BRUNSWICK, Maine - In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020, head women's track and field coach L.J. Que along with students Claire Traum '21, Gillian King '22, and Jada Scotland '23 approached Jerry Edwards '04 and Rose Barboza of Black Owned Maine.
  The student-athletes had an idea to launch a fundraiser: Power the Black Owned Maine movement with movement – asking Bowdoin teammates, alumni, coaches, students, faculty, staff, family, and friends to run, bike, walk, or move across the country for Black Owned Maine. Coined "Bear the Torch", individuals were asked to pledge one cent per mile of movement with an initial goal of 3,300 miles (the distance from San Francisco to Brunswick), or $3,300.  

At the end of a single week, spanning July 26-August 3, the effort had raised over $6,800 for the organization, which was used to create the first Maine Directory of Black owned businesses, award microgrants to businesses and families, provide educational resources and promoting allyship, and create plans to incubate small businesses.

"Claire, Gill, Jada, and I were blown away with the participation and enthusiasm for Bear The Torch," said Que. "Because of the summer and the pandemic our teams and the Bowdoin community were spread out throughout the country and world. We felt the Bowdoin magic as we saw the number of miles pledged and funds raised increase every day that week. We are so grateful for everyone's involvement and look forward to working with Jerry, Rose, and BOM in the future!"

"When we support the overlooked Black community in our state, we help combat racism in Maine and we strengthen our overall Maine economy and our Maine community in a powerful way," says Rose Barboza, founder of Black Owned Maine. "This movement has been a long time coming, and thanks to partners like Bowdoin College, it's finally getting the traction we need to make a real difference."