Rachel Talbot Ross facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rachel Talbot Ross
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2018
|
|
| Member of the Maine Senate | |
| Assumed office December 4, 2024 |
|
| Preceded by | Ben Chipman |
| 104th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives | |
| In office December 7, 2022 – December 4, 2024 |
|
| Preceded by | Ryan Fecteau |
| Succeeded by | Ryan Fecteau |
| Constituency | 28th district |
| Member of the Maine House of Representatives | |
| In office December 7, 2016 – December 4, 2024 |
|
| Preceded by | Ben Chipman |
| Succeeded by | Yusuf M. Yusuf |
| Constituency | 40th district (2016–2022) 118th district (2022–2024) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1961 (age 63–64) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Relatives | Gerald Talbot (father) |
| Education | American University Wesleyan University |
Rachel Talbot Ross, born in 1961, is an American politician and a leader in civil rights. She has achieved many important "firsts" in the state of Maine. She is a member of the Democratic Party and lives in Portland. Currently, she serves as a State Senator for District 28. She was elected to this role without anyone running against her in 2024.
Talbot Ross has made history several times in her political career. In 2016, she became the first Black woman ever elected to the Maine Legislature. This means she was the first Black woman to serve in Maine's state government. Later, in December 2022, she became the 104th Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. This made her the highest-ranking African American politician in Maine's history. She held this important position until December 2024.
Rachel Talbot Ross is the daughter of Gerald Talbot, who was also a civil rights leader and Maine's first Black lawmaker. She has continued her family's work in public service and fighting for fairness for all people. Before becoming a State Senator, she served eight years in the Maine House of Representatives. During that time, she worked on making the justice system better. She also wrote a new law that requires checking how new laws might affect different groups of people in Maine.
Early Life and Education
Rachel Talbot Ross grew up in Portland with her father, Gerald, her mother, Anita, and her three sisters. Her father was a lawmaker and civil rights leader. He was the first person of color elected to the Maine Legislature. Rachel says her family was always involved in helping the community. She is also a ninth-generation resident of Maine, meaning her family has lived there for a very long time.
Talbot Ross went to Wesleyan University and American University. For 21 years, she worked for the City of Portland as the Director of Equal Opportunity and Multicultural Affairs. This job involved making sure everyone had fair chances, no matter their background.
She also served as the president of the Portland branch of the NAACP. The NAACP is a group that works for civil rights for Black people. She also helped create the Maine Freedom Trails project. This project teaches people about the history of the Underground Railroad and civil rights in Maine. With Portland city councilor Pious Ali, she co-founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Fellows program. This program helps high school students of color in Portland learn about racial justice.
Talbot Ross believes in helping people who are in prison. She has worked for over 15 years to support incarcerated individuals in Maine.
Political Career and Achievements
Rachel Talbot Ross was first elected to represent Maine House District 40 in 2016. She won the Democratic primary election and then ran unopposed in the general election. This meant she received all the votes.
She was re-elected in 2018 and 2020, often without facing any opponents. In November 2020, she won her third term. Later that month, the House Democrats chose her to be the House assistant majority leader. This made her the first Black person to hold a leadership position in Maine's state government.
Talbot Ross has served on several important committees. These include committees for Judiciary, Health & Human Services, and Criminal Justice & Public Safety. She also chairs the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Population. She helped create this commission in 2019.
In 2021, Talbot Ross proposed a very important bill called "LD #2." This law requires that new laws in Maine be checked to see how they might affect people from different backgrounds. This is called a "racial impact statement." The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Janet Mills on March 17, 2021. Maine became the eighth state in the U.S. to have such a requirement.
In November 2022, the Maine Democrats chose Talbot Ross to be the Speaker of the House. She was officially elected Speaker on December 7, 2022.
Because of term limits, she could not run for the State House again in 2024. Instead, she ran for the Maine State Senate and was elected without opposition.
In February 2023, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris honored Rachel Talbot Ross at the White House. They recognized her and other Black State House speakers during a Black History Month ceremony.
Awards and Honors
- 2006: EqualityMaine Bayard Rustin award for working together to build movements.
- 2009: Roger Baldwin award from the Maine Civil Liberties Union.
- 2014: Deborah Morton Award from the University of New England.
- 2020: Gerda Haas award from the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine for her work on human rights.
- 2020: Emerge Maine Woman of the Year.
