Baltimore pastor to walk 40 miles through Maine calling for reparations
Rev. Robert Turner to Walk 40 Miles from Brunswick to Augusta in Maine, Marking 185th Anniversary of Colored Convention
A Baltimore pastor is taking a step—literally—toward national reconciliation as he prepares to trek 40 miles from Brunswick to Augusta on Tuesday. Rev. Robert Turner, the head pastor of Empowerment Temple AME Church, will walk a route that cuts through rural Maine, stopping in Topsham, Bowdoinham, Richmond, Gardiner, and Hallowell before arriving at the statehouse at about 5:30 p.m. His journey is part of a larger campaign that has seen him walk the same distance in every state, culminating in a visit to the White House from Baltimore.
The walk takes place on the 185th anniversary of Maine’s first Colored Convention, a historic gathering in which Black Mainers demanded equal citizenship rights. “Now, my goal is to call on the nation to do repair,” Turner said on Monday while preparing for his 49th trek. “It’s a reminder that the promise of 40 acres and a mule was never fulfilled.”
Maine is the ninth state in which Turner has completed a 40‑mile walk. He has already finished 40 such walks from Baltimore to the White House, and will now take a different route in each state, stopping along the way to honor local histories of racial injustice. In Maine, he will pay tribute to the story of Malaga Island—a Casco Bay community of mixed‑race residents who were forcibly evicted in 1912—and to the legacy of Gerald Talbot, the state’s first Black legislator who died at 94 this year.
“When my body inevitably begins to ache and hurt, I’ll be thinking of trailblazers like the late Gerald Talbot,” Turner said. He noted that his mental resilience outstrips his physical stamina, “You are much more mentally strong than you are physically strong,” and that he’s constantly wearing out gym clothes and sneakers.
The choice of Brunswick as the starting point is intentional. The town is where Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin and where Bowdoin College’s John Brown Russwurm became one of the nation’s first Black college graduates in 1826. Russwurm went on to help found the first Black‑owned newspaper in the United States. “Brunswick is a meaningful location to start the walk,” said a representative for the organizers. “It’s a place that’s tied to the story of slavery, abolition and the fight for civil rights.”
The walk is open to the public. Organizers encourage residents to follow along with Turner’s progress, either by walking with him or simply greeting him as he arrives in Augusta. He will begin at 5 a.m. on the corner of Maine and College Streets, heading north on the historic 5‑mile route to the statehouse.
Turner’s campaign, which has taken him to all 50 states, is a symbolic gesture that echoes the unkept promise made to freed slaves after the Civil War. By walking the same distance he did on previous trips—40 miles for each state—he underscores the need for reparations and social healing. “We believe a community must be informed to thrive,” a spokesperson added, citing the sustaining sponsor Bowdoin College’s support of the event.
While the walk is a personal commitment, it also invites Maine’s residents to confront the state’s complicated racial history. From the early abolitionist movements in the 19th century to the forced evictions on Malaga Island, the region’s past has many chapters that require recognition and reflection. Turner’s march seeks to bring those stories to the forefront and to remind the public that the promise of 40 acres and a mule remains a call to action.
As the sun rises over Brunswick, the Reverend will lace up his shoes and begin his 40‑mile journey, carrying with him the memories of those who fought for justice before him and the hope that his trek will inspire a new chapter of reparative action across the nation.
