Gerald E. Talbot and Fair Housing in Maine

These photographs and documents were selected from the Gerald E. Talbot Collection because of their relationship to fair housing activism and legislation in Maine from 1965-1993. Primary sources like these provide evidence of past events, reveal more about the history we know, and can be used to develop new stories about the past.

Gerald Talbot is known for his work on passing the Maine Fair Housing Bill (LD 860) in 1965. Primary sources show that he continued to work with others to limit housing discrimination for several decades. These sources are organized into four sections based on how they were created. Photographs include the fair housing march of 1967, as well as meetings and bill signings from 1965-1969. NAACP Portland Branch Records include documents created by the group and collected by Talbot as part of his service as founding president of the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Legislative Correspondence includes letters received before and during Talbot’s time in the Maine House of Representatives from 1972-1978.Personal Papers include speeches and correspondence from Talbot’s personal life, including correspondence received by his wife Anita Talbot.

Talbot’s complete collection of personal papers, legislative correspondence, organizational records, photographs, and artifacts is available at University of Southern Maine Special Collections. Learn more about the Gerald E. Talbot Papers in the Franco-American and Special Collections Catalog.