Vermont Humanities
Geof Hewitt at table

Words in the Woods with Geof Hewitt

Video: Join writer Geof Hewitt in an entertaining video shot at Elmore State Park as he recites several of his poems and leads a fast-paced writing workshop. The video features a seven-minute interlude of scenery taken at the park, designed to inspire you to write!

Jarvis Green, Major Jackson, Felicia Swoope, and Desmond Peeples

JAG Talks with Major Jackson, Felicia Swoope, and Desmond Peeples

Video: Join Jarvis Green, producing artistic director at JAG Productions, as he leads a discussion with poet Major Jackson, choreographer Felicia Swoope, and writer Desmond Peeples about being Black culture bearers in Vermont during this time of protest and pandemic.

Stacey Rose, Jarvis Green, and Keelay Gipson

JAG Talks with Keelay Gipson and Stacey Rose

Video: a conversation on the condition of Black theatre during a time of death, betrayal, and global pandemic. Jarvis Green, producing artistic director at JAG Productions, leads a discussion with award-winning playwrights Keelay Gipson and Stacey Rose.

Mural honoring George Floyd

Opportunities to Help

Suggestions on actions you can take in response to the horrific murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.  Please send us ideas that we can add to this list.

Engraving of Frederick Douglass

David Blight on “Writing the Life of Frederick Douglass”

Video: Yale historian David Blight, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in History for his biography “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” tells Douglass’s story: an escaped slave who became one of the leading abolitionists, orators, and writers of his era.

Jose before barbed wire fence by Marek Bennett

After the Crossing

Audio: Many different groups of people, from many different continents, have helped build our state. But from the 19th century through 2019, the stories of immigrants have largely been excluded from the popular image of Vermont.

Duke Ellington at the piano

Daybreak Express: Reuben Jackson on Duke Ellington

Many Vermonters know Reuben Jackson as the host of Vermont Public Radio’s Friday Night Jazz. In this episode, Jackson shares some evocative Duke Ellington recordings, and discusses Ellington’s love for trains. He also describes the Ellington orchestra’s work in the segregated United States. 

Girl in front of old car during Great Migration.

How the Great Migration Changed American History

In the early 20th century, black southerners fled racial violence and sharecropping for steady work in northern cities like New York and Chicago. But these migrants still faced challenges once they arrived. In this talk, Dr. Harvey Amani Whitfield explores the Great Migration and its great influence on American history.