Brattleboro In an effort to answer quality of life questions people of color may have regarding a relocation to Vermont, Vermont Partnership for Fairness & Diversity has redesigned www.IAmAvermonter.org to capture the experiences of Vermonters of color throughout the Green Mountains.
When launched in 2015 www.IAmAvermonter.org focused exclusively on attracting people to the Champlain Valley region. The relaunched site now seeks to attract people to relocate to other regions as well as the Champlain Valley through testimonials of residents living and working in those other regions.
“The Southeast Vermont region and sections on Culture and Recreation appear for the first time on the relaunched website. The site expansion to Southeast Vermont was partially underwritten by businesses, human service and educational institutions in search of a more diverse workforce, entrepreneurs, and students,” states Curtiss Reed, Jr., executive director for Vermont Partnership.
The executive director of one of the underwriters, the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation (BDCC), Adam Grinold, relates that, “The BDCC believes an economy and community is only as strong as its workforce, and a welcoming, diverse economy and workforce is just as important as a welcoming and diverse community. We’re happy to know both employers and job-seekers will have I Am A Vermonter as a tool to recruit, retain, and attract talent to and within our community.”
Vermont Partnership hopes to bring the Southwest, Central, and Northeast Kingdom regions online within the next 18 months. Visitors to the site can link directly to employment and career opportunities offered by the corporate and institutional underwriters.
Michael Schirling, Secretary of the Agency for Commerce and Community Development, notes, “Mindful growth is essential as we work to make Vermont affordable and economically vibrant. Attracting and retaining a diverse workforce, entrepreneurs and families are essential to building and growing thriving communities and businesses throughout our state. The IAmAVermonter.org portal is a wonderful asset to help achieve those goals.”
For more information on corporate or institutional underwriting call (802) 254-2972 or contact info@vermontpartnership.org.
–30–
Curtiss Reed, Jr., L.H.D.
Executive Director
Vermont Partnership for Fairness & Diversity
18 Town Crier Drive
Brattleboro, Vermont 05301-8669
(802) 254-2972 office
(802) 254-0075 fax
(802) 380-1795 mobile
the phrase "people of color" should be changed to "people"
One of my nieces, a totally white caucasian, sent out her wedding invitations, with a photo of her holding out her tiny engagement ring, with great pride and love on her face, standing with her fiance, a totally black man. Apparently, he has extensive higher university degrees and a position waiting for him.
I did a research on “mixed marriages” and found one flaw: “Black” women resent a white woman snatching up one of their most educated “Black” men.
Oh, well, should be a fascinating wedding!
I can guarantee you I won’t be calling my future
great-nieces and great-nephews “people of color”.
In a perfect world where
In a perfect world where everyone was color blind to race then maybe we could call everyone “people”. But, in the world we live in when people of races other than white are treated unequally and discriminated against in one way or another then we need to differentiate that people of color are, in fact, treated differently and, often live very different lives than their white neighbors because of the widespread racism in this country. I’m not sure what kind of research you did on mixed marriages or even why you would need to do that but a blanket statement like ” “Black” women resent a white woman snatching up one of their most educated men” is just one example of the blatant racism that people of color have to endure. And, a disservice to black women.
The fact that you put black in italics is also telling. Not sure why a marriage between a caucasion woman and a black man would be any more or less interesting than a wedding of two people of the same race or a wedding of a Native American man and an Asian woman. And,FYI, there is no such thing as a “totally white caucasion”
First of all caucasion means someone who is white and secondly DNA will show you that white people in America almost always have a variety of ethnic bloodlines.
And, regardless of what you may or may not call any children born from this marriage the fact is that they will be biracial and genetically people of color.
How they choose to identify is up to them. Racism is alive and well in Vermont.
Reply to KAlden
(1) in my research on the subject of mixed marriages, I found the word “Black” was used in the statistics.
(2) in my research on the subject of mixed marriages, I found Black
women not happy with Black men marrying White women.
(3) in my DNA research on myself and family members who took an ancestral
DNA test of their own choosing, I found that “ethnic” does not mean “color”.
adjective: ethnic 1. relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition.
(4) in my research on the subject of mixed marriages, I found when the marriage is a Black woman and a White man, the marriage lasts longer
than a marriage between a White woman and a Black man.
(5) None of these statistical findings proves any prejudice on my part,
it just shows I enjoy doing research. Try it yourself, KAlden,
try doing a research on mixed marriages, and you will probably find
the same or similar statistics.
(6) I was in the mood to do research on this subject because we all have
two biological grandfathers, and four biological great grandfathers and
eight biological great-great grandfathers, of which one or more of mine
was a Slave owner.
I asked my niece if she wanted the family Slave documents for a wedding
gift and she said, “yes”.
google search: black white marriages
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States
A term has arisen to describe the social phenomenon of the so-called
“marriage squeeze” for African American females.
The “marriage squeeze” refers to the perception that the most
“eligible” and “desirable” African American men
are marrying non-African American women at a higher rate,
leaving African American women who wish to marry African American men
with fewer partnering options.
According to Newsweek, 43% of African American women between the ages
of 30 and 34 have never been married.
This figure is similar to the percentage of unmarried women
of other races
except white females.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States
The role of gender in interracial divorce dynamics, found in social studies
by Jenifer L. Bratter and Rosalind B. King,
was highlighted when examining
marital instability among Black/White unions.
White wife/Black husband marriages show twice the divorce rate
of White wife/White husband couples by the 10th year of marriage,
whereas Black wife/White husband marriages are 44% less likely to end
in divorce than White wife/White husband couples over the same period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States
White Americans were statistically the least likely to wed interracially,
though in absolute terms they were involved in interracial marriages more
than any other racial group due to their demographic majority.
2.1% of married White women and 2.3% of married White men
had a non-White spouse.
1.0% of all married White men were married to
an Asian American woman, and
1.0% of married White women were
married to a man classified as “other”.
Interracial marriage: Who is ‘marrying out’? | Pew Research Center
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/…/interracial-marriage-who-is-marrying-out/
Jun 12, 2015 – Some racial groups are more likely to intermarry than others.
…. the percentage of black American women in interracial marriage has increased …
Interracial marriage in the United States – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage_in_the_United_States
Jump to Census Bureau statistics – The number of interracial marriages has steadily
… in interracial marriages more than any other racial group due to …
Cultural background · Socio-economic background · Marital instability among …
Marriage in Black America – BlackDemographics.com
blackdemographics.com/households/marriage-in-black-america/
It is also believed that a large percentage of Black men marry White women.
This is often cited as one of the causes of lower marriage rates among Black women …
Interracial Marriages on the Rise in the US – Breitbart
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/…/interracial-marriages-on-the-rise-in-the-us/
Jan 4, 2015 – The study found some quirks in the statistics. For instance,
Asian women were far more apt to marry white or black men than Asian men were to …
Why Is Interracial Marriage on the Rise? – Priceonomics
https://priceonomics.com/why-is-interracial-marriage-on-the-rise/
Sep 1, 2016 – In 2010, 1.8% of all new marriages were between Blacks and Whites .
.. Yet the rates of intermarriage among different racial/ethnic groups show …
The Growing Racial and Ethnic Divide in U.S. Marriage Patterns – NCBI
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › NCBI › Literature › PubMed Central (PMC)
by RK Raley – 2015 – Cited by 12 – Related articles
Apr 29, 2016 – Compared to both white and Hispanic women, black women
marry later in life, are less likely to marry at all, and have higher rates of marital …
Multiracial Marriage on the Rise | Brookings Institution
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2014/…/multiracial-marriage-on-the-rise/
Dec 18, 2014 – multiracial marriages as percent of all marriages_16x9 … Diversity
Explosion: How Racial Demographics Are Remaking America by William H.
The Stats on Interracial Marriage | Relationships – FYI
http://www.fyi.tv/shows/bride-and-prejudice/blog/…/the-stats-on-interracial-marriage
Mar 8, 2016 – In 2010, 15 percent of all newlywed couples included spouses of
… Virginia), marriages between black and white Americans were illegal in 16 …
Statistics on Interracial Relationships – Dating & Relationships
dating.lovetoknow.com/Statistics_on_Interracial_Relationships
When African-Americans and Whites marry, there is 2.65 times more likely
to be an African-American husband and a white wife. In fact, 73 percent of all …
The Changing Face of American Marriages | TIME Labs
labs.time.com/story/see-the-changing-face-of-american-marriages/
Oct 22, 2015 – The number of straight White men who married Non-White women
rose 36.1 percent from 2000 to 2013 … white men and non-white women–either
Hispanic, Black, Asian, American Indian, or Multiracial–is up 36 percent.
Wikipedia and Breitbart?? Really? Great sources.
The fact that your statistic about the alleged resentment of black women towards white women who “snatch up” the educated black men comes from wikipedia is all I need to see. I also noticed that you have breitbart – an alt white, facist incredibly racist and homophobic site as another source. I stand by my statement that stereotyping black women the way that original statement does is the basis of racism. You post these long winded, ineffectual, and ridiculously slanted “facts” to make a point. All it does is reinforce your many prejudices. I’m guessing that if you actually have slave owners as ancestors your heritage is not nearly as “totally white caucasion” as you think. I’m sure your family member will be delighted that you have all the current divorce statistics on interracial marriages at your fingertips. Most people would just wish the newly weds to be a happy marriage. And your well researched stats about the percentage of black women who are unmarried – that proves what, exactly? Is it because all the white women are grabbing up all the smart black men? So ridiculous.
Vermont -as the whitest state in the country-already has an uphill battle to attract people of color to come to live, work and raise their families here.
Posts like your with your stereotypical accusations of women of color and your racism poorly disguised as ‘research’ do nothing to help the alleviate the diversity problem this state has.
I am politically opposed to increasing the population of Vermont
KAlden, I am, and have always been, politically opposed to increasing the
population of Vermont and attracting people to come live, work and raise their families here.
In 1960 the population of Vermont was about 389,000 and there were around 25,000 farms.
When I went to Goddard College when I was from ages 18 to 20 in the early 1970’s, Walter Smith’s Farm across the road from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont had prison laborers to help work the farm, with no handcuffs and no chains.
The state prisons were not overcrowded.
The state did not send people to out of state private for profit prisons.
There was no interstate highway 89.
When it arrived it really upset cows who couldn’t cross it.
Was interstate highway 89 an improvement?
Count how many traffic deaths have occurred since it was built.
My political position is that Vermont should not attract anyone
to come here, because people attracted to Vermont will find there way here on their own, by trial and error, trying out different places, and then discovering Vermont.
I am deeply politically opposed to increasing the population of Vermont.
The right way to increase the general fund state budget is to find ways for each person to earn more money, not to bring more people to the state.
I am in favor of low environmental impact lifestyles and communes.
I am in favor of encouraging young Vermonters to stay in this state by starting state sponsored farm communes.
I want to see the landscape tapestry quilt of small farms again, rather than the blanket forest of mostly just trees.
I especially want to see Lake Champlain as clear and clean and beautiful as it was in 1960, and you can’t get that by increasing the population.
I do not see a lack of racial diversity as a “problem”.
Well, then, there is
Well, then, there is something very wrong with your thinking. Diversity of all kinds, race, religion, genders, sexual orientation, work skills, interests- all of those help to make the world -whether it is the world at large or our own little piece of the world here in Vermont a much better, more compassionate and more interesting place to be. Every time we have an opportunity to meet and engage with someone that is different from us we learn more about being a complete human being. How can we expect to go out into the world and do anything good if we confine ourselves to our own tiny little worlds. Anyone with a healthy sense of curiosity is eager to welcome new experiences and to meet new people. A lack of that curiosity, of that desire to experience new things means that we never grow, we never get well educated in the ways of the world – whether it’s individually or as a community. There is no better example of what happens to a person who refuses to learn, to experience new things and to take the lessons that life offers than that idiot in the White House. He lives in an extremely small, white, wealthy, immoral world and has no curiosity about any other world beyond that. I raised my children in one of the most diverse neighborhoods in New England and they are all better human beings for it – as am I. Being surrounded on a daily basis with people from different parts of the world, who speak different languages, have different customs, eat different food is one of the most wonderful gifts a parent can give to their children. I wish that my grandson had as much diversity in his life here in Vermont.
Wanting to keep Vermont the same as it is right now is short sighted and not seeing a lack of racial diversity as a problem is racist in my opinion.
More diversity please
I’m with KAlden on this.
I strongly doubt any real research was done – this all sounds like stuff picked up in passing and personal opinion. Searching around on the internet and talking to people is not research.
One of Vermont’s problems is that while the population has diversified a bit, representation has not kept pace. We might have 10% people of color in a town, but the Town staff, boards, and committees are not showing the same. There is work to do to increase both.
I find Brattleboro to be very white and somewhat racist, after coming from Boston. Boston felt white and quite racist, and this was after living in DC.
In DC, I had the experience of being a minority. Even then, I was granted favors and given preference for things. It was absurd. I owe a lot to my time there. I was able to get over a great deal of my own bias and racist tendencies of childhood and was given a real gift by being able to live in and explore another side of America that I had no idea existed. I was able to have friends of all backgrounds and colors in DC, we discussed race and culture often, and we all learned. I’m better for it.
So when I see things now asserting things about “black people” – it gets filtered in a different way. Which specific black person are you talking about? Light skin or dark skin? Wealthy or poor? Family from north or south? Carolina heritage? Which Carolina? Where was your family reunion? How many people showed up? Everyone get a T-shirt? And so on. (These questions make little sense, I know, unless you know people in DC).
Cris made a point up at the top about wishing everyone was just a person, without labels. Not a bad sentiment, but diversity isn’t about dropping labels, it’s about celebrating differences. And that leads to finding common ground.
Just as I would find Vermont to be un-liveable without women, I look forward to more diversity and continuing to make Vermont a more interesting and vibrant state. We’ve been taking little steps for a while, and Reed has done a great job of slowly and steadily helping us in this direction.
I grew up in Brockton,MA- a
I grew up in Brockton,MA- a blue collar, racially diverse. “shoe capital of the world” ( or so they claimed!) I was 3 years old when we moved there from a small farming town and at that time – 1950- the neighborhood was about 60% working class white. Interestingly all of the local businesses were owned by Asians, Italians, Jews and Portuguese families. Gradually a large number of Southern black families began to move into Brockton because there were lots of jobs there- a dozen shoe factories plus 2 foundries and Quincy Shipyard was a short drive or bus ride away. The white families didn’t move away – we just made room for the new families who often came with 7 or 8 kids. My best friend from the age of 6 until we moved again when I was 12 was a wonderful black girl from South Carolina- Jonnie Mae. We were inseparable and were in and out of each others houses and at each others dinner tables constantly. My first love of trying new foods came from her mother’s stove which always had a huge pot of greens and ham hocks and a gigantic pot of rice simmering on it. My mother was a decent but ordinary cook – meatloaf, spaghetti, hot dogs and beans- typical Americana 1950s food. My little culinary mind was blown by the tastes available at Jonnie’s house. I raised my kids in the Roxbury section of Boston where white families were definitely in the minority. My kid’s classrooms had students from as many as 20 different countries, we had neighborhood stores that sold food from Haiti, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, China, India, Ethiopia. On a summer night you could hear music from all over the world coming from apartment windows and cars. It was an incredible place and way to live – not without it’s problems but a wonderfully integrated and diverse way to raise a family. We will not flourish as a town, a state or a world without seeking out diversity and I have little patience for those who think we will.
This copy and paste job
This copy and paste job doesn’t show your love for research, it shows an absolute inability to make a coherent statement. Also, as KAlden pointed out, your sources are rubbish.
If your niece chooses to have biological children with her husband, they will be “people of color” whether you choose to call them that or not. The reality in our society is that non-white humans are treated differently. Is that how it should be? No. But turning a blind eye to it is ignorant. Racism is a fact of society and if we want to work toward a society that is less racist, we first have to acknowledge the systemic and historical prejudices that are at play rather than burying our heads in the sand.
And if you politically don’t believe in attracting people to our state, then you are for Vermont’s demise and I will oppose you (as should every other Vermonter who wishes to see the state prosper).
Speed up the melting pot
I think there should be a race polarized offspring law that prohibits any race from having offspring within its own race. That way we can speed up the melting pot and put this perennial race war behind us.
I think anyone who wants to
I think anyone who wants to have children should be able to have children without having to worry about race, religion, skin color or any of the other variables that make the bigots of this world feel a need to spew their racist vomit. Everyone should just mind their own f**&##g business and leave other people alone to love, live and procreate should they choose to.
**&##^
Damn, I forgot to put the smiley in!
:~)
Of course, I didn’t think anyone would take me seriously.
The biology of racial differences is here to stay. Naturally, it would be nice if everyone did mind their f**&##g business.
Vidda, I didn't take your
Vidda, I didn’t take your comment seriously – I was just emphasizing my frustration at those among us who think we should all stick to “our own kind’.
I have so little patience for bigotry and ignorance. We would all be better to pay attention to our own lives and do the best we can with that.