Maine’s state racial equity commission has entered into a taxpayer-funded $7,000 contract with a Waterville-based company to sponsor educational walking tours about the “historical struggles and contributions of Black individuals” and to dispel the myth that the state is “too old and too white.”

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous & Tribal Populations (PCRITP) is an independent state agency established by the Legislature in 2019 as a result of a bill sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland).

PCRITP revised their conflict of interest policy earlier this year after the Maine Wire reported that the Commission had awarded a $12,000 grant to a nonprofit run founded by Speaker Talbot Ross’ sister for a Black History Month event.

According to a state no-bid contract document published last week, PCRITP will pay Black Travel Maine, Inc., $7,000 to fund the walking tours.

“The provider [Black Travel Maine] will provide educational walking tours, connecting Maine communities to understand the historical struggles and contributions of Black individuals, contributing to a more inclusive mindset and encouraging positive social change,” the Permanent Commission’s recently-hired operations director Aaron Hooks Wayman wrote in the contract.

“The Provider set itself apart as an entity unique in its breadth of content expertise, as well as its connections to other like-entities that can provide a robust [sic], throughout the project duration,” Wayman wrote.

According to Black Travel Maine’s website, the company’s mission is to “expose Black and multiethnic travelers and organizations to the cultural beauty, richness and delightfully friendly people of the gorgeous State of Maine.”

“Our custom curated cultural tours will highlight everything from the arts, entertainment and the spectacular food Maine has to offer visitors from around the World in hopes to help dispel the age old myth of, ‘why go there it is too cold and too white,’” the company states.

Black Travel Maine is hosting a free walking tour entitled “Discover Maine’s Rich Black History on MLK Weekend” on Sunday, Jan. 19.

In June, PCRITP approved a $538,168 taxpayer-funded budget for fiscal year 2025, which earmarked over $100,000 for office space, nearly $65,000 for research initiatives and about $180,000 for contract and temporary staffing positions.

That budget came in addition to a $1 million grant in federal COVID-19 relief funds awarded to PCRITP by the Mills Administration that must be spent by the Commission by the end of this year.