University of Southern Maine USM Digital Commons Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids) The African American Collection 2-2020 AA MS 01 Gerald E. Talbot Collection Finding Aid David Andreasen Kristin D. Morris Karin A. France Marieke Van Der Steenhoven Caroline Remley See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/aafinding_aids Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, Social History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Gerald E. Talbot Collection, African American Collection of Maine, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The African American Collection at USM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Search the Manuscript Collection (Finding Aids) by an authorized administrator of USM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors David Andreasen, Kristin D. Morris, Karin A. France, Marieke Van Der Steenhoven, Caroline Remley, Andrea Harkins, Kara Kralik, and Anya O'Meara This article is available at USM Digital Commons: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/aafinding_aids/1 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE LIBRARIES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS JEAN BYERS SAMPSON CENTER FOR DIVERSITY IN MAINE AFRICAN AMERICAN COLLECTION OF MAINE GERALD E. TALBOT COLLECTION AA MS 1 Total Boxes: 133 Total Drawers: 36 Linear Feet: 207.75 By David Andreasen, Kristin D. Morris, Karin A. France, Marieke Van Der Steenhoven, Sarah Haugh, Caroline Remley, Liam P. Sigaud, Colin Donovan, Andrea Harkins, Anya O’Meara and Kara Kralik Portland, Maine July 2010, revised February 2020 Copyright 2010 by the University of Southern Maine 2 Administrative Information Provenance: The Gerald E. Talbot Collection was compiled by Gerald E. Talbot over the course of his life and donated by him to the Sampson Center in 1995. Ownership and Literary Rights: The Gerald E. Talbot Collection is the physical property of the University of Southern Maine Libraries. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the creator or her/his legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Coordinator of Special Collections. Cite as: Gerald E. Talbot Collection, African American Collection, Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, University of Southern Maine Libraries. Biographical Sketch Gerald E. “Jerry” Talbot was born in 1932 in Bangor, ME, which at the time was home to Maine’s largest African American community, many people having come to the state from Canada. His family traced their history in Maine back to the mid-18th century and the black Revolutionary War veteran Abraham Talbett. Talbot worked for some time with his father, W. Edgerton “Edgar” Talbot, the head chef at the Bangor House hotel, and graduated from Bangor High School in 1952. After serving in the army from 1953 to 1956, he moved to Portland and wed Anita Cummings of Portland, with whom he raised four daughters. The family faced job and housing discrimination, but Talbot eventually secured steady work in 1966 as a compositor with the Guy Gannett Publishing Company, where he would work for 25 years. In Portland, Talbot also became actively involved with the civil rights movement in Maine, particularly through the NAACP. He served as president of the Portland branch of this organization three times, in 1964-66, 1970-71, and 1978-80, and was a vice president of the New England Regional NAACP. He joined the “March for Jobs and Freedom” in Washington, D.C. in 1963, participated in a voter registration drive in Mississippi in 1965, and played an important role in passing Maine's 1966 “Fair Housing Bill.” He was the first African American elected to the Maine State Legislature, serving three terms from 1972 to 1978. During his time there, he proposed a 1977 bill titled, “An Act to Prohibit the Use of Offensive Names for Geographic Features and Other Places in the State of Maine,” which passed. He also co-sponsored, with the late Larry Connolly, the first "Sexual or Affectional Preference" (1977) amendment to the Maine Human Rights Act. He was the first black chair of a legislative committee – the Human Resources Committee (two terms) – and was the first black speaker pro-tem of the Maine House of Representatives. Talbot also served on the Maine State Board of Education from 1980-84, as chair in 1984. Simultaneously, he was on the New England States Board of Education Commission. He has been on the Maine Vocational Technical Institute’s Board of Trustees and the Muskie Board of Visitors at the University of Southern Maine. In 1980, he founded Black Education and Cultural History, Inc. (BEACH), which sponsors conferences, offers scholarships, and serves as a vehicle for speaking out against discrimination. Talbot is co-author with H.H. Price of several articles and the book, Maine’s Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People, published in 2006. Throughout his life, Talbot collected documents, books, photographs, and objects with significance to the African American community, both in Maine and beyond. These materials documenting black history, heritage, and culture, were exhibited often throughout Maine, including at the State House. In 1995, in order to ensure that the materials would be forever accessible to the public for educational purposes, Talbot donated his collection to the Special Collections of the University of Southern Maine, where it serves as the backbone of the African American Collection of the Jean Byers 3 Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine. Gerald and Anita Talbot have four daughters, Sharon Renee Verloo, Rachel Talbot-Ross, Regina Philips, and Robin Talbot. Gerald’s younger sister is Beth (Elizabeth) Talbot. Information for this biographical sketch was compiled from Maine’s Visible Black History: The First Chronicle of Its People and was supplemented with further details found at: http://www.portlanddems.org/talbot.htm. A full resume can also be found in the collection file. Collection Description The Talbot Collection is a collection of materials, many pertaining to the African American experience, gathered by Gerald E. Talbot in the course of his life. It is divided into five series containing like materials: Papers, Posters, Objects, Photographs, and Serials. Series 1 Papers The Papers Series contains Talbot’s personal and professional papers, including papers from his service in the Maine Legislature, as well as materials gathered by him. The books that were part of the donation, 475 titles, have been catalogued into the African American Collection’s book collection. They may be found in the Libraries’ online catalog by searching Talbot’s name as author. Series 1.1. Politics This series contains materials related to Talbot’s long career in federal and state politics. Subseries 1. Legislative This subseries--which contains twelve subseries--includes materials pertaining to the Maine House of Representatives, where Talbot served three terms from 1972 to 1978. a. General Information/Records This subseries contains government telephone directories, Talbot’s legislative ID cards, a history of the Maine State House, and a list of joint standing committees and their membership. b. Roll Calls This subseries contains an extensive record of roll call votes on hundreds of pieces of legislation in the Maine Legislature stretching from 1973 to 1978. c. Legislative Documents and Acts This subseries contains several dozen bills and other legislative initiatives—as well as committee amendments--introduced during Talbot’s tenure in the Maine Legislature. d. Legislative Records, Proofs, Journals, and Calendars This subseries contains legislative journals and calendars (which constitute the Legislature’s daily schedule), proofs (which are transcripts of the statements and speeches made on the floor of the House or Senate), and records (which represent the legislative motions and roll call votes made during a given legislative session). 4 e. Memoria, Resolutions, Orders, and Proclamations This subseries contains various ceremonial legislative sentiments, including a proclamation recognizing the cultural contributions of Maine’s black community and designating “Miss Black Teenage Maine Day” in 1973. f. Speeches, Statements, and Newsletters This subseries contains speeches and statements made by Talbot, as well as then-Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives and others, on various political issues. Notably, it includes statements by Talbot announcing his intention to seek election (or re-election), criticizing then-Governor Longley regarding his rhetoric on minorities, and addressing the Maine Democratic Party convention. g. Correspondence This subseries contains many of Talbot’s hand-written notes. Of particular interest are the messages Talbot sent to colleagues in the Maine House of Representatives. These messages—often urging a colleague to support a particular bill or asking that an amendment be proposed--provide a glimpse into the real-life experiences of a legislator. h. Campaigns and Elections This subseries contains material pertaining to Talbot’s three political campaigns (including palm cards, campaign finance forms, and mailing lists), as well as broader, election-related documents such as candidate lists, election statutes, and work by the Election Laws Committee. i. Committees This subseries contains material related to legislative committees