John Jenkins - the “Mayor of Maine”

This photo shows John Jenkins (center, standing) posing with two other instructors wearing gis (martial arts uniforms) and belts. They are holding weapons. 

There is an audience of children sitting behind them, watching. Some of the kids are holding up a sign that says, “The John Jenkins Golden Fist Karate School.” You can see how Jenkins looked as an athlete, teacher, and leader when he was around 23 years old. 

Jenkins began teaching martial arts in 1973, when he was still a student at Bates College. He was later recognized around the country and world for his skill, and is in the US International Black Belt Hall of Fame.

Jenkins used martial arts as a way to teach discipline, build relationships, and deal with adversity. Mastering an athletic skill can be a way to focus on your goals.

In 2022, the City of Lewiston named a bridge in honor of its former mayor, John Jenkins. This is a walking bridge, or pedestrian bridge, that stretches over the Androscoggin River from a park in Auburn to a park in Lewiston. 

This photo is from the day of the naming ceremony in June 2022. The people at the front are John Jenkins’ family members. Governor Janet Mills is in the background, as is Auburn mayor Jason Levesque and Lewiston mayor Carl Sheline.

The bridge was named two years after John Jenkins’s death to remember and celebrate his legacy.

This is a gi (pronounced “ghee,” like the word “geese” without the “s”) and black belt that John Jenkins wore. A gi is a uniform traditionally worn in martial arts like karate, judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It includes a jacket and pants – here we only have a jacket. 

The black belt has Japanese characters that spell out the name “John Jenkins” and a sewn-on tag that says the belt was made in Tokyo, Japan. The black belt is a sign of pride and accomplishment, since students must work their way up through many levels before they reach it. 

John Jenkins not only gained incredible athletic skills through martial arts, but he also shared his skills with other people by teaching them. 

The gi has a patch on the shoulder. It is from the John Jenkins Academy, which Jenkins founded in 1995. The words in the center are “BODY, MIND, SPIRIT” in a triangle shape. This gi used to be in a display honoring John Jenkins at an Applebee’s restaurant in Auburn!

This is a framed portrait of John Jenkins. It was the official mayoral portrait that hung in the Lewiston City Hall and the Auburn City Hall. 

Jenkins was the first person to serve as mayor of both Lewiston and Auburn. He was elected as Lewiston’s mayor in 1992 and 1995, became a state senator in 1996, and then was elected as Auburn’s mayor in 2006.

In Lewiston, he worked on building cooperation with Auburn. He also tried to engage with young people to try to make them feel more involved in city government. In Auburn, he lowered taxes and worked hard to build trust in the community, especially the growing community of immigrants and refugees from Somalia and other African countries. 

Can you picture walking into your local town hall and seeing this portrait hanging on the wall? What can you guess about him just by looking at this picture? 

This newspaper article talks about Maine politician John Jenkins attending President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009. He is standing in Washington D.C. and thinking about his personal connections to the story of race in America. 

John Jenkins shook Martin Luther King Jr.’s hand a week before his assassination. His own family members were enslaved, and later generations were punished for fighting for the right to vote. John himself had to stand up for what he believed in. 

This is a framed certificate recognizing John Jenkins’s service on the Glass Ceiling Commission. This Commission was established by the Civil Rights Act of 1991. John Jenkins was one of 21 members serving on the commission. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and Congressional leaders.

This was a big deal! John Jenkins hung this certificate on the wall in his home until he donated it to the Maine State Museum in 2012. 

The term “glass ceiling” became popular in the late 1980s. It describes the invisible barriers that women and racial minorities face as they approach the top levels of corporate jobs.  Imagine trying to get a promotion, but you keep bumping your head against the glass ceiling! For example, a company might not have an official rule saying that directors and CEOs have to be white men, but they’re somehow the only ones who