Opportunities to Help

Vermont is not immune to the dangerous times we’re living in. We will always do everything we can to interrupt hate speech and extremism, and we will continue to work to make Vermont a welcoming and safe place for everyone. Hate cannot stop art.

Here are some ways that you can help support our diverse communities here in Vermont:

• Support Black people. But if you are a white person, realize that they don’t need to be taking care of us. Don’t lay your own heartache and anger on top of theirs. Here are some Vermont-based Black-led groups:
  • Association of Africans Living in Vermont
  • Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington
  • Clemmons Family Farm
  • Justice for All
  • NAACP: Chittenden, Rutland, Windham
  • Partnership for Fairness and Diversity
  • The Root Social Justice Center
• Support the LGBTQ+ Community by attending upcoming LGBTQ+ arts events and supporting community organizations:
  • Pride Center of Vermont – Social Programs, Services, & Support for LGBTQ+ Adults Statewide
  • Outright Vermont – Services, Support, & Social Progams for LGBTQ+ youth age 22 and under, and their families
  • Out in the Open – Out in the Open connects rural LGBTQ people to build community, visibility, knowledge and power.
  • The Prism Center at UVM – serves the diverse queer and trans communities at the University of Vermont.
    Pride Center of Vermont’s THRIVE Program – Group for Queer & Trans People of Color to share space and build community with one another! With a wide range of events and activities, we hope to support all QTPOC Vermonters.
• Support the local anti-racist movement
  • ACLU Vermont
  • Equity Practitioners Network
  • The Root Social Justice Center
  • Peace and Justice Center
  • Pride Center of Vermont: Thrive Program
  • Rokeby Museum
  • Showing Up for Racial Justice: Burlington, Central VT, Middlebury
  • Education Justice Coalition of Vermont
• Support the national anti-racist movement and our neighbors in Minneapolis, Louisville, Atlanta, New York, and elsewhere. Here are some groups suggested by friends:
  • Minnesota Freedom Fund
  • Dismantling Racism
• Read and learn about the historical causes of structural racism and white supremacy and what you can do about it. Vermont Humanities has prioritized presenting African American scholars and writers on these themes for several years.  Here are books by authors that we’ve presented. (The links go to Indie Bound; please shop your local bookstore).
  • Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
  • Black is the Body by UVM English professor Emily Bernard
  • The Hate U Give by Angie C. Thomas, Vermont Reads 2020
  • On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope by DeRay McKesson

Suggestions from readers

Films

• Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age

Books

• Stranger in the Kingdom by Howard Frank Mosher

Recommended by the Rokeby Museum

• Slavery by Another Name