The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman is a VTDigger podcast that features in-depth interviews on local and national issues. Listen below and subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.
One of the most striking consequences of the murder of George Floyd is just how far-reaching the movement for Black lives and against racism has been. Rallies and protests spread from Minneapolis, where Floyd was murdered by police, to small towns across America. One of those communities is the village of Morrisville, Vermont, population 2,000.
On the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, students staged a walkout from Peoples Academy, the local public high school, and from nearby Stowe High School. About two dozen students marched down the hill from Peoples Academy to the traffic light in the center of Morrisville, where they held signs supporting Black Lives Matter and talked to passersby about the issues. A small number of community members, including a group of teachers, joined the students.
“It’s very far from diverse here,” says Maddy Ziminsky, a Black student at Stowe High School who has personally experienced violence. “Racism has had a lot of impact on me. I’ve seen people around me get hurt, racial slurs have become common [and] I’ve had physical altercations that I didn’t expect before. Now, walking outside has become a scary thing.”
“You don’t see [racism] in the pretty postcards of Vermont,” she says.
“Police are here to protect and serve. We should feel protected and served,” says Saudia LaMont, chair of the Racial Equity Alliance of Lamoille, who says she has been threatened by police when she has called for help. “I should not feel afraid to call for help.”
I spent the anniversary of George Floyd’s death on the streets of Morrisville talking with students, teachers, and other residents about racism in their community. In the first part of the program, we speak with Saudia LaMont, and in the second half I turn the mic to the students from Morrisville and Stowe who rallied for racial justice.
