Delegation from Tuskegee, Alabama to visit South Berwick

SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — A small delegation from Tuskegee, Ala., including the city’s mayor, will visit South Berwick next weekend, July 15 to July 18, to continue the growing relationship between the two communities.

The group of four Tuskegee representatives, including Mayor Tony Haygood, will attend a community supper, visit the beaches, take a kayak, and engage in a directed dialogue on race relations.

The two communities became Sister Cities in 2017 as South Berwick residents sought out ways to be a part of racial healing in this country. Since then, Tuskegee residents have travelled to Maine and South Berwick residents have gone on several occasions to Tuskegee.

Both the Tuskegee City Council and the South Berwick Town Council unanimously agreed in 2017 to form this relationship. The South Berwick council and town manager plan to officially welcome the group next weekend and the South Berwick Public Library will have a display highlighting Tuskegee and Civil Rights.

A directed dialogue about racial issues facing this country on Monday evening, July 18, will include leaders of local organizations meeting with Tuskegee visitors. South Berwick and Tuskegee residents will be invited to observe through a zoom link.

“Our relationship with our friends in Tuskegee has grown with each project we do together and each visit made between the communities,” said David McDermott, one of the founders of Common Ground Sister City relationship. “People who take the time to get involved are amazed at how much our two communities have in common- shared values, concerns and interests. At the same time it is eye-opening how the American experience has been different for each.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Delegation from Tuskegee Alabama to visit South Berwick