The eight-year relationship between South Berwick and Tuskegee, Ala., will reach a new milestone Sunday, June 22, when the southern Maine town will hold its first ever Tuskegee Day in honor of its sister city.
A delegation of 11 residents from Tuskegee, including city Mayor Tony Haygood, will make the trip north for the inaugural event, a Tuskegee Day Fair from 1 to 4 p.m. on the Central School lawn.
The three-day visit by Alabama folks will include a community dinner June 23 at the South Berwick Community Center, when Town Manager Tim Pellerin will read the official Tuskegee Day proclamation.
The fair Sunday will feature displays about Tuskegee and its rich history, which includes not only Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, but the renowned Tuskegee Airmen, numerous historical civil rights events and icons, “and so many other things that make them special,” said Rachel Martin of South Berwick, co-organizer of the event.
The Town Council in May approved a proclamation stating that Tuskegee Day will be celebrated every June 22 to honor the special sister city relationship that began in 2017.
The idea came about as a way for more people in South Berwick to get involved and experience the relationship that residents from the two communities have fostered over almost a decade, Martin said.
“We just wanted to help spread the awareness of this bond we’ve created with Tuskegee and invite as many people as we can to get involved with this,” she said. “We also thought it would be wonderful to have a day every year to celebrate the relationship we formed.”
Since the Sister City relationship was formalized by both local governments in 2017, several dozen residents in both communities have exchanged multiple visits north and south, stayed in each other’s homes, and have had experiences and conversations they say have altered their lives and perspectives.
South Berwick has also installed a mural in Town Hall with information about Tuskegee and its history, which inspired Tuskegee to get to work putting a similar display about South Berwick in its City Hall.
“I think it’s pretty special because we went into this intentionally wanting to reach across racial barriers to people with different backgrounds,” Tuskegee Mayor Haygood said in a phone interview. “The hope was to become friends, share stories, talk about how we can overcome barriers, connect, and not be so reserved exchanging information and ideas, even things we differ on. “
So far, he indicated, the aspirations have been met.
“I think we’ve learned to accept and trust each other and get well into some things we wouldn’t ordinarily get into,” he said.
David McDermott, co-organizer of the event, agreed residents in the two towns have been true to that initial goal of open and honest dialogue, and not only has it resulted in meaningful friendships but has had a larger impact on everyone involved.
“Everyone who has gone to Tuskegee comes back and says they are somewhat changed because they have learned so much, and I think the same is true for the residents in Tuskegee,” he said. “We’ve had dialogues with people in Tuskegee that they’ve told me they never have had with white people before, and the reverse is also true for us.”
In 2020, when the Black Lives Matter protests erupted in the wake of the murder of a Black man named George Floyd, Martin called a friend in Tuskegee to discuss his feelings about the range of issues the killing and protests had stirred up for people all over the country. Without her involvement in South Berwick’s project with Tuskegee, she said, she would never have had the opportunity to discuss such charged racial topics with a close friend who is Black.
The relationship with Tuskegee has been “literally life changing,” said Martin, who has visited Tuskegee three times. “You realize how much common ground we have. At our core, every person just wants understanding and love and the world to be a safe place for friends and family. It’s when we travel outside our little bubbles that you realize that.”
The Tuskegee visitors have a full slate of events scheduled during their short trip to Maine. In addition to the Tuskegee Day Fair, they will be guests at a community dinner Monday evening at the South Berwick Community Center. It is open to the public, but reservations are required due to limited seating.
At the dinner, Sandi Clark Kaddy, an actor from Newington, N.H., will stage a short performance in which she plays a young enslaved woman, Ona Marie Judge, who fled bondage at George and Martha Washington’s home and took refuge in Portsmouth, N.H., while being hunted by the Washingtons. She will be accompanied by Stan Zabecki, a local actor who will portray Martha Washington’s nephew.
The Tuskegee visitors’ trip to South Berwick will conclude Tuesday, June 24, when they take part in a reenactment of the 200th anniversary of General Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to South Berwick. The Revolutionary War hero also visited the Tuskegee area on his celebrated 1825 tour of the United States. The reenactment will begin at 10 a.m. with a short parade from Town Hall to the Stage House Inn, where the general is said to have dined, and will conclude with speeches and the unveiling of a historical marker at the inn.
Like Ona Judge, born into slavery and later free, Booker T. Washington wrote of his own vision: “We should all rise above the clouds of ignorance, narrowness and selfishness.”
South Berwick residents held a similar vision when they launched the Common Ground Sister City relationship.
“We felt that a huge issue is we never talk across racial lines, and it seemed to be getting worse, not better,” McDermott recalled. “Race is such a bugaboo in this country. People are afraid to talk to each other because they are so worried about saying the wrong thing.”
Mayor Haygood says he’s looking forward to the festivities, especially to reuniting with old friends and perhaps making new ones.
“And hopefully,” he said, “I’ll get to enjoy some lobster and some kayaking, too.”
