Sen. Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, kisses her father's casket as her sister, Portland City Councilor Regina Phillips, holds back tears during a celebration of life for Gerald “Jerry” Talbot at Merrill Auditorium in Portland on Thursday. Gerald Talbot was the first Black legislator to serve in the state of Maine. He died May 9 at the age of 94. (Daryn Slover/Staff Photographer) PORTLAND — Somewhere along the line someone had to give the door a push, and now that door has been opened.