Opeyemi Parham

Chutzpah at the Brattleboro Post Office

I am sure that you will remember me, Ms. Postal Clerk. I was the Black woman who came into the post office at 4:55 p.m. on a recent Friday.

I understand that 4:55 is terribly close to your 5 p.m. quitting time. I understand that it was a Friday. But whatever it was that led you to interact with me using sharing and blaming behaviors, you need to evolve your interaction skills.

So I will share - in as public a forum as I can obtain - a dissection of what I experienced with you.

As a “flatlander,” I have had many interactions with Vermonters since I first moved here in 2009. I am exploring with great fascination Vermont culture, specifically that of the white Anglo-Saxon protestant, or WASP.

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What the looks wordlessly say

On race and the discussions that hit too close to home in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting

This is my third try for a life in southeastern Vermont. The first two attempts to live in Putney and then in Brattleboro were stymied by a lack of job opportunities. This time (when I did not get the Brattleboro job that I expected - and yes, race may...

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