[B]ENNINGTON — Before the music began at the Concert for Kiah on Saturday evening, Rep. Kiah Morris took the stage inside the Tap House at Catamount Glass.
As a political candidate, she said, “You expect the slings and arrows, you expect the criticism, you expect the dissent.”
But, she added, “You don’t expect the hate.”
Morris — the sole African-American woman in the Vermont Legislature — has been the target of racist online harassment and threats. She withdrew her candidacy for a third term representing the Bennington 2-2 House district shortly after receiving the Democratic nomination Aug. 14 for an unopposed spot on the Nov. 6 ballot.
She admitted it wasn’t an easy night for her. That’s when her husband, James Lawton, rushed to her side.
For the second half of her time behind the microphone over the weekend, Morris held onto her husband’s hand, tight. Together, Morris told the mostly white crowd, is how Vermont has to address racial injustice.
“It’s not just on the people of color in Vermont,” she said. “We need you, because we can’t do it alone.”
Morris certainly wasn’t alone. The Tap House reached fire code capacity a mere 10 minutes after the event started, and Morris received a steady stream of hugs and encouraging words throughout the night.
A Vermont State Trooper stood by the front entrance to the restaurant.
As she digested the outpouring of support Saturday, Morris said, “What this shows us is people want to do something.”
Wallingford resident Tabitha Pohl-Moore, who organized the Rutland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and secured its charter in 2017, told the crowd where exactly their action could begin.
“Thing number one: believe us — believe us the first time,” Pohl-Moore said.
And number two?
“When you see something, say something,” she said. “We’re not at the airport, but terrorism in the lives of people of color is real.”
Together with the state’s other NAACP branch in Windham County, Pohl-Moore said the civil rights organization plans to engage local residents through a new “Get Your Cousins” campaign.
“It’s a call to white Vermonters to assess, introspect, own and then do something about this system of white supremacy and hierarchy in Vermont,” Pohl-Moore said. “Well-intentioned people end up being more afraid of consequences — that’s the cycle we need to break.”
The campaign will kick off with a day-long conference and continue through monthly meetings. In addition, the Vermont NAACP plans to hold a “Racially Responsible Reporting” workshop for local journalists.
These efforts will be funded in part through the proceeds raised by the Concert for Kiah. The event’s other beneficiary was Women’s March Vermont, which, co-chair Kristen Vrancken said, has placed racial justice as its top priority. On Sunday, organizers announced on Facebook that the event raised over $1,000.
At its upcoming Let Equality Bloom 2018: Power to the Polls event, for example, Vrancken said Women’s March Vermont wants to raise up the voices of marginalized communities. Both Morris and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Christine Hallquist will be among the speakers.
At the local level, Bennington Select Board vice chairman Donald Campbell said he and his fellow members have been talking about how to address the global issue of racial justice within the parameters of municipal government.
“We really want to make sure our town is incredibly inclusive, welcoming, a place that people want to come to, a place people want to stay,” Campbell said. He said the Select Board is considering compiling a resource guide for people who witness or experience racist acts.
“For the most part, it’s not Vermonters’ nature to be screaming from the top of the hill,” Campbell said. But, he added, “This is a situation where we have to be clear: We will not put up with this.”
On the state level, Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan announced last Monday that his office was opening an investigation into the online threats directed at Morris. The attorney general’s office said it would work with Vermont State Police and computer forensic experts on the investigation.
In the meantime, Morris plans to finish out her two-year term and then prioritize her family. At a Local Democratic Committee meeting for House district 2-2 last week, Morris was among the majority of committee members who voted 6-3 by paper ballot for Bennington Select Board member and former legislative candidate Jim Carroll to replace her on the November ballot.
Morris said Saturday that she feels she’s had to deal with a “lifetime’s worth of trouble” in her few short years as an elected official. She sounded hopeful, though, as she looked out on the sea of supporters at the Concert for Kiah event.
“What this has shown me is how beautiful Vermont can be,” Morris said. “If this is what had to happen, if there’s not anything more that can be done for me or any other Vermonter facing these things, let me be the last.”
