An All-Star Panel

An all-star panel gathered at the First Parish Church in Portland to discuss civil rights on the eve of the bicentennial of statehood for Maine and the centennial of women winning the right to vote. Herb Adams, former state representative and current Adjunct Professor at Southern Maine Community College, kicked off the evening with an overview of Maine's fight for statehood, then lead the panel in a discussion of issues that emerged during that battle which are still with us today. Panelists included Anne Gass, author of Voting Down the Rose about Maine suffrage, attorney Marshall Tinkle, author of The History of the Maine State Constitution, Dr. Donald Soctomah, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Passamaquoddy tribe, and Mary Bonauto, the attorney who argued the successful 2015 same-sex marriage case before the U.S. Supreme Court.