Black Girl in Maine https://blackgirlinmaine.com/ Anti-Racism Speaker for Education and Empowerment Fri, 01 May 2026 01:45:22 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/cropped-BGIM-logo-1-32x32.jpg Shay Stewart-Bouley https://blackgirlinmaine.com/ 32 32 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/current-events/the-us-senate-race-in-maine-mills-drops-out-and-a-new-future-unfolds-with-costello-and-more/ The US Senate race in Maine: Mills drops out, and a new future unfolds with Costello and more https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/954918206/0/blackgirlinmaine~The-US-Senate-race-in-Maine-Mills-drops-out-and-a-new-future-unfolds-with-Costello-and-more/ https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/954918206/0/blackgirlinmaine~The-US-Senate-race-in-Maine-Mills-drops-out-and-a-new-future-unfolds-with-Costello-and-more/#respond Fri, 01 May 2026 01:45:21 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20351 It’s a gray, rainy day here in Maine as I write this but the energy is crackling all the same as the state and political circles grapple with the aftermath of U.S. Senate candidate (and current Maine governor) Janet Mills’s announcement less than six weeks before the primary that she is suspending her campaign for ...

Read more

The post The US Senate race in Maine: Mills drops out, and a new future unfolds with Costello and more appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/954918206/0/blackgirlinmaine~The-US-Senate-race-in-Maine-Mills-drops-out-and-a-new-future-unfolds-with-Costello-and-more/feed/ 0It’s a gray, rainy day here in Maine as I write this but the energy is crackling all the same as the state and political circles grapple with the aftermath of U.S. Senate candidate (and current Maine governor) Janet Mills’s announcement less than six weeks before the primary that she is suspending her campaign for ...

Read more

The post The US Senate race in Maine: Mills drops out, and a new future unfolds with Costello and more appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/current-events/the-u-s-senate-race-in-maine-laflamme-burns-with-hope/ The U.S. Senate race in Maine: LaFlamme burns with hope https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/954918209/0/blackgirlinmaine~The-US-Senate-race-in-Maine-LaFlamme-burns-with-hope/ Sat, 18 Apr 2026 01:38:39 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20347 Maine is a sleepy little state, mostly forgotten aside from those who vacation here and the recent influx of influencer types who have discovered the state’s robust food scene and natural wonders. Or those during the early years of the pandemic who, because of the proliferation of work-from-home situations, flocked here for space and a ...

Read more

The post The U.S. Senate race in Maine: LaFlamme burns with hope appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> Maine is a sleepy little state, mostly forgotten aside from those who vacation here and the recent influx of influencer types who have discovered the state’s robust food scene and natural wonders. Or those during the early years of the pandemic who, because of the proliferation of work-from-home situations, flocked here for space and a ...

Read more

The post The U.S. Senate race in Maine: LaFlamme burns with hope appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/activism/critique-and-activism-people-getting-prickly-about-no-kings/ Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951965312/0/blackgirlinmaine~Critique-and-activism-People-getting-prickly-about-No-Kings/ Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:12:07 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20284 As the United States prepares for another No Kings Rally on March 28, emotions online are running high as seasoned organizers—many of them Black and Brown folks—express hesitation that another national rally will do much to move the needle on our current conditions in the United States. In turn, many white-bodied people are feeling prickly ...

Read more

The post Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> As the United States prepares for another No Kings Rally on March 28, emotions online are running high as seasoned organizers—many of them Black and Brown folks—express hesitation that another national rally will do much to move the needle on our current conditions in the United States. In turn, many white-bodied people are feeling prickly ...

Read more

The post Critique and activism: People getting prickly about No Kings appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/commentary/ai-isnt-here-to-help-you/ AI isn’t here to help you https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951964664/0/blackgirlinmaine~AI-isn%e2%80%99t-here-to-help-you/ Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:04:21 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20282 Yeah, AI is a tool, just not the tool you think it is—and what’s being peddled to you isn’t really for your benefit. This is something I’ve been learning and that I hope you will learn as well. So-called artificial intelligence (AI) is sometimes a confusing landscape, and really AI is a broad term that ...

Read more

The post AI isn’t here to help you appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> Yeah, AI is a tool, just not the tool you think it is—and what’s being peddled to you isn’t really for your benefit. This is something I’ve been learning and that I hope you will learn as well. So-called artificial intelligence (AI) is sometimes a confusing landscape, and really AI is a broad term that ...

Read more

The post AI isn’t here to help you appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/commentary/philanthropy-in-the-era-of-authoritarianismdo-better/ Philanthropy in the era of authoritarianism…do better https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/951964553/0/blackgirlinmaine~Philanthropy-in-the-era-of-authoritarianism%e2%80%a6do-better/ Fri, 27 Mar 2026 13:57:20 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20203 While I am known for my writing online (and sometimes for various publications) and for public speaking work as “Black Girl in Maine” (or BGIM) those things are not my job. They are the things I started doing over 20 years ago to keep me sane as a Black woman who had moved to a ...

Read more

The post Philanthropy in the era of authoritarianism…do better appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> While I am known for my writing online (and sometimes for various publications) and for public speaking work as “Black Girl in Maine” (or BGIM) those things are not my job. They are the things I started doing over 20 years ago to keep me sane as a Black woman who had moved to a ...

Read more

The post Philanthropy in the era of authoritarianism…do better appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/current-events/black-in-maine-during-an-ice-surge/ Black in Maine during an ICE surge https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/946506806/0/blackgirlinmaine~Black-in-Maine-during-an-ICE-surge/ Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:17:24 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20163 I have long considered myself a reluctant Mainer. I often refer to myself as a Chicagoan exiled in Maine. I never set out to be known for anti-racism work; I never set out to become someone known as a local leader, an activist, an organizer, or even a social justice writer. Rather, life dealt me ...

Read more

The post Black in Maine during an ICE surge appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> I have long considered myself a reluctant Mainer. I often refer to myself as a Chicagoan exiled in Maine. I never set out to be known for anti-racism work; I never set out to become someone known as a local leader, an activist, an organizer, or even a social justice writer. Rather, life dealt me ...

Read more

The post Black in Maine during an ICE surge appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/commentary/the-american-dream-was-never-real-they-lied/ The American Dream was never real; They lied https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/942514871/0/blackgirlinmaine~The-American-Dream-was-never-real-They-lied/ Mon, 26 Jan 2026 21:58:56 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20161 For generations—for most of its existence, in fact—the United States promoted itself as a beacon of light and hope, a place where all would be welcomed and all could achieve success if they worked hard. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The United States lifted itself up as ...

Read more

The post The American Dream was never real; They lied appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> For generations—for most of its existence, in fact—the United States promoted itself as a beacon of light and hope, a place where all would be welcomed and all could achieve success if they worked hard. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” The United States lifted itself up as ...

Read more

The post The American Dream was never real; They lied appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/commentary/whose-voice-you-listen-to-and-our-collective-survival/ Whose voice you listen to…and our collective survival https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/942514874/0/blackgirlinmaine~Whose-voice-you-listen-toand-our-collective-survival/ Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:07:21 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20125 Since day one of Trump’s second term, it has been a non-stop year of really bad things happening in the United States. Horrible and previously unimaginable things have become our new norm. To recap: The administration kicked off 2025 with rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts—and while the executive order Trump signed was initially ...

Read more

The post Whose voice you listen to…and our collective survival appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> Since day one of Trump’s second term, it has been a non-stop year of really bad things happening in the United States. Horrible and previously unimaginable things have become our new norm. To recap: The administration kicked off 2025 with rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion efforts—and while the executive order Trump signed was initially ...

Read more

The post Whose voice you listen to…and our collective survival appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/commentary/ai-slop-got-me-lets-make-it-stop/ AI slop got me! Let’s make it stop https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/939739727/0/blackgirlinmaine~AI-slop-got-me-Let%e2%80%99s-make-it-stop/ Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:08:12 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20098 On Christmas Day, after the holiday hijinks had settled down, I—like millions of others—got on social media to “check in” with the world. A cute and heartwarming story about a guy paying for groceries for others at one of the Maine grocery stores popped up in my feed. Given the holiday season, it was the ...

Read more

The post AI slop got me! Let’s make it stop appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> On Christmas Day, after the holiday hijinks had settled down, I—like millions of others—got on social media to “check in” with the world. A cute and heartwarming story about a guy paying for groceries for others at one of the Maine grocery stores popped up in my feed. Given the holiday season, it was the ...

Read more

The post AI slop got me! Let’s make it stop appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> https://blackgirlinmaine.com/current-events/musings-on-the-political-and-graham-platner-reflections-on-a-conversation-part-1/ Musings on the political and Graham Platner: Reflections on a conversation, Part 1 https://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/939445775/0/blackgirlinmaine~Musings-on-the-political-and-Graham-Platner-Reflections-on-a-conversation-Part/ Sat, 13 Dec 2025 16:25:47 +0000 https://blackgirlinmaine.com/?p=20074 One of the greatest gifts of aging is that with each passing decade, you start to realize that the world and the people in it are a lot more complex than you initially assumed. It often means learning that things are not nearly as straightforward and black-and-white as we assume when we are younger—that life ...

Read more

The post Musings on the political and Graham Platner: Reflections on a conversation, Part 1 appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]> One of the greatest gifts of aging is that with each passing decade, you start to realize that the world and the people in it are a lot more complex than you initially assumed. It often means learning that things are not nearly as straightforward and black-and-white as we assume when we are younger—that life ...

Read more

The post Musings on the political and Graham Platner: Reflections on a conversation, Part 1 appeared first on Shay Stewart-Bouley.

]]>