Alumni Association Announces Civil Rights Speaker Series

This fall, the Alumni Association will launch the Robert Talbot Civil Rights Speaker Series as part of a campus and community collaboration with the Greater Bangor Area Branch of the NAACP.   

The Robert Talbot Civil Rights Speaker Series is intended to “promote dialogue and engagement that advances the political, social, educational, and economic equality of all U.S. residents.” The series will bring one or more nationally recognized individuals to Orono for a formal presentation and to engage with students and members of the public. The series is named in honor of Talbot, a Bangor native and longtime civil rights activist who served as the state’s first director of the Maine Human Rights Commission.

The announcement was made as part of the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration, conducted online on January 18th. UMaine alumni Daryl Fort `92, Nancy Dymond ’97, and David Patrick `16, `19G were among the featured presenters. Other alumni speakers included Jojo Oliphant `00, Michael Alpert `72G, and John Diamond `77, `89G, the Alumni Association’s president & CEO. UMaine students Madison Hemingway ‘23 and Tessa Solomon `23 were among a group of panelists that discussed the topic “Being Black in Maine: Lived Experience and the Prospect for Change.” 

Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of the University of Maine and UMaine-Machias, also delivered remarks during the online event. Watch the session here.

More information about the Talbot Speaker Series may be found at UMaineAlumni.com/talbot