Labor Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the state of Maine, like the rest of the United States, has been shaped by histories of forced labor, exploitation, and erasure. Enslaved Africans were present in colonial Maine, bought and sold even in small numbers, and their labor contributed to the foundations of this place until slavery was outlawed in 1780 (Maine Historical Society). Free Black residents, such as Reuben Ruby of Portland, organized for abolition and civil rights, yet faced systemic exclusion from economic opportunity.
 

Maine’s economy has also depended on the labor of immigrant and marginalized communities: French Canadians in the mills (Franco-American Collection, USM), Irish and Italian workers in shipyards, and more recently Somali and other African immigrants in Lewiston-Auburn, who continue to sustain industries while navigating discrimination and inequity (Maine Public). Indigenous Wabanaki peoples, whose stewardship of land and waterways predates colonization, were systematically dispossessed and forced into exploitative labor arrangements, rupturing their sovereignty and relationship to place (Abbe Museum on Wabanaki History).

 

These histories are not distant. Today, Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant workers in Maine remain underemployed, underpaid, and overlooked, often working multiple jobs to survive (Maine Center for Economic Policy). The tremors of past violence reverberate in present inequities: wage gaps, housing insecurity, and barriers to education and healthcare.
 

At Fifth Element, we commit to labor justice as relational repair. We honor the contributions of Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant workers in Maine and beyond. We reject transactional models that perpetuate exploitation, and instead design ecosystems that center agency, collective stewardship, and resilience.

This acknowledgement is not a closing statement—it is an invitation to action. To pause, listen, repair, and celebrate. To ensure that every participant, facilitator, and partner in our work is recognized not only for their labor but for their humanity, wisdom, and legacy.