Abyssinian Meeting House

02/01/2026

Welcome to Black History Month 2026.

This year’s theme invites reflection on the power of Black history commemorations in shaping identity, fostering pride, and transforming how Black communities see themselves and how the broader public understands their contributions. From early observances such as Jubilee Day, Watch Night, and Juneteenth, to the nationwide recognition of Black History Month.

Tthese commemorations have served as vital tools for education, resistance, and empowerment. theme marks the 100th anniversary of the inaugural celebration launched by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926, celebrating a century of honoring, studying, and preserving Black history and contributions to American society.
Please join us daily , herw of on Facebook as we chose to honor and acknowledge this history.

We're excited to announce our theme for Black History Month 2026. "Out of Many Cultures, One People." This theme aligns with our culture pillar as we highlight and honour the heritage and diverse cultures of Black people from around the world. If you're interested in sponsorship opportunities, take....

01/20/2026

Let freedom ring!

12/02/2025

This Giving Tuesday, we’re investing in a truth that matters now more than ever: Black history is American history.

The Abyssinian Meeting House is a historic African American civic space, but its story, its lessons, and its future belong to all of us. Built by Portland’s early Black community, it has long served as a place for gathering, education, organizing, and shared memory.

Your donation today helps ensure this space remains a public resource for learning, dialogue, and connection for generations to come.
➡️ Give today and help preserve this shared history:

Things are looking up! Mission The mission of the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian includes but is not limited to the restoration, historic preservation, and maintenance of the historic building known as the Abyssinian Meeting House, in the city of Portland, State of Maine; and the preservation a...

06/19/2025

Over the past three years, I have been honored to serve on the board of the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian. Since 1997, this Black-run community organization has worked to restore one of Portland’s finest and most neglected historic landmarks: the Abyssinian Meetinghouse.

Today, Juneteenth, is a day to remember the end of chattel slavery in the United States and to resolve to right the wrongs produced by this horrible system. In June 2020, I wrote about Portland’s long ties to slavery in the Portland Press Herald and called on government officials to commit to fully funding the restoration. In 2022, after years of lobbying efforts, the Committee received a federal grant to finish renovations. However, because of governmental delays and inflation, this amount will no longer cover all of the repairs necessary to restore this landmark building and turn it into a historic site and community space. We need to raise $1 million dollars in order to make it handicap accessible and open to the entire public.

Please join me in donating to the Committee to Restore the Abyssinian!

06/19/2025

On Juneteenth, we honor freedom and the long fight to secure it.

The Abyssinian Meeting House, built in 1828, is the third-oldest standing African American meeting house in the United States and a cornerstone of Black life and resistance here in Portland, Maine. It served as a church, a school for Black children, and a stop on the Underground Railroad.

This Juneteenth, we reflect on the generations who gathered here to worship, organize, and envision freedom, long before the last enslaved people in Texas learned of emancipation in 1865.

We invite you to learn more about the rich history of Black Mainers and support the restoration of this vital landmark.

🔗 https://www.abyssinianmeetinghouse.org/ | Link in bio to donate.

08/02/2024

The Abyssinian Meeting House situated on The Freedom Trail in Portland, Maine is its own 501c3, non profit organization and business that is seperate from the Freedom Trail.

03/20/2024

Feature Post: We are featuring each of the 10 Underground Railroad Stamps and are starting off with Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman Day is celebrated annually on March 10th, her death date. Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross) and grew up on the Eastern Shore in Dorchester County, MD.
While she is the most recognized freedom seeker, we wanted to share some facts about her that may be new to viewers.
1. At six years old, Harriet caught and trapped muskrats during the winter in the Little Blackwater river
2. Harriet changed her name to Harriet Tubman after she married her first husband, John Tubman
3. Between 1850 and 1860, Harriet helped over 70 of her friends and family become free. She took 13 trips back to Dorchester County, MD.
To learn more about her fascinating life, you can visit this webpage: https://www.nps.gov/hatu/learn/historyculture/htubman.htm
and visit the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park

02/27/2024

Everyday at the Abyssinian we teach and learn about the history and courage of 5 black men who chose to pick up pens and not weapons to create and be the change they wanted to see. Learn more about The history of The Abyssinian.

Truth.

02/27/2024

Very interesting virtual event. Please join in!

Please join us for this virtual Black History Month event on February 29, 2024, from 2:00 P.M. to 3:30 P.M. This event will feature several NPS presenters from the Northeast Region (including our own Superintendent Deanna Mitchell) and will delve into the rich intersections of African American history, the arts, and the enduring legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education.

This event will be hosted via Microsoft Teams and can be accessed at https://bit.ly/3OYx0bl

02/24/2024

Words cannot describe nor can any photo taken of this capture the essence and beauty of this.

This quilted and appliquéd textile portrait by Bisa Butler titled “I Go To Prepare a Place For You” in our exhibition “ : Protest. Defiance. Resistance.” is based on a portrait of underground railroad conductor and abolitionist activist Harriet Tubman. The original portrait was newly discovered and added to the museum’s collection in 2017, and is shared with the Library of Congress.

Butler explains her use of symbolism in the portrait:

“I used cool blues to communicate that Harriet Tubman was a person who had to hide, blend in, and escape detection in order to emancipate herself. The red fabric suggests her forceful personality, determination and will to be free. She was quoted as saying 'There are two things I’ve got a right to, and these are Death, or Liberty- one or the other I mean to have. No one will take me alive; I shall fight for my liberty, and when the time has come for me to go, the Lord will let them kill me.'"

📸 Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, purchased through the American Women's History Initiative Acquisitions Pool, administered by the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative, © Bisa Butler

02/17/2024

Black History Fact.

The Age of Phillis by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (author of The Love Songs of WEB Du Bois) poetically illuminates the life of Phillis Wheatley Peters, the enslaved African American whose 1773 book of poetry was one of the first books by a woman (of any race) to be published in the American colonies: https://www.literaryladiesguide.com/book-reviews/the-age-of-phillis-by-honoree-fanonne-jeffers-a-review/