THE PRINCE PROJECT: Enslavement in Maine

Presented by York Diversity Forum and York Public Library.

Ten years ago, Vana Carmona discovered the gravestone of a man named Prince near several of her family’s plots. Learning he had been enslaved by her ancestors, she embarked on a historical quest to find others.  Soon she found out that enslavement in Maine was more common than she ever believed.  Moreover, many of our founding fathers were complicit in the human trafficking from Africa as well. Vana subsequently founded The Prince Project, which today is a non-profit, 501c3. 

The mission is to help rewrite the historical narrative of our State and to ensure that the next generation knows the truth about our earlier Maine families. The research has resulted in a unique understanding of Maine enslavement (as well as New England) that is misunderstood - if not ignored.

The Prince Project database today has more than 2000 people of color who lived in Maine prior to 1800.  

Her presentation will discuss The Prince Project, the history of enslavement in Maine, as well as how these people were forced to live.  It also focuses on the enslavers themselves, many of whom were prominent Maine citizens.

Vana Carmona is the founder of The Prince Project, a non-profit whose mission is to educate people on black history in Maine.  The Project has a database of over 2000 people of color who lived in Maine prior to 1800.  She is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, and completed her Masters of Liberal Arts, with emphasis on Medieval History, at California State University/Sacramento.  She is descended from a number of early European settlers, with the first of these arriving in New England in 1620, and moving into Maine in 1633.  Many, she discovered, were enslavers and were complicit in the slave trade.