In Maine, where black people are a mere 1.6% of the population today, there once existed a small mixed-race community called Malaga Island. In 1912, the state forcibly evicted Malaga's residents and committed eight to the Maine School for the Feebleminded. The state and the press branded this cruel tragedy a triumph and their interpretation was accepted for almost 70 years. What happened on Malaga Island demonstrates the power of the state--influenced by racism and pseudoscientific eugenic theory and fueled by sensationalistic journalism and economic factors--to define a human tragedy as a societal triumph. The article presents the story of Malaga, which reveals the subjective nature of triumph and tragedy. An annotated bibliography is also provided.