Mainers who have worked for civil rights and social justice

Sallie Chandler biography		Jean Byers Sampson biography
Rita Kissen biography speech		Allen J. Sockabasin biography speech
Dale McCormick biography		Howard Solomon biography speech
		Gerald E. Talbot biography speech

Presentations of Past Events

Birney Family Reunion     Part One     Part Two
Members of the Birney family came together to talk about their memories of the Birney girls, their aunts Lois Birney Spear, Elvira Birney, Margaret Birney and Martha Birney from New Gloucester, Maine. This video was created on September 5, 2013 to complement the Birney Family Papers, in the General Manuscript Collection in Special Collections at the University of Southern Maine. The collection includes diaries, photographs, scrapbooks and other material documenting the lives of the Birneys, particularly Martha and Elvira, two sisters  who lived together on a farm in Oxford, Maine (at the time of purchase the property was part of South Paris, Maine).

Changing the Game: LGBT People in High School and College Athletics
A panel discussion with lesbian, gay, trangender, bi and straight individuals sharing their experiences and thoughts on gender, sexual orientation and sports. This event took place on September 19, 2013 and was sponsored by the LGBT Collection of the University of Southern Maine's Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine, USM's Center for Sexualities and Gender Diversity, GLSEN Southern Maine and GO! Athletes. 

Other-sexual: Beyond Gay and Straight
Panel Discussion held October 17, 2012.

Maine's "T" Revolution: How Being Transgender in Maine Has Changed, Is Changing, and Still Needs to Change     Part One      Part Two
Panel Discussion held March, 21 2012. Drawing on their own experiences, panelists explore how far we have come and how far we have yet to go toward full recognition, acceptance, understanding, and support of Maine's transgender population.

Maine LGBT History: Life & Activism in the 70s    Part One   Part Two 
Panel discussion held November 10, 2010, sponsored by the Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine.

Guatemala In Words and Images
Opening reception for the Guatemala Collection, April 25, 2013.

Exhibitions

Colonial Mexico and The Catholic Church View online exhibition of titles printed in Mexico from the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection

Reformation Books from the Albert A. Howard Book History Collection View online exhibition of books from the Reformation

Political Debate Writ Small : The Art and Rhetoric of the Political Button Exhibition of political buttons from the Gerald E. Talbot Collection

Publications

2005 Annual Event Catalog
The Ties That Bind: Experiences of Family in Maine, 1900-Present

2006 Annual Event Catalog
Liberating Visions: Religion and the Challenge of Change in Maine,1820 to the Present

2007 Annual Event Catalog
'Remember Me?' The Life and Legacy of Jean Byers Sampson

2008 Annual Event Catalog
Diversity at the Ballot Box: Electoral Politics and Maine's Minority Communities, Post-WWII to the Present

Other Resources

African American Maine Photograph Album View slide show of photograph album of pictures of African American women on vacation in Maine.

Documents Related to Slavery from the Shirley S. and Bernard Kazon Americana Collection View original documents and read the transcripts

Information about USM Learn more about USM history, including the contents of the 1993 library time capsule, and descriptions of the Portland and Gorham campuses.