UVM athletes, Black community leaders: Time to stand up against racism in Vermont

SOUTH BURLINGTON - Black community leaders and members of the University of Vermont's Student-Athletes of Color affinity group delivered a strong message Saturday: It's time to eradicate racism in this state.

In front of a crowd of 150 at South Burlington High School, Black voices, young and old, gave a window into their life experiences and shined a light on their perspectives as people of color in predominantly white Vermont.

"Vermont is not the model state that a lot of people assume and think that it is," said Henri Sparks, director of equality in the Burlington School District. "Racism, hatred, bigotry is alive, well and kicking every day."

"We do have a reputation of being a progressive place. I think it makes us smug," said Kyle Dodson, Burlington's director of police transformation and CEO of the Greater Burlington YMCA. "I think it makes us believe that the issues that plague America don’t plague us here in Vermont. And that’s a problem."

Said UVM basketball senior Ben Shungu: "We all have to realize that this feeling of being uncomfortable is what people of color go through on a daily basis. It happens in Vermont."

One by one, speakers — a dozen in all — stood on the platform of Munson Field's bleachers and spoke from the heart. They spoke with conviction. They spoke truth. And most importantly, they demanded action and change.

"We are currently in the midst of two pandemics. One being the public health crisis stemming from COVID-19 and the other that we too often forget is systemic racism, which has continued to withstand the test of time," said Burlington athletic director Quaron Pinckney, co-host of the event with South Burlington AD Mike Jabour and UVM's SAOC group.

"For the first time in my life, I feel like the world is ready to listen and empathize with the many stories we have to share as members of the BIPOC community. I believe the time is now to seize the moment — we may never get an opportunity like this again."

More:UVM athletes to hold public event on fighting racism at South Burlington H.S.

Those stories include being victims of racism, subtle and not so subtle, here in Vermont. Todd Shepardson, the former CVU boys soccer star from the early 2000s, told the crowd how he endured derogatory name-calling from opponents.

"I’m sure you dealt with people who would do anything to throw you off your game. What do you do when their tactics turn to racial slurs? To monkey chants?" Shepardson said.

While he was able to heal from those acts of racism later in life, Shepardson dealt with another racial incident just last week outside his apartment building. A woman thought he was up to no good as he was trying to walk to the dumpster to throw out a bag of garbage.

"Racism can’t be combatted individually, it can only be combatted collectively," Shepardson said.

Mert Sells, the Burlington girls basketball coach, said his daughter’s teacher said the n-word once but remained employed after an apology.

"I believe that all of us together can make a difference if we just fight and do what’s right for our kids, for ourselves and for this state," Sells said.

Sam Jackson, the Winooski boys basketball coach, was pulled over in his new car, guns drawn, for a broken taillight.

"We know that racism is real. It’s right here in our own backyard. It’s in every community, from our schools to our police stations to our courthouses to our streets, it’s real. So what are we going to do?" Jackson said.

During his freshman year, Stef Smith, a senior on the UVM basketball team, was followed all the way back to his dorm room by a police officer after a late-night workout session at Patrick Gym.

"Something as simple as that, I don’t feel safe," Smith said. "It starts with everyone here today and with the youth and how we educate them and let them know these problems aren’t acceptable anymore."

Lashawn Whitmore-Sells, principal at Flynn Elementary School in Burlington, called for more diverse hires in schools. Whitmore-Sells said her daughter, then in preschool, told her she wanted a teacher that looked like her.

"The goal is to not to admire the problem, it’s to do something about the problem," Whitmore-Sells said. "That means we need everybody’s help to make this happen."

Sparks said it's nice to see Black Lives Matter signs around town, but it must go beyond just affirmation of support. 

"We do have an opportunity to change Vermont, to move Vermont forward, if that’s what we really desire to do," Sparks said. "The only question to ask ourselves: What role as an individual are you willing to take?

"Nothing changes for BIPOC people until white people change, until white people pick up the torch and say enough is enough."

Skyler Nash, a member of the Catamount hoops program, said his Vermont "bubble of inclusivity and diversity and acceptance" burst when a portion of the home crowd gave a negative reaction to St. Michael's players and coaches kneeling for the national anthem at a 2017 exhibition contest.

"We are too attached to this idea of who we could be, who we ought to be around race, racism, social injustice. It stands in our way," said Nash, founder of UVM's SAOC group. "But until we are able to do the really hard work of acknowledging that inconvenient truth about who we’ve been since the beginning and who we continue to be now, we are never going to be able to fulfill that exceptional potential that I believe that we have here."

Nash said it's going to take courage to initiate movement, and not from people of color or marginalized groups. Shungu sees a path forward — if it's taken together.

"I’m not going to lie to you say I know all the answers to how we can create change and how we can end racism," Shungu said. "But I do know that it’s not going to take me, it’s not going to take one group, it’s going to take all of us."

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.