Sarah Cooper-Ellis

Now is not the time for heel-dragging on matters of race and equity

I write to address the proposal for a Black Lives Matter mural in Putney, on the roadway in front of the school.

We are in the midst of a time of trials in our world, and our lovely small Vermont villages are not immune. How will we respond? Who do we want to be?

In particular, we white people who have long felt entitled to be comfortable and to enjoy all the rights and privileges that our area has to offer are now being pressed to make good on our claims of color-blindness and equal rights for all. It is our turn to bear some discomfort, to take up the burden of working for a community where all feel equally welcomed and for whom our government protections are secure.

I've been struggling through the double whammy of pandemic and the recent loss of my husband, and I have not been at the height of strength and clarity. I decided to bring this Black Lives Matter mural matter to my lifelong Black friend for consultation. She and her family have fought for civil rights from slavery times through many generations.

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Now? I am watching a spectacle

What will the new weather patterns be? Will there be patterns, or chaos? How long does chaos take to resolve into something new? Or to blow up?

We wait for the next hurricane to hit. Not hit us - we are inland, and north. But what, really, is our separation, our safety? Now we have drones and satellites that take photographs of the Earth from above. They capture hurricanes; they watch the ice melt. Now we...

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Local schools strengthen their communities

Now more than ever, it is crucial for us to strengthen our local communities. Our local school - and our local involvement with and control over our school - forms the architecture that makes our town resilient and responsive in so many ways. Please join me in voting no...

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