Shanta L. Evans-Crowley

A place to engage one’s creative self

‘The more I visited, the more my inspiration and appetite for producing and consuming creativity blossomed’

My very first encounter with Brattleboro was not necessarily love at first sight. In fact, I was not sure how to react to several aspects of the town, especially the many characters who seemed to all dwell here. It definitely seemed more “city” than my first introduction to Vermont several years prior.

But in the fall of 2008, after a few months of visiting back and forth, my defenses started to come down and I can tell you the exact moment I started to develop a love for the quirked-out town.

It was early December of that year, and I was standing on the street corner waiting to cross. Then, instead of buzzing, I heard the sound of something akin to a bird chirp.

Prior to the walk signal, I took a moment to observe the scene. Someone was just playing music on one of the street corners, people seemed to just wear anything they wanted to, and and individuals just seemed to enjoy the leisurely interruptions to their day.

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Cherry-picking the Black experience

For those with the privilege of passing, the unpleasantries can be avoided

I am not a stranger to Rachel Dolezal. In fact, I've met many like her in my own life. “I never liked the white man's music,” one of my boyfriends once said to me. “For years, I kept convincing my ex-girlfriend that the both of us would be able...

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Hair trigger

On the complications and layers of Black hair, race, and identity

A few weeks ago, I went with my friend Stacey to pick up her daughter from school. As my friend's daughter, Elizabeth, and two of her friends, Sarah and Lydia, piled into the back seat, Stacey told her daughter that the stuff they'd ordered for her hair had come...

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