Sponsored by
The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Hosted by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
273 Vermont Route 15, Jericho, Vermont, at 6:30 pm
Moderated by the Reverend Dr. Arnold Isidore Thomas, Pastor
How far have we come as Americans in confronting racism? This is a topic that remains so intimidating and painful that we prefer not to talk about it in public for fear of what we might say or reveal, or how others might see or treat us. In this forum series, we wish to create a safe space where we can speak openly and honestly as people of good intent who seek the best for each other and our nation as we honestly face the racial divisions of our past and present with the hope of reconciliation.
Each forum is a potluck gathering where we invite you to share a dish along with your thoughts.
Racism in America 2019-2020 Schedule
(Last updated December 15, 2019)
September 19, 2019, What Is Vermont Doing to Combat Racism? State Sen. Debbie Ingram, Attorney General TJ Donovan, Col. Ingrid Jonas, Vermont State Police, Recommended Reading: Act 54 of the Vermont Legislature
October 22, 2019, An Inside Look at Mass Incarceration by a Black Vermonter, Daimeyon Williams, Director of Spectrum’s Multicultural Youth Program, Burlington, VT. Recommended Reading: The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
December 3, 2019 Being a Muslim in America,Imam Islam, Islamic Society of Vermont, Recommended Reading: Muslims in America: A Short History by Edward E. Curtis IV
January 14, 2020 The Future of Social and Legal Policy in a Majority People of Color Country,Xusana Davis, Vermont’s first Director of Racial Equity, Recommended Reading: TBD
January 21, 2020, The Difficult and Complex Conversation about Systemic Racism, Mark Hughes, Founder and Executive Director of Justice for All and Coordinator for the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance. Recommended Reading: Racist America: Roots, Current Realities and Future Reparations (4th Edition) by Joe R. Feagin and Kimberley Ducey
February 4, 2020 Racism and Migrant Justice, Teresa Mares, Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Vermont, Recommended Reading: Life on the Other Border: Farmworkers and Food Justice in Vermont by Teresa Mares
February 25, 2020 The Intersection of Race and Poverty, Mark Hughes, Founder and Executive Director of Justice for All and Coordinator for the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance. Recommended Reading: The Colors of Poverty: Why Racial and Ethnic Disparities Persist by Ann Chih Lin and David R. Harris
March 10, 2020 Let’s Talk about Reparations,Sherwood Smith, Director of the Center for Cultural Pluralism at the University of Vermont, Recommended Reading: The Debt by Randall Robinson, H.R. 40, and Vermont State House Bill 478
April 1, 2020 Civil Right and a Conservative Supreme Court,Alec Ewald, Associate Professor of American Politics and Constitutional Law at the University of Vermont, Recommended Reading: Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court by James Macgregor Burns
May 5, 2020 Being Native American in America, Donald Stevens, Chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, Recommended Reading: Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
May 19, 2020 People of Chinese Descent in America,Karen Lew Biney-Amissah, former Director of Education at the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), New York City, Recommended Reading: The Chinese in America by Iris Chang
June 2, 2020 Where Do We Go from Here? A Conversation with Young People of Color (panel to be determined) Recommended Reading: Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority by Tim Wise