Call to action
Vermonters heard a call to action on Friday, as Gov. Phil Scott declared June 19, 2020, "Juneteenth Recognition Day." For the first time, the state officially commemorated the day slavery ended in 1865 when the Union Army freed 250,000 enslaved African Americans in Texas, over two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
The announcement came as the nation confronts the impact of systemic racism amid continued protests, following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer last month. At a press briefing on Friday, Scott said much work remains to be done, and the recognition of Juneteenth was an important step.
"As we consider what we're seeing across the country right now, and the need to listen and learn about one another, and better understand the real legacy of racism in our country and institutions, I think it's fitting for us to celebrate this important event to better reflect on what it means to African Americans and to everyone who loves freedom and believes in the dignity of every life, and the American promise of equal rights and justice for all without exception," governor said.
Xusana Davis, the state's executive director of racial equity, said it's especially important for white Vermonters to listen, learn and take action to help in this movement toward a more equitable society.
"It is the moment of all white people in America and in Vermont, because it is your moment to act. It is perhaps more your moment than anyone else's," Davis said. “Because as people who wield outsized and often unearned power and privilege in our society, it’s especially important and necessary that you be the ones to exercise that privilege in a way that makes things more equitable for everyone.”
She said turning self-education efforts into action is essential to changing the current situation.
"It's important to listen and learn. ... And then , once you have listened, once you have learned, then you defer to the people who are impacted by this work, and then you act," Davis said. She noted there is an Action and Allyship Guide on the state's website, which offers ways to get involved in racial equity efforts.
State Rep. Kevin "Coach" Christie, chair of the Vermont Human Rights Commission, said as the state moves forward on efforts against racism, we must do the work together.
"Now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to the mitigation of systemic racism in Vermont," he said.
Christie said he knew it was difficult to understand how Vermonters of color are feeling on this day, and he offered an example from his own life.
"I ask you to think about a fellow black or brown Vermonter, and I ask you to consider, when was the last time you were told, 'Go back to the jungle?' That's what my daughter was told at a school here in Vermont."
Scott pointed out another act of racism, when someone vandalized a Black Lives Matter mural soon after its creation on State Street in Montpelier.
"We need to look no further than the vandalism on State Street last weekend, to remind us that racism and discrimination are still far too prevalent in America today and in Vermont," he said.
Davis said moving toward action was the most important focus, not guilt for what you didn't know before.
"It's not about the shame of not knowing, it's not about the hurt or discomfort from that history, it's about, 'What are we going to do with the knowledge today, so that we don't repeat that history?’"
— Gareth Henderson
