Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) released the following statement on the passing of Gerald Talbot:

Gerald Talbot was a trailblazer, a civil rights icon, and one of Maine’s great moral leaders.  As the first Black legislator elected to the Maine Legislature, he opened doors that had been closed for far too long and used his voice to fight discrimination, advance equality and make our state live up to its highest ideals.

Gerald’s impact reaches far beyond the halls of the State House.  He helped revive the NAACP in Maine, marched for civil rights, fought housing and  employment discrimination against Black Mainers, preserved and taught Maine’s Black history, served our country as a veteran and inspired generations of Mainers to stand up for justice.  Long before it was politically safe or popular, Gerry Talbot understood that civil rights must mean civil rights for everyone.  In 1977, he sponsored Maine’s first bill to protect gay and lesbian Mainers from discrimination — beginning a decades-long fight that ultimately led Maine to add sexual orientation protections to the Human Rghts Act.  That courage,rooted in his own lifelong fight against racism and injustice, is part of the extraordinary legacy he leaves behind.

My heart is with his family, including his wife Anita, Senator Rachel Talbot Ross and Councilor Regina Philips, and with all who loved and learned from Gerald.  Maine is better because of his courage his service and his unwavering belief in justice.