Our Story
Tuskegee, Alabama and South Berwick, Maine have been sister cities since 2017 when they agreed to form this relationship as a way to get to know each other. South Berwick approached Tuskegee to become its “sister city” hoping the two communities could help to bridge the racial divide in this country.
The two communities are similar in size and character; both are family-oriented and have proud histories, some of which overlap. Tuskegee is celebrated for its impact on agriculture, aviation, Civil Rights, education, entertainment and history. South Berwick is one of the oldest communities in Maine and is well known for education, manufacturing and its natural resources while the state played a role in the women’s voting rights and anti-slavery abolitionist movements.
Tuskegee, Alabama and South Berwick, Maine have been sister cities since 2017 when they agreed to form this relationship as a way to get to know each other. South Berwick approached Tuskegee to become its “sister city” hoping the two communities could help to bridge the racial divide in this country.
The two communities are similar in size and character; both are family-oriented and have proud histories, some of which overlap. Tuskegee is celebrated for its impact on agriculture, aviation, Civil Rights, education, entertainment and history. South Berwick is one of the oldest communities in Maine and is well known for education, manufacturing and its natural resources while the state played a role in the women’s voting rights and anti-slavery abolitionist movements.
Maine and Alabama achieved statehood three months apart in 1819 and 1820 and both grew under the cotton economy of the 19th century —Tuskegee as host to cotton plantations and South Berwick as home to textile mills.
Both municipal councils unanimously approved (Foster's Daily Democrat article) the sister city relationship in 2017, paving the way for the first domestic sister city partnership in the country, a partnership aimed at racial healing and social justice.
The relationship has grown along with friendships between residents of the two cities through visits north and south, as well as phone, video and social media communications.
During the visits, host families open their homes to the sister city guests. This gives the visitors a taste of everyday life for the host family, while they also learn about the community’s history, culture and social environment. Public forums, communal meals and other group activities engage citizens in the host community in rich dialogues about racial challenges in America, providing perspectives through the lens of their sister city friends.
The visits strengthen the collective bond and also fortify individual relationships.
"Sharing our culture & ideals to remember our past,
embrace the present, and enhance our future
by joining together our shared vision for tomorrow"
Proclamation
"To talk, listen and engage with each other to improve and sustain better race relations"
Dialogues
One of the guiding principles of the sister city project is the belief that conversation is important to our mission: "to talk, listen and engage with each other to improve and sustain better race relations." To this end, the Common Ground joint committee organizes dialogues that invite residents of both towns to participate in facilitated discussions on race relations.
Dialogues have taken place in person, as well as virtually. They focus on a specific question, such as "Why is it so hard to talk about race?" or "Why are white people afraid of Black people?" and most often evolve into a variety of other topics related to race. Some of the topics addressed were "bringing up kids in a racially homogenous town," "how to move beyond mistrust" and "risking vulnerability."
Sometimes the dialogues focus on ways the sister city can put ideas into actions. Some of the suggested actions were making the dialogue framework available for others, creating an anti-racist deck of cards, bystander training on when and how to step in and creating a sister city book club.
"Citizen groups in both communities have formed to further and bring to fruition this sister community relationship"
Meet the Committee
The Common Ground Joint Committee consists of residents from each sister city, most of whom have visited the other city and are involved and committed to the relationship. The committee meets regularly online to talk, plan events and further the sister city relationship.