We have a lot of history in the Midcoast that is worth celebrating — from our shipbuilding traditions in Penneville and Bath to Bowdoin College alumni such as Chamberlain, Longfellow and Hawthorne. Unsurprisingly, we tend to shy away from darker chapters of local history.

In today’s Times Record, we’re running a piece by staff writer Ben Goodridge examining the history of the colony on Malaga Island. It’s a tragic story of forceful relocation of a community performed in the name of racial purity. Aside from some class room discussions, the story of Malaga is rarely spoken of.

Ruminating on Malaga, one can’t help to think we are skirting repetitions of history.

For example, we have a governor who blamed — erroneously — the state’s drug problem mostly on black or hispanic drug dealers from away, citing a binder he kept full of press clippings and news releases. That claim was debunked after the binder was released to the press.

Then there’s the national election, where the undercurrents of racism, xenophobia, Islamaphobia and misogyny surfaced in political rallies in fits of anger.

This year has witnessed the reemergence of David Duke in the national spotlight, having rode the coattails of Donald Trump whose campaign has a record of reposting social media content from white nationalists, and who has been endorsed by the KKK’s most prominent newspaper.

Last week, a black church in Mississippi was set ablaze and defaced. The week before, a black Trump supporter was called a “thug” by the GOP candidate at a rally and was ejected.

The potential for voter intimidation by groups such as the Oath Keepers, and a call by Trump to monitor election polls — particularly in the cities — smack of Jim Crow. “His language has stirred increasing fears of intimidation of minorities inside polling places, where their qualifications to vote could be challenged, or outside, where they would face illegal electioneering,” reads an Oct. 18 report in the New York Times regarding Trump.

Despite all this, Trump is endorsed by certain mainstream Republicans and some evangelical Christians.

Late last month, Trump was welcomed by the pastor of Open Door Baptist Church, who declared the candidate’s arrival in Lisbon “the providence of God.” (One applause line at Trump’s Lisbon rally was the un-Christian the call to “suspend the Syrian refugee program,” slamming the door on thousands of people now living in inhumane conditions. It was a call to which LePage recently answered.)

The embrace of Trumpism and the prejudices inherent therein only weakens our society and sets us on a course of de-evolution. Malaga should serve as a warning as to what happens when those attitudes continue unchecked.

The journey to equality is arduous. Despite the progress we’ve made in Maine and as a nation, there are still long miles to go. We can’t afford to be sidetracked by the prejudices we are trying to hard to exorcise. As voters travel to the polls Tuesday, they should carry the story of Malaga in their hearts.