Maine
Rose Barboza's Favorite Maine Place
By Charlie Pike
From our March 2025 issue
Rose Barboza’s lightbulb moment came during the summer of 2020. Furloughed from her travel-industry job due to the pandemic and devastated by the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, she was on a hike with her brother when she had the idea to start an online directory of Black-owned businesses. Forty-eight hours later, Black Owned Maine was born. Now, the website boasts more than 450 entities, including law firms, fitness studios, restaurants, and more, and Barboza’s vision has expanded to include a more hands-on approach. With a staff of five, Black Owned Maine raises money for charitable organizations and grants for local companies, offers free business-consulting services, and hosts networking events.
As the nonprofit’s CEO, Barboza says she rarely gets a day off. “You sleep, and then you wake up to 10 missed calls,” she says. When she needs a breather, she often heads to Portland’s Eastern Promenade park, overlooking Casco Bay, where the sea and sky inspire her to think big. Over the next five years, Barboza wants to grow her staff, start a counseling program for nonprofits, and open an office that doubles as a gathering and event space. “People can come, relax, sit on the couch and chill, and not worry about the stress outside,” Barboza says. Sounds like a new favorite place.
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The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition says over the past two weeks its immigrant defense hotline has seen an uptick in reported ICE detentions.
They say this corresponds with a national shift in ICE activity, including bids for local businesses to cooperate with ICE.
In Maine, the arrests follow a broader trend of targeting Black and brown immigrants, including people navigating immigration proceedings.
The coalition, which represents more than 100 organizations, says it’s ready to protect civil and human rights and is urging immigrants to prepare themselves and their families.
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They suggest having the defense hotline ready in case you witness ICE activity, making sure you have important personal documents in case of detention, and reviewing rights around judicial warrants in private spaces, like your home or workplace.
It wouldn’t be Mother’s Day without a stop at the florist.
According to Fox Business, about 154 million flowers are sold during the week of Mother’s Day. So it’s safe to say it was a busy day for stores like Estabrook’s Maine Garden Center and Nursery.
Plenty of families stopped by to pick out flowers on Sunday, looking to choose the perfect bouquet for their moms.
“I think Mother’s Day is tradition, you know, and so it’s great to see families here. We have a lot of new families that have come today for the first time with their young children and their mother. Watching the young kids and seeing how excited they are—their eyes light up at all the beautiful flowers,” Tom Estabrook, president of Estabrook’s, said.
Estabrook says Mother’s Day tends to be a great kickoff to the spring season.
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