We were grateful to host the webinar on Racial Justice Work in Vermont. Being able to highlight such a range of work related to Racial Justice was inspiring.
It is our hope that people who attended will choose at least one group to get involved with a long term commitment. Most of these groups need member, volunteers, and donors. Please give deeply of your time and resources. More people need to do more.
For folks of color looking for affinity spaces, please connect with Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington, The Root Social Justice Center, and us, the PJC. (Contact info below.)
There were expenses for the PJC to put on this free webinar. Please consider becoming a member so you can join and sustain our work. Membership starts at $15/year or through volunteering.
For those who weren’t able to attend, or for others wanted to share the event, here is a video of the webinar. It begins at minute 5:55 due to some technical complications we had.
A word on anti-militarism and it’s intersection with racism
To get more involved in the effort to cancel the unjust, environmentally and globally racist F-35 basing, and to work together towards a grounded and powerful local anti-military movement, please join this facebook group and/or contact Jennifer Decker at (802) 922-0316.
Prison and Police Abolition
For those who had questions and want more information on abolition movements, Critical Resistance is a great place to start. And for Police Abolition, check out The Marshall Project‘s curated list of resources. Groups working for decarceration and decriminalization in Vermont include the ACLU of Vermont, Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform, and the Women’s Justice & Freedom Initiative.
Policy Change to Address Policing in Burlington
For those with ideas for and interest in organizing for police reform through policy change in Burlington, please contact [email protected] We would like to be part of organizing in advance of July’s Police Commission meeting to create a coordinated effort to uplift BLMGB’s demands.
Financial Reparations
Use this growing list black individuals in Vermont to support through direct financial reparations. This is a document was made by some friends of the PJC who we are incredibly grateful to.
Media by POC
In answer to some comments, here is an incomplete list of media made by POC.
Voting Rights
If you don’t believe electoral politics matter for Racial Justice, you have to ask why the right wing works so hard to suppress Black voter rights. Please watch Suppressed: The Fight to Vote which is a 37 minute documentary about the 2018 midterm election where Stacey Abrams fought to become the first Black female governor in the U.S.
Racial Justice Education
Check out the following groups if you are looking for educational or training programs:
CQ Strategies
Abundant Sun
Seed the Way
PJC’s educational programs
And here is the list of participating groups from the panel:
The Windham County Branch of the NAACP
Contact: Steffen Gillom – Branch President; Sarah Wiggins – Branch Secretary
p[email protected] OR [email protected]
Windham NAACP website
Windham NAACP facebook
Rutland Area Branch of the NAACP
Contact: Tabitha Moore – Branch President
[email protected]
Rutland NAACP website
Rutland NAACP facebook
Black Lives Matter– Greater Burlington (BLMGB)
[email protected]
BLMGB Website
BLMGB Facebook
BLMGB Instagram
BLMGB petition
BLMGB Coordinated Action Form
POC Caucus
White Caucus for Collective Liberation
The Root Social Justice Center
Contact: Tara O’Brien
[email protected]
The Root SJC website
The Root SJC facebook
Community Voices for Immigrant Rights (CVIR)
CVIR facebook
CVIR twitter
CVIR instagram
Vermont Coalition for Ethnic and Social Equity in Schools (VCESES)
Contact: Alyssa Chen
[email protected]
VCESES website
If you’d like to join our listserve and learn more about us please fill out this form.
VCESES facebook
Lost River Racial Justice (LRRJ)
[email protected]
LRRJ website
Facebook: Lost River Racial Justice
For White Folks to get involved in southern VT
Showing Up for Racial Justice – Burlington (SURJ-BTV)
Contact: Susan Schoenfeld
[email protected]
SURJ-BTV facebook
Middlebury Showing Up for Racial Justice (Middlebury SURJ)
Contact: Joanna Colwell
[email protected]Middlebury SURJ webite
Middlebury SURJ facebook
Loving Day Vermont (LDVT)
Contact: Sarah Brown
[email protected]
LDVT website
LDVT instagram
LDVT facebook
Vermonters for Justice in Palestine (VTJP)
Contact: Wafic Faour
[email protected]
VTJP website
VTJP facebook
Justicia Migrante/Migrant Justicia
Contact: Madeline Sharrow or Marita Canedo
[email protected]
MJ website
MJ facebook
MJ twitter
MJ instagram
MJ youtube
Human Rights Commission
Contact: Bor Yang / Amanda Garces / John McKelvie
[email protected] Â or [email protected]
HRC website
HRC facebook
HRC twitter
Justice For All/Racial Justice Alliance (JFA)
Contact: Mark Hughes
[email protected]
JFA website
Peace & Justice Center (PJC)
Contact: Kina Thorpe or Rachel Siegel
[email protected] or [email protected]
PJC facebook
Rise Upper Valley!; VT and NH Lawyers Guild
Asma Elhuni
[email protected]
Police and prison abolition work
State of Vermont Representative Diana González
[email protected]
Please join the work of at least one of these groups through time or money! Again, we need more people doing more.
And remember, there were expenses for the PJC to put on this free webinar. Please consider becoming a member so you can join and sustain our work. Membership starts at $15/year or through volunteering.
JoeJune 4, 2020 12:26 pm
I see that the entire Northeast Kingdom is totally ignored ! Why is this? Does St. Johnsbury not count.? Or Newport! Oh! That’s right!They are working class towns not an affluent white student populated towns.
Rachel SiegelJune 7, 2020 12:53 pm
We would love to have been more geographically inclusive. There is so much good working happening all over the state — some of it statewide and some of it region-specific. The outreach we did was imperfect (and done in 3 days) and we recognize that groups in the NEK were not represented — and many others that have been pointed out to us since. We can assure you it was not by design and we will continue to try to do better.