Wendy Harrison and Nader Hashim are my choices to be Windham County's new state senators. Here's why:
Wendy is a good listener and a creative problem solver. A lifelong public servant, she has achieved success as a municipal staffer, town manager, appointed board member, and elected policy maker. She has the most government experience of anyone in the race and will bring to the Senate her life experiences as a woman and a mother.
Nader is a former state trooper and state representative who is preparing to be a lawyer. He is smart, experienced, and compassionate. He is the youngest person in the race and will bring to the Senate his life experiences as a first-generation American and a person of color.
Wendy and Nader have earned my vote because they are the two best qualified candidates in their six-person race. Moreover, they have the temperament and demonstrated skills to meet the challenges Vermont faces.
I encourage local residents to vote for Deborah Stanford and Lana Dever for seats on the WSESD school board. Stanford, a seasoned educator of 35 years, will advance innovative policies and practices and rally support to see to their implementation. Dever, an advocate for our most marginalized and vulnerable...
Let's be crystal clear: Those who promote banning the teaching of the inconvenient truths of American history are existential threats to Vermont's economic prosperity. They would have you believe that we are in the midst of a culture war. Not true - we are in a fight for the...
The residual thoughts from my year-end trip to Tanzania and Zanzibar focused on being Black and inconspicuous in Africa in contrast to being Black and highly visible in Vermont. Some of you may know that I spent 18 years as an expatriate - all of which, except for a year in France, was spent all over Africa. This was my first trip back since I left Mali in 2001. Not much has changed in nearly two decades except the proliferation...
Our communities are at risk - now! In the aftermath of yet another mass shooting - this one at the Chabad synagogue in Poway, Calif. on April 26 during Passover - we are reminded of the need to quell the fear experienced by our Jewish neighbors, our neighbors of color, our LGBTQ neighbors, and immigrants. That fear is domestic terrorism committed by young white men. The burden falls most heavily on white Vermonters to identify disaffected white male, lone wolves...
When controversy surfaced within our family or in the neighborhood, Mama Bea, my great aunt, was fond of saying, “It is what it is, but it ain't what it seems!” When I first saw the “Everyone Loves a Parade!” mural on Burlington's Church Street, my first response as a black man was, “Where are my people?” However, as I examined the mural in greater detail and saw the logos of area businesses, my thoughts shifted to “Oh, this is a...
Dear concerned, well-intentioned neighbors, Could it happen here in Vermont? You bet it could! So stop wringing your hands over the death and injuries inflicted by white supremacists in far, faraway Charlottesville, Va. Stop jockeying amongst yourselves for those coveted civil rights merit badges (placard painting, silent vigil attendance, protest slogan chanting, street marching, published letter to the editor, etc.). And stop trying to convince the few people of color you know that you are one of the “good” white...
Fellow Vermonters: Donald Trump won the election. It's time to act; the time is now; and the place is the Green Mountains! We have redispatched to our nation's capital Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch, a formidable trio to battle whatever Trump proposes to do against our collective best interests. Our most pressing work, however, resides here in Vermont in our 14 counties and 251 towns. We ask that you move beyond the national anger, hurt,