emancipation

Juneteenth: Mark Hughes - Abolish Slavery in Vermont 06/19/2021

Warning: The constitution of the State of Vermont has two exception clauses that permit slavery! The Black folks in Galveston were in the dark for two and a half years. Well, this language has been in the Vermont Constitution for 244 years!

Come get the details and learn what we can do about it.

"Article 1. [All persons born free; their natural rights; slavery prohibited]

That all persons are born equally free and independent, and have certain natural, inherent, and unalienable rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety; therefore no person born in this country, or brought from over sea, ought to be holden by law, to serve any person as a servant, slave or apprentice, after arriving to the age of twenty-one years, unless bound by the person's own consent, after arriving to such age, or bound by law for the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like."

Mark Hughes is the Executive Director of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance.

Juneteenth: Contextualizing Juneteenth 06/19/2021

Generations after the end of slavery in the United States, the complete promise of Juneteenth has yet to be fulfilled. Join four of Vermont’s Black leaders as they look back at 156 years since Emancipation, discuss the modern Black American experience, and look forward to what full liberation ultimately means. Panelists include Xusana Davis, Zoraya Hightower, Tabitha Moore and Kiah Morris, with a discussion facilitated by Belan Antensaye.

The panel begins with readings from the winners of The Young Writer’s Project Juneteenth Youth Poetry Contest.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebrations: Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Ceremony 2021 01/17/2021

Keynote Speaker: Tim Wise

Tim Wise is among the most prominent anti-racist writers and educators in the United States. He has spent the past 25 years speaking to audiences in all 50 states, on over 1,500 college and high school campuses, at hundreds of professional and academic conferences, and to community groups across the country.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebrations: Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Ceremony 2020 01/19/2020

This is an event created by the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his effect in our country. This year's keynote speaker is Mayor Steven Reed, the First African American mayor to be elected in Montgomery, Alabama. The event also features the local Congolese Choir, New Alpha Missionary Baptist Church Choir, and the 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards.

Juneteenth: Juneteenth Celebration 06/15/2019

Join us as we celebrate Juneteenth. In 2008, Vermont became the 29th state in the nation to recognize Juneteenth as a state holiday. Juneteenth is the oldest of African American holidays and commemorates the delayed notification (on June 19, 1865) of the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1863). The Vermont Proclamation designates the third Saturday of June as State Juneteenth Day.

Activities include:

• Poetry & History Readings
• Performances and Celebration in Music
• Special Presentation: Vermont Constitution and Slavery
• Honoring Roy and Shirley Hill for their Juneteenth Contribution
• Special Guest: The Honorable Governor Jim Douglas

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebrations: Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance 01/27/2019

This is an event created by the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his effect in our country.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebrations: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Press Conference 01/14/2019

Press Conference to announce multiple planned events centered around MLK Day 2019.

Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebrations: Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance by Louis Gossett Jr. 01/14/2018

This is an event created by the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his effect on our country. This event also welcomes guests Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, Senator Bernie Sanders, Ward 7 Burlington City Councilor Ali Dieng, and Keynote Speaker Louis Gossett Jr. preceded and followed by performances of the Montpelier Gospel Choir.

Black Lives Matter Vermont: Sister's Keeper Conference Presented by Black Lives Matter Vermont 08/31/2017

Black Lives Matter VT presents "My Sister's Keeper Challenge" Conference on August 31, 2017, in Stowe, Vermont. The event features speakers and discussions where women in Vermont unite against racism.

Discussions include "Speaking Our Truths" with Vermont State Representative Kiah Morris, "Lifting As We Climb" keynote address from Dr. Dottie Morris of Keene State College, and Denise Dunbar's perspective on the "Reading to End Racism" program in Vermont public schools.

For more information visit B lackLivesMatterVermont.com.

Reading Frederick Douglass 08/09/2017

South Burlington Assistant Principal Paul Yoon welcomes Boston College Instructor Paul Marcus. Together with South Burlington Librarian Susan Bliss they host a group reading and discussion of a Frederick Douglass speech at South Burlington Community Library. Sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council.

Featured Story

CCTV Receives NEH Grant to Support Community Archives

CCTV Center for Media & Democracy is pleased to announce receipt of a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Humanities Collections and Reference Resources grant alongside 32 peer archival institutions across the country. This $49,927 grant award will support efforts to preserve and expand access to audio/visual community history materials in the CCTV Archives. Read more about this opportunity here!