Hello friends!
The following are organizations run by Black Vermonters, Vermonters of Color, and white allies who have been working for years on racial justice work. I think it would be great for our group to support them. Most of these organizations use Facebook, twitter and Instagram to alert the public to their work and events. I suggest you follow them on social media to get the most up-to-date information! If you don’t have social media, I suggest creating a FB profile at least. Also-many of these groups operate mostly out of, and hold rallies in, Burlington and Montpelier. Making it to rallies is difficult and dangerous for many these days, so if you can’t make it to one, there are plenty of other ways to help out. Those include donating money or supplies to the organizing group, and watching videos of the protest as it is happening or afterward and discussing it with your friends.
There has been clear silence from this group around donating money to these groups, individually and as a community, but I think we all should still check them out and attend their teach-ins, panels, protests, etc. etc. I can keep us up-to-date on here about happenings around Chittenden county as well.
I will make this into a working document at some point so that it can be added to, but this is just a start.
Black-led groups:
- Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington (the most active BLM chapter in Vermont): Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blmgb To donate visit their website: https://www.blmgb.org/
- The Woven Collective (Woven Collective is an anti-violence organization that increases our community’s capacity to respond to trauma and support survivors) – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wovenvt Website: https://www.wovenvt.org/?fbclid=IwAR1Nr-LZD3XRDQMoCIYRsUg3nCVtnhsLhqAIfrDtn77iNNHiXyL2OOBV1J4
- Vermont Racial Justice Alliance (pushes state-level legislation aimed at racial justice): https://www.facebook.com/VTRacialJusticeAlliance. This group came out of and is affiliated with Justice for All VT. To donate visit their website: https://vtracialjusticealliance.wordpress.com/
- Justice for All VT (“pursues racial justice within Vermont’s criminal justice system through advocacy, education, and relationship-building”): https://www.facebook.com/justiceforallvt
- Loving Day VT (“celebrates the Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage & endeavors to fight prejudice + build multicultural community”): https://www.facebook.com/lovingdayvermont/. Learn more and donate: http://lovingday.org/what-is-loving-day
- The Black Perspective VT- Organize rallies among other things (“We are a Vermont based nonprofit, non-official organization that are educating and showing the black perspective of life. We of the black perspective take under our wings any minorities of every color and background and support them. Our team is built up of diverse professionals willing to spread the awareness of injustice. Our goal is to build a world that is fair for everyone.”) To Donate: Venmo: theblackperspectivevt Cash app: $tbpvt Learn More: https://www.facebook.com/theblackperspectivevt
White Allyship groups:
- Showing up for Racial Justice – I suggest you all join our local SURJ chapters!
SURJ is a national network of groups and individuals organizing White people for racialjustice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves White people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability. We work to connect people across the country while supporting and collaborating with local and national racial justice organizing efforts. SURJ provides a space to build relationships, skills and political analysis to act for change. Burlington –https://www.facebook.com/groups/SURJBTV – Middlebury- https://www.facebook.com/groups/1822439584656638
- BTV CopWatch – Something white people can do to hold police accountable is to film cops if they are engaging in excessively violent or racist behavior. In partnership with Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington and Food Not Bombs Burlington. BTV CopWatch is explicitly dedicated to police abolition. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BTVCopWatch
Affiliated Racial Justice groups:
- Vermont Coalition for Ethnic & Social Equity in Schools- (Vermonters and residents of Vermont, who firmly believe that diverse ethnic and social groups need to be accurately represented in schools) Facebook page
- Vermont Poor People’s Campaign- (A National Call for Moral Revival is uniting people across Vermont to challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation’s distorted morality of religious nationalism)Website: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/committee/vermont/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VTPPC
- Migrant Justice/ Justicia Migrante (Vermont farmworkers organizing for food justice and human rights. Creators of the Milk with Dignity program)- Website: http://www.migrantjustice.net/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/migrantjustice
- Peace and Justice Center (The purpose of the PJC is to work on the interconnected issues of peace; human rights; and economic, social, and racial justice. The PJC is committed to raising awareness of these issues, redressing the harms of generational oppression, and equipping people with tools to lead viable social change movements that include and empower all people.) Website: https://www.pjcvt.org/
- Community Voices for Immigrant Rights (Community Voices for Immigrant Rights is a grassroots community organization based in Burlington, VT working to fight for immigrant rights in support of and collaboration with immigrant-led group)- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CVIRBurlington
- Champlain Area NAACP -Website: https://champlainareanaacp.wixsite.com/champlain-area-naacp?fbclid=IwAR2QgbMS5vdiiCRiwz0s1MkuYEDhUA5XnMSY8tZwGmqixgNmB–91rPUD9k Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NAACPChamplainArea/
If you are having trouble with making a FB page, finding the right information or getting to a virtual or in-person event, please let me know and I can help you out!
