It all started with two journalists – one a white woman born in New York City and living in Maine, the other a black woman born in Detroit and living in Alabama. We met when our two towns – South Berwick Maine, and Tuskegee, Ala., agreed to become sister cities. It was, as far as we know, the first time two communities in the United States had formed a sister city relationship.
This blog is one of many collaborations to emerge from that one-year-old relationship. We committed to writing a joint blog twice a month, to be published on line and in two local newspapers – the Tuskegee News and Fosters Daily Democrat. Sometimes, perhaps often, we address issues of race and social justice. Sometimes we may not. But always our columns will be informed by the fact of who we are as women, as baby boomers, as black or white, as northerner or southerner, as humans.
The Tuskegee/South Berwick Sister City relationship began after some people in South Berwick tried to address national race issues in their community. Maine, and South Berwick, are overwhelmingly white. (The 2010 US Census Lists South Berwick as 97 percent white) After several sparsely attended programs at the public library inviting citizens to discuss “Why Race Matters in South Berwick” and “How to Talk to Your Children about Race,” a group of citizens had the idea of inviting a largely African American community to be a sister city as a way to build a bridge that library programs could not.
The international sister city program started by President Eisenhower after WWII aimed “to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation — one individual, one community at a time.” That mission certainly fit the occasion.
After researching African American majority cities, the folks in South Berwick approached Tuskegee. The southern city was about the same size as South Berwick; it was as 96 percent African American and it was a city with a community identity. The committee of Mainers knew Tuskegee was rich in history, home to the Tuskegee Airman, the Voting Rights Act, Tuskegee University and many other civil rights landmarks.
So Maine wrote to Tuskegee – specifically the mayor and other dignitaries. They had no idea if a sister city would hold appeal to people in Tuskegee. It was the ultimate cold call. In their letter they wrote, “As Americans, we would like to join with you, fellow Americans, to create a kind of virtual community joined by our common humanity, nationality and desire to further understanding between Americans.” A few months later, Tuskegee Mayor Tony Haygood told South Berwick residents that yes, they were interested.
A year later we have a private Common Ground Sister City Facebook page. We have friends across the country. We have met and we have had exchanges between teachers, pastors, journalists and citizens.
Nine residents from South Berwick went to Tuskegee in December. Tuskegee hosts filled the days with history lessons, museum tours, music, food and intensive dialogues. The days were also filled with developing friendships.
We, Karin and Amy, met during a deliberative dialogue on race. We agreed the sister city relationship was worth nourishing, in our communities and in the news. We agreed this partnership might have potential for other communities in our country that don’t know how to bridge the divide. We sensed that in four days people from both South Berwick and Tuskegee had experienced intensely important changes.
Our articles are just one piece in the dynamic relationship forming between our communities. Although we are from the two sister cities, our columns reflect our own views. The column is an outgrowth of, but separate from that relationship. In the blogs to come we may talk about projects our communities share and perspectives that we – Amy and Karin – may or may not share. Either way we will learn from each other and we invite you, our readers, to join in our process.
Fast forward to 2019 – our tradition continues, Color Us Connected is now written by a black man from Tuskegee, Alabama, Guy Trammell Jr. and a white woman, from South Berwick, Maine, Amy Miller – each of us writing from our own perspective about the same topic.
We hope you enjoy our articles and invite you to visit us online at Color Us Connected.
Color Us Connected is written by a black man from Tuskegee, Alabama, Guy Trammell Jr. and a white woman, from South Berwick, Maine, Amy Miller – each of us writing from our own perspective about the same topic. This column grew out of a decision by the people of our hometowns to form Common Ground – the Tuskegee/South Berwick Sister City project. We hope you enjoy our articles and invite you to visit us online at Color Us Connected.
