Make a gift in honor of the good that comes from BDN journalism in your hands, and help raise $60,000 this spring to support our reporting. Make a donation now.
Bangor is renaming a trail after Gerald Talbot, a civil rights leader and the state’s first Black legislator.
That comes after Talbot died May 9 at age 94.
The city will hold a ceremony at 11:30 a.m. at Eastern Maine Community College’s Rangeley Hall, near the Sylvan Road end of the trail, which extends to Stillwater Avenue. His family is expected to attend the ceremony.
The City Council authorized renaming the trail in honor of Talbot, whose name also adorns the park and playground off Second Street, where he grew up.
Talbot made history in 1972 when he became Maine’s first Black legislator. His daughter Rachel Talbot Ross went on to serve as Maine House speaker.
During his life, Talbot championed civil rights in Maine, playing an instrumental role in the passage of the Maine Fair Housing Act, preceding its federal counterpart by three years, and the Maine Human Rights Act, in particular pushing for a gay rights amendment. He also pushed for improving life for migrant workers and advocated for tribal sovereignty.
The trail that will soon bear his name is part of a larger trail network extending from Cascade Park off State Street to the Essex Street Recreation Area.
The ceremony will be moved inside Rangeley Hall if it rains.
