Race

The Juniper Creative Arts Collective has created over 40 murals in Vermont, at sites including Ben and Jerry’s in Burlington, the Alchemist Brewery in Stowe and Waterville Elementary in Waterville. 

A local artist hopes the statue will educate and inspire

“It’s a really gut-wrenching situation for all the parties involved,” said the commission’s executive director.

Vermont State University’s DEI leader answers a variety of questions regarding new DEI challenges and personal questions about his life in Vermont.

The program, funded by a grant secured by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., helped spark discussions about community building and social activism.

The Vermont Student Anti-Racism Network has enlisted more than 300 individuals since its founding.

Elkins and Gravel became co-executive directors in January. Putting the statement into writing, said Elkins, was a way for AWARE to take a concrete step toward committing to diversity.

A land trust in Vermont has a program to help people of color make a down payment on their house.

The town selectboard established the committee in 2021 amid Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Many black artists and historians have gathered for the past five years at Clemmons farm to discuss Black history and culture in Vermont.

The library plans on expanding next March to promote inclusivity in the state’s most diverse city.

Abdoulaye Niane is from Senegal, and he also has lived in Italy, New York and Minnesota before he moved to Berlin, Vermont, 13 years ago. 

A 9th grader at Harwood Union says he has experienced a multitude of racist incidents.

The bill would rebrand the board that sets rules for implementing Act 250.

Professional artists worked with students to design the community artwork.

The Vermont Truth and Reconciliation Commission holds first meeting.

Vermont’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, formed by legislators last year to document and examine state-sanctioned discrimination against historically oppressed groups, is in the process of hiring an executive director, legal counsel, an administrative assistant and research staff.

City councilors want to drop funding for an equity director in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget, putting a “pause” on a role meant to address racial disparities in Vermont’s most racially diverse city.

Around a third of Vermont’s towns have adopted declarations condemning discrimination and committing themselves to welcoming all people, and Bethel was one of the first.

Town leaders can get more tools to welcome newer Vermonters through a statewide program launched last month by Gov. Phil Scott and the state Office of Racial Equity.

Community members gather on Sunday, June 19 at Fort Ethan Allen Park in Essex for a commemoration of Juneteenth.

Noah Lafaso

ESSEX — Locals joined people from across the state on Sunday at Fort Ethan Allen, once home to the all-Black Buffalo Soldiers cavalry unit, to celebrate Black history and culture.

The event was coordinated by the Town of Essex and commemorated Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas first heard news of their emancipation. The day has since become a holiday across the south, and last year President Joe Biden declared it a federal holiday.

“It’s important that on Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day, we think about what it takes to get to a point of freedom and what the emancipation promise of Juneteenth really means,” the event’s keynote speaker and congressional candidate Sianay Clifford said

Clifford was one of several speakers and artists from around Vermont who spoke at the event. Spoken word poet Rajnii Eddins and multi-talented artist Toussaint St. Negritude also performed music and poetry for the crowd.

Attendees read quotes and short bios of prominent Black historical figures — Barack Obama, Katherine Johnson and Sarah Boone — while local businesses offered free food during the event: honey maple glazed cornbread, ice cream and custom Juneteenth cookies.

But the festivities almost didn’t happen.

Owiso Makuku, the lead organizer behind Essex’s first Juneteenth event last year, recently stepped down as the town’s community development director to become CEO of Main Street Landing.

Others had to find a way to continue her legacy. Folks were worried at first.

“I was sitting in my house thinking, ‘Oh, my goodness, it’s so hard to create an event and start it. If we don’t keep the traction and have it again, that won’t be good,’” Essex Junction resident and organizer Annie Cooper said.

She sent a flurry of emails to town and state officials: “Is Juneteenth happening?”

Through their efforts, and with the help of Town Manager Greg Duggan, the group kept Juneteenth in Essex.

“I think it’s a really great educational opportunity,” said state Rep. Rey Garafano (D-Essex) who helped the effort. “There’s a lot of people who mentioned today they didn’t hear about any of this in grade school or even college.”

The event closed with a celebration of Makuku’s contribution to Essex’s new tradition, and she reflected on what drove her to bring Juneteenth to her town.

“After George Floyd was murdered, and shortly thereafter, a bunch of other Black people were killed in police shootings,” she said. “It just sort of struck me that the only times people were coming together about people of color were when there were tragedies.”

Juneteenth, she said, was an opportunity to celebrate something positive.

“To see yourself reflected positively in a community, as opposed to a victim, or as someone who needs help, or an other, is a really amazing thing,” Makuku said.