Intersectionality and Inclusion in Maine Politics & Policymaking

Description

The 2016 election has sparked movements all across the country. Here in Maine, one of the oldest, whitest states in the union, how do we ensure that our politics and our activism is inclusive—especially for minorities including indigenous populations? Join Marpheen Chann at the Jesup Memorial Library on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. as he talks about intersectionality and inclusion in Maine politics and policymaking. Chann says that to make activism inclusive “is to recognize our blind spots and examine how privilege plays a role in how we look at both public policy and politics.”
 
Chann is a digital strategy consultant and serves as a board member for the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center. He is a gay, first-generation Asian-American who was born into a Cambodian refugee family and adopted by an evangelical, white working class family. Now based in Portland, he writes and speaks about  LGBTQ+ and immigrants’ rights, social justice and equality. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Southern Maine and a law degree from the University of Maine School of Law. Chann ran for Portland City Council in 2017.
 
This is the first talk in a series of three talks at the Jesup in the Racial Equity Working Group Winter Speaker Series. The Racial Equity Working Group (REWG) is a group of Mount Desert Island residents who aim to deepen our understanding of power and privilege and to foster racial justice, equity, and inclusion on MDI and beyond. REWG seeks to: educate ourselves and the MDI community on racial justice, equity, and inclusion; explore and organize local programs that increase understanding of historical and structural racism; and research, devise, and advocate for practices and policies to foster racial justice, equity, and inclusion.
 
For more information about Chann visit marpheenchann.com. For more information on the talk contact the Jesup at 207-288-4245 or mrice@jesuplibrary.org.