BRATTLEBORO — Reaching a milestone gives us reason to pause, be thankful, and reflect on the journey past and the road that lies ahead.
In early November, Vermont Partnership celebrated a major milestone by completing the first decade of a four-decade initiative, Vermont Vision for a Multicultural Future.
Formerly known as Facing Change: The Changing Face of Vermont, the initiative prepares Vermont, its leaders, and its people for an increasingly multiracial, multiethnic, multilingual, multicultural, and multi-abled landscape.
When the initiative began a decade ago, the United States Census Bureau projected that the country would become a “minority-majority” nation by 2043.
While most metropolitan areas across the nation have made the transition, the demographic shift in Vermont, albeit slower, is no less dramatic.
The 2010 Census indicated that 59 percent of Vermont's population growth was attributed to ethnic and racial minorities. Although ethnic and racial minorities account for 4.9 percent of the general population, we represent nearly 8 percent of public school students and 7 percent of children from birth to 5 years old.
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Twenty years ago, our Brattleboro-focused mission grew out of a critical incident involving racial profiling at the high school. Our original 1993 mission was to build and reinforce relationships among communities of color and communities at large by addressing issues in health care, education, the environment, the arts, religion, business, and economic development in a culturally sensitive manner.
Our early work focused on the immediacy of providing community members peer support and the tools necessary to defend their civil rights.
In 2001, the board of directors embraced a bold new vision for the organization. The new direction expanded our civil-rights advocacy training statewide, utilized quantitative data more strategically, emphasized working upstream where policies and practices were decided, and eventually rebranded the organization from ALANA Community Organization to Vermont Partnership for Fairness & Diversity.
Over time, we developed a statewide reputation as a proven, effective resource that leaders turn to for support and advocacy related to inclusion, diversity, and equity in the public sphere.
We assist as our partners implement profound changes thought impossible a decade ago. Trust in building and sustaining relationships binds our ability and the ability of our partners to get things done while resisting the urge for instant gratification.
In addition to our own milestone, the third annual Vermont Vision for a Multicultural Future Conference also celebrated the conspicuously courageous leadership of our partners in law enforcement, tourism, transportation, and municipal government shaping the future of Vermont in ways that make us all proud to call the state home
We begin our next decade of work with the newly distilled vision of “a Vermont recognized as the epicenter of diversity, inclusion, and equity thought and practice.” Our new vision resonates with the collective aspirations of the scores of our partners and the state's long history fighting for social justice. For the people of Vermont, we work to strengthen inclusive and equitable practices as a means to eliminate prejudice and discrimination of all kinds.
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We firmly believe the economic relevance and viability of diverse communities are driving forces for communities at large.
Illuminating the challenges and supporting best practices to address those challenges create equitable, inclusive, and sustainable communities for all. It matters not that these diverse communities may be formed around race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, ability, national origin, gender, or other socio-economic constructs.
Each of us plays an important role in strengthening and sustaining this place we call home for the emerging changes in our cultural landscape and the marketplace beyond our borders. That begins with making the Vermont narrative an inclusive narrative and an important focus of our work ahead.
For example, it is clear that the moniker “whitest state in the nation” carries with it obvious questions such as, “Is that intentional?”
“Is there something beneath our progressive, liberal veneer actively discouraging tourists, outdoor enthusiasts, conventioneers, college students, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists of color to consider Vermont as a destination?” we should ask.
While many work to help Vermont steer far away from that title, an emerging majority marketplace of black and brown faces need assurance now that Vermont is, in fact, welcoming. A better tagline might be “most welcoming state in the nation.”
Similarly, we must move beyond the implicit or unconscious bias against persons with disabilities, the elderly, and the LGBTQ community when we create the images that coincide with our touting ourselves as the healthiest, most active, most livable, or most family-friendly state.
This applies equally to the marketplace beyond our borders and in our towns. How we recognize, create consumer products for, and deliver human services to diverse communities figures prominently in how inclusive the Vermont narrative becomes.
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The economic success and sustainability of our communities directly depends on our ability to attract greater numbers of diverse populations to the state, meet or exceed their expectations for an experience here, and retain their interests for future visits.
Vermont has the capacity to embrace, develop, nurture and sustain communities that reflect the richness of this nation and the world.
In so doing, Vermont itself will thrive as a result of intentionally creating a foundation upon which a population worthy of the name diverse can prosper.