Victoria Pelletier July 2023

For Brunswick native Victoria Pelletier, the only difficult part of growing up in Maine was standing out. “I was the only black student in school until like the fifth grade, and then there were only two of us. People were always wondering where I came from and saying things that were really hard to hear. I had to have a lot of conversations about race in a way that I wasn’t prepared for because I was just a kid.” After leaving Maine to attend college in New York and study journalism, she came back to Maine prepared to do a lot more than just talk. “My whole goal is I need to pave the way for others to come after me and have it easier than I did. Being the second black woman that’s ever been on the Portland City Council, that is really important, and it’s a really heavy thing to carry, but I realize I’m blazing a trail that didn’t exist before. I have a responsibility to make more room for black women and diverse perspectives to come after me.”