June 3, 2020
As uprisings sweep across the country, we witness the collective mourning for the lives, and futures, ended at the hands of white supremacy. It should not take another murder of an unarmed black person to ask ourselves: what is our role in this movement?
Vermont leaders in politics, business, education, non-profits, and philanthropy are overwhelmingly white – AV included. Although our collective work feels well intentioned, are we questioning how our actions and organizations are upholding systems of power?
Hundreds of years of systemic racism has resulted in gross disparities in educational access and outcomes between white and black people. As education and workforce professionals, are we attending to this longstanding legacy of racism?
The answers are not simple, and the conversations may be uncomfortable. But the only path towards justice is for us, the white Vermonters, to ask our families, friends, colleagues, and neighbors: for the sake of our human dignity, can you do this work with me? AV stands ready.
