Maine Taxpayer-Funded Group Sponsors $132K Webinar on State’s ‘Offensive’ Place Names

A taxpayer-funded commission in Maine sponsored an extremely expensive webinar on January 2 regarding “offensive” place names in the state.

The sponsor was identified as the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial Indigenous and Tribal Populations (PCRITP), the Maine Wire reported on January 5, adding that the founders of the nonprofit group Atlantic Black Box (ABB) — Erika Arthur and Meadow Dibble — hosted the event.

The report continued:

After a lengthy introduction by Arthur, who listed her pronouns as “she/they” and asked everyone to acknowledge the suffering caused by “white settler people,” Dibble gave the webinar’s main presentation.

The presentation, which lasted roughly 30 minutes, was the ultimate result of a $132,804 contract given by the taxpayer funded racial equity commission to ABB.

Throughout the event, Dibble claimed the names of certain areas of Maine were offensive and should be renamed.

“She criticized the name of the state itself, claiming that the Wabanaki natives called the state ‘Dawnland,’ and took aim at Maine counties named after Founding Fathers, such as Washington, Franklin, and Hancock counties,” the Wire article said.

Dibble also highlighted the name Old Maid Rock, saying some areas’ names are not flattering to women.

In December, the PCRITP advertised an online panel regarding “Maine’s problematic place names,” the group’s social media post read:

It is important to note that in April 2022, Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services advertised a webinar about “The Impact of Bias and Microaggressions.”

The website for the online event read:

To combat racism, bigotry, homophobia, sexism, and discrimination, we must commit to having authentic conversations about identity and inclusion and to share the same mission and vision of inclusive leadership, allowing our value of compassion to guide us. It is crucial that we continue to address structural inequities and foster cultures that cultivate and encourage diversity and that support equity and inclusion.

Breitbart News reported Thursday that Maine’s taxpayers are paying for apartments built specifically for arriving border crossers and illegal aliens who will enjoy approximately two years’ worth of rent that is already paid.

The news comes as American citizens struggle to make ends meet in President Joe Biden’s economy.