on August 1 for a powerful afternoon exploring the legacy of Black artists, travelers, and performers in Ogunquit. The tour begins at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art and continues with stops at the historic Hideaway Inn and Ogunquit Playhouse—sites connected to Langston Hughes and Black cultural history in Maine.

Museum admission is $15 and is required for entry. Permanent Commission on Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations is proud to partner with Black Travel Maine to make the rest of the tour free and accessible to more Mainers.

Register here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfY15BSQoNIkDczJJK11OilprgpvYKNJU9RUbfvJaQug852Fw/viewform?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwLaCRZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp5OHQYe-gfv-JpQ9YsgGnoUMFJBGcgZnXnjYjSFnkTlZb_e2wbd7SQYZ6HYD_aem_8KT_Chp3wSuHDSH2MKOo_A

07/25/2025

UPDATE! Our July 26 Empowerment Self-Defense class has been rescheduled to Saturday, August 9 due to instructor illness, thanks for your understanding!

We’ve still got several opportunities this August to build skills, confidence, and community:

🌈 Q***r Resistance IV: Expressing Our Power
August 5 | 6:30–8PM | Equality Community Center
The final session in our 4-part LGBTQIA+ series is all about power, focus, and determination. We’ll practice q***r resistance skills and end with a board-breaking experience to remind us what we’re capable of.
Free + no registration required!
Open to all genders and identities, ages 12+

👊 Empowerment Self-Defense Intensive Level 1
August 9 + August 24 | 2–6PM | Maine Tai Chi
Spend the afternoon learning how to take up more space, express what you want and need, and respond to harm with confidence. We’ll cover awareness, verbal + physical skills, and tools for adrenaline and healing.
For ages 14+, all genders welcome
Sliding scale $40–$60 (more if you can, less if you can’t). Pre-registration required.

Come as you are. Let’s take up space together. 💜
Visit PacMaine.com for details.

07/25/2025

MTN OUTdoors is back on 7/31/2025 with another event led by Grove! This time we are excited to welcome Trans & Nonbinary folks of all ages, as well as their friends and chosen family, at Shaw Cherry Hill Farm in Gorham (the trail is stroller friendly)! Free to attend and pre-registration requested. Please visit tinyurl.com/MTN73125 for more information or to register, and we look forward to seeing you there!

07/25/2025

As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, we wanted to highlight some books that are written by disabled q***r folks!

THE ANTI-ABLEIST MANIFESTO is part personal narrative, part guide on how to dismantle ableism. With contributions from disability advocates, activists, authors, entrepreneurs, scholars, educators, and executives, Yu celebrates the power of stories and lived experiences to foster the proximity, intimacy, and humanity of disability identities that have far too often been “othered” and rendered invisible.

In UNCOMFORTABLE LABELS, Dale recounts what life is like growing up as a gay trans woman on the autism spectrum. Laura draws on her personal experiences from life prior to transition and diagnosis, and moving on to the years of self-discovery, to give a unique insight into the nuances of sexuality, gender and autism, and how they intersect.

In THE FUTURE IS DISABLED, Piepzna-Samarasinha writes about disability justice at the end of the world, documenting the many ways disabled people kept and are keeping each other - and the rest of the world - alive during Trump, fascism and the COVID-19 pandemic. Other subjects include crip interdependence, care and mutual aid in real life, disabled community building, and disabled art practice as survival and joy.

07/23/2025

For the third year in a row, we are partnering with Lucky Fox Bookshop to host a q***r book fair at our New Leaders Project summer camp!

Having access to LGBTQ+ books increases youths' feelings of self-worth and connection to their community. Reading books with characters who have similar experiences and questions cultivates emotional resilience and helps youth feel less alone during a time where their very existence is under attack.

Donate $25 to help us put LGBTQ+ books in our campers’ hands!

https://www.equalitymaine.org/support-nlp/

07/22/2025

Feel that crisp air this morning? You know what that means - Halloween is right around the corner!

Save the Date: this year, the biggest q***r Halloween party in Maine is on Halloween night! That’s right: The Great Pumpkin Ball is on Friday, October 31 at the State Theatre, Portland, Maine and we want you to join us for an irresistible night of performances, costume contests, and dancing!

Stay tuned for more information that will leave you (blood) thirsty for more!

This event is 18+.

07/20/2025

Another round of thank yous for the following businesses for their Pride Month donations!

Your support means the world to us.

Go to Ivy Hill Baking or Skowhegan Bankery and Fleuriste for your sweet treat needs.

Looking for a weekend getaway? Book a stay at the Francis or Longfellow Hotels.

Need some nature inspired jewelry for your love? Mackenzie Rose Designs has you covered.

07/20/2025

Sending a hello from Madison, Wisconsin!

Some of the EqualityMaine team went to the Equality Federation Leadership Conference in Madison, Wisconsin to connect, share best practices, and engage with others working toward q***r and trans liberation! It was an educational and inspirational time, and we are grateful to have wonderful partners around the country in the movement for equality.

07/18/2025

Reminder! Today is Disability Rights Maine disability pride event at Mill Park in Augusta from 11am to 2pm.

There will be speakers, resources, art, music, and dancing. Come celebrate the ADA’s 35th anniversary and join in community!

Not able to make it in person? DRM will be live-streaming the speaker portion of the event and will be hosting several virtual webinars about disability rights later in July.

Join them for:

*Disability Rights Movement History with DRM's Kim Moody and Michelle Ames on July 28th from 5pm - 6pm

*A Self-Advocacy Panel with Jozie Easler, Noah Carver, and Kerri Pitts on July 29th from 3pm - 4pm

*The ADA at 35: The Future of the Disability Rights Movement with the Executive Director of the National Disability Rights Network, Marlene Sallo, on July 30th from 12pm - 1pm.

Questions? Contact Julia Endicott at jendicott@drme.org

Register at drme.org/event/disability-pride-2025/

07/17/2025

We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Andrea Gibson.

A beloved poet and activist, Gibson, a Maine native, died from cancer on July 14, at age 49.

We feel blessed with the gift of their vulnerable and resonant words about their gender identity, love, and death, and know that their poetry will continue to inspire the q***r community.

Read an excerpt from their poem "Love Letter to the Afterlife".

https://www.mainepublic.org/arts-and-culture/2025-07-15/beloved-maine-born-poet-performer-and-activist-andrea-gibson-dies-at-49

07/17/2025

07/16/2025

In honor of International Drag Day, here are some gorgeous photos of drag performers having a blast at Strut! Thank you so much Deryck Todd for the invite this year.

We loved meeting Detox, cheering for Gigi Gabor and the Curbside Queens, and giving performers all of our ones.

Remember: drag is not a crime! Drag is a protest and an art form!

📸: Mettie Ostrowski