poetry

The Juxtaposition: Walk In Power 08/11/2022

From the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance:

A program about issues affecting Black Folks and Black Folks effecting change.

The struggles and advances of Black folks throughout our national history of slavery and its current legacy have infused in our DNA an indisputable resilience. Realizing the untapped power that exists in us is a life altering awakening. It is liberating, exhilarating and infectious. It is our challenge to walk in this power and cultivate it in others. We’re joined today by a community member who walks in power.

Guests: Rajnii Eddins, Spoken Word Poet/Emcee and Teaching Artist; Christine Hughes, Director of the Richard Kemp Center

Originally from Seattle Washington, Spoken Word Poet/Emcee and Teaching Artist Rajnii Eddins has been engaging diverse community audiences for over 27 years. He was the youngest member of the Afrikan American Writers Alliance at age 11 and has been actively sharing with youth and community in Vermont since 2010.

Christine co-founded Uncommon Alliance, the first grassroots, local effort to initiate race data collection with the local police department. She is the Principal of New SeasonsVT and the Director of CALEOVT. She served as the first Chair of the Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Advisory Panel. Christine also created a Workforce Development program at the Burlington CJC as a contractor for the state for 12 years. Most recently she served as Senior Employment Consultant for Hireability and VABIR over the past four years.

Poetry and Healing with Rajnii Eddins 07/21/2022

Rajnii Eddins and Town Meeting TV intern Ashley DeLeon discuss poetry as a form of healing and expression for today's youth. Eddins, a Vermont-based poet and teacher, also performs the poem "Beautiful Sunkissed People" at the Town Meeting TV studio in Burlington.

Democracy Creative x The Black Artists Showcase 07/01/2022

Join the Democracy Creative and the Black Artist Showcase for poetry, music, and art from: Nadia Frazier, Omega Jade, Rajnii Eddins, Celine Kouadio (Cece K), and Janvier F. Nse. With food by MO's Kitchen.

Moments with Melinda: Interview with Dan Chiasson 05/04/2022

From Melinda Moulton:

Dan Chiasson was born in Burlington, Vermont and attended Rice High School. He received his BA at Amherst and PhD from Harvard. Dan is an American poet and long time contributor to The New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and received the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The Guggenheim Fellowship, Pushcart Prize, and the Whiting Award. Dan is the Lorraine C. Wang professor of English at Wellesley College. He has written six books and is embarking on a biography about Bernie Sanders.

Juneteenth: About Juneteenth with Tyeastia Green 06/19/2021

Tyeastia Green, Burlington's Director of Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging, tells the story of Juneteenth and the inaugural celebration in Burlington in the summer of 2021.

Juneteenth: A2VT Performance 06/19/2021

Representing Somalia, Tanzania and Burundi and currently living in Burlington, Vermont, A2VT synthesizes their native African musical and dance roots with Western pop and Hip Hop sensibilities. Their songs, performed in up to eight unique languages, reflect their journey from Africa to America, and celebrate the musical collision of two continents and the party that ensues!

For more information: www.A2VT.com

Juneteenth: The Young Writer’s Project Juneteenth Youth Poetry Contest 06/19/2021

Readings from the winners of The Young Writer’s Project Juneteenth Youth Poetry Contest.

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.