The Maine Civil Rights Team Project was started in 1996 as a pilot project. Now more than 200 schools participate in having a school Civil Rights Team! The foundation of these Civil Rights Teams was the Maine Civil Rights Act. This act states, "The Maine Civil Rights Act prohibits bias based language or behaviors on race, skin color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation." Following the early efforcement of this act, it was realized that most of these hateful acts were directly affecting younger people and happening in schools around Maine. To combat this issue, the Maine Office of the Attorney General created the Civil Rights Team Project! 

The Maine civil rights team project designed this image as a visual representation of the six protected classes under the Maine Civil Rights Act. These classes include; race and skin color, national origin and ancestry, sexual orientation, gender; including gender identity and expression, disabilities, and religion.