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Committee discusses partnering with NAACP to bring MLK breakfast and events to Bangor
Summary
Members discussed outreach and planning to relocate the NAACP's MLK breakfast to Bangor and to build a month-long series of community events with local partners; no formal endorsements were made because there was no quorum.
Members of the Racial Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights Advisory Committee reviewed informal plans to expand the NAACP’s Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast into a broader series of January events in downtown Bangor.
Chair Katie Bridal said the new NAACP chair, identified in the meeting as Athena, has expressed interest in relocating the breakfast from the University of Maine to Bangor. "Her name's Athena, and she's lovely," Bridal said, urging the committee to begin outreach now to coordinate planning.
Committee members suggested partnerships with the Bangor Public Library, Wabanaki organizations, the Downtown Bangor Partnership, the Bangor Area Chamber of Commerce, and local artists and small businesses to broaden participation across January and to create more community lead‑in events. "We had really great conversations with our chamber and with small businesses," Bridal said, noting prior coordination with the Downtown Bangor Partnership.
Vice Chair Melissa Buchholz and others volunteered to connect with the NAACP and to invite the new chair to a subcommittee meeting or to host a small working group. The committee discussed creating a formal subcommittee to plan educational and engagement programming tied to the MLK breakfast and to reuse the event as a platform for outreach year-round.
Because a quorum was not present, the committee made no formal recommendation or vote on partnership commitments; members said the chair and vice chair can facilitate initial outreach and schedule further planning conversations.
No formal action was taken at this meeting; members asked staff to circulate contact details and proposed timelines and to reconvene with a quorum for any formal recommendation.
