Say goodbye to browsing for global artisan crafts, activism posters and local jewelry. The Peace and Justice Center’s waterfront store in Burlington, featuring fair trade goods, is slated to close this December.
The center’s most important work — anti-racism workshops and educational programming — will continue at a new and smaller space in Burlington, according to store manager Kason Hudman.
The shutdowns related to the Covid-19 pandemic contributed to the store’s decline, according to Hudman and board member David Shiman, but helped the organization grow its remote programming, Hudman said.
The board decided the nonprofit’s mission would be better served by relocating to a smaller space and refocusing time and money to its educational programs and community advocacy work, he said.
“We built up quite a bit of capacity in doing workshops for people all around the state remotely,” Hudman said. “The store couldn’t be done remotely.”
With only three full-time staff members, they felt the need to downsize and to shift resources to focus on the center’s educational and outreach work, he said.
According to 2021 tax filings, the nonprofit recorded revenues of about $413,000 and expenses of $403,000.
Meanwhile, the social justice nonprofit is searching for a new executive director, after Zoraya Hightower, a Progressive Burlington city councilor representing Ward 1, announced in September that she would resign her position this month but continue on as a facilitator and advisor.
“I am proud of the work we have done over the last year and excited by our vision for the future,” Hightower said in a message to members. “We have a center with enough benefits, systems, and structure to carry us in the work we want to do and provide more work-life balance. While here, I learned just how much human rights and anti-war work intersect with my own lived experience of social, environmental, and economic injustice and I am proud to carry that narrative and work forward, regardless of what I do next.”
She started in that role in May 2021, replacing Rachel Siegel, a former Burlington city councilor who had led the nonprofit since 2013.
Hightower was not available for comment on Tuesday. Shiman spoke highly of her work, including a focus on programming and reorganization, and said she plans to remain connected to the organization.
“I think she helped clarify lines of communication, lines of responsibility and also was very effective as a workshop leader and as a program designer,” he said.
In a statement to members, the board commended Hightower for being “a champion in the community for justice and human rights,” for attracting new members and for nurturing staff enthusiasm.
“During her leadership, we have strengthened our programs, committed ourselves more thoroughly to serving the BIPOC community, and sharpened our organizational structure so that we can more effectively achieve our mission goals,” the board wrote.
While the organization’s anti-racism work will continue with mainly white populations to raise consciousness and change behaviors, there has been a shift in the last few years to be “more of a support group” for BIPOC organizations and people as well, Shiman said. “That is built into our mission in a way that it wasn’t in the earlier years,” he said.
The store will remain open until Dec. 18 and will likely continue in a reduced capacity at the new office space, focused more on activist materials. The organization expects to sell all or most of the fair trade goods it buys directly from producers and return any unsold items to local consigners, Hudman said.
The current shop started as a thrift store but then sold fair trade goods and moved to Church Street in 1991. It has been at 60 Lake St. since 2009. The Peace and Justice Center has worked toward its mission to “create a just and peaceful world” since 1979 by promoting community engagement and economic justice and offering a range of education programs around racial and social justice, according to its website.Â
Hudman said the waterfront store was the first place he felt at home when he moved to Burlington in 2017. In a statement to members, he expressed gratitude for all who have passed through the store since.
“Community groups have met here, activists have strategized here, and memories have been made for more than a decade. We are so honored that we have shared this space with you all, and we wanted to let you know that we plan to keep all those memories close to our hearts,” he said in the statement.
“As the current store manager, I mourn with all of you. But I also hold on to the hope that this move will only serve to benefit the Peace & Justice Center as we refocus and reinvent ourselves.”
Correction: A previous version of the story misidentified when the shop operated as a thrift store.