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Inspiring Black and Female Portlanders Who Have Made History

Saturday | April 01, 2023
1:30pm - 2:30pm

Location: Rines Auditorium
Audience: Adults, Seniors
Dugan Murphy of Portland MaineJoin Dugan Murphy, tour guide and owner of historical walking tour company, Portland by the Foot, for a visual overview of the landmarks in our city most relevant to the inspiring Black and female figures who have made history.
Black Portlanders have moved our city, state, and country closer to the ideals of freedom, democracy, opportunity, and equality. Maine’s earliest settlements couldn’t have existed without Black labor, skill, and insight—and since those first moments, Black Yankees have agitated and organized to resist indignity and realize power. Running the factories or running for office, Portland women boldly shaped our city’s culture while continually moving the country toward equal rights. Their stories help you appreciate the charm and depth of a city that was almost lost were it not for the impact of women’s collective energy and passion.
In this visual presentation, Dugan will present major landmarks you’ve probably passed by a million times, as well as spots off the beaten path, to present an inclusive, empowering, and surprising constellation of tales to leave you wondering just what else was left out of the history books.
Portland by the Foot
TripAdvisor rates Portland by the Foot the #1 tour of Portland.  Opened in 2022, they offer guided walking tours most days April through November.  Locally-raised guide and owner Dugan Murphy shares unforgettable storytelling about Portlanders of all backgrounds—told with heart, humor, and humanity. Dugan’s a local historian, a graduate of Greater Portland Landmarks’ History Docent Program, and a curious and enthusiastic tour guide with a Master’s in Community Planning and certificates in geographic information science and historic preservation. After several years as the most requested tour guide at another local tour company, in 2021 Dugan decided to offer walking tours of his own in order to create even more intimate, surprising, and delightful experiences. Well over 26,000 people have taken guided tours with Dugan. If all of those people lived in one spot in Maine, that place would be the fifth largest city in the state! As a Maine humorist and storyteller, he continues a Downeast tradition of oral history and wry comedy, and as a New England folk dance leader, he teaches a living tradition to folks of all ages throughout North America.