Peace and Justice Center March 2014 Newsletter
White Privilege in Vermont
White Privilege in Vermont: The Beginning of a Conversation
By Amanda Sanderson, PJC Intern
I was not introduced to an open and honest conversation about race and racial relations until my senior year of college. I enrolled in the class specifically because “Race and Ethnic Relations” was the only class offered at my school that explicitly emphasized race. The first day, my professor told us to outline different stereotypes of people based on their race. She then asked us to consider the stereotypes of white people, which evoked a squirming in chairs and the shuffling of papers by my majority white classmates. We were not used to considering ourselves as people who fit into stereotypes. She then had us read Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. That was the first time I was asked to discuss and explore white privilege.
The professor taught us to converse about some of the most taboo subjects in our society; subjects that had gone untouched my entire life. After a semester, many of us in the class felt like the earth had been moved off its axis, as though we had this information that everyone should know. Yet, outside of the classroom remained a pervasive and oppressive silence about skin privilege. What does this silence mean then for not only a small private liberal arts college (with only 11% of its students identifying as non-white), but for the wider society?
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CCTA Bus Drivers Go On Strike
CCTA Bus Drivers to Strike for Safe & Livable Jobs on Monday, March 10,
We at the Peace & Justice Center stand in solidarity with the CCTA drivers. Contract negotiations between bus drivers and management began in April of 2013. These negotiations have been unsuccessful to date. A transit strike would send shock waves through our community but would demonstrate the integral role bus drivers play in the daily lives of community members.
Here is what you can do:
Contact CCTA Commissioners Tom Buckley and Chapin Spencer. Let them know you are counting on them to make sure CCTA does right by the drivers and the public.
Kick Off Rally and Informational Picket
Wednesday, March 5th, 6:45 – 8:00am
Church and Cherry Streets
Start your morning with a big show of solidarity for the CCTA drivers!
We’re on This Bus Together
Bus Drivers Speak Out!
Rally and Panel to Support CCTA Workers
Thursday, March 6th, 7:30pm
Contois Auditorium, Burlington City Hall
Learn why drivers are taking a stand for livable jobs and public safety. Find out what you can do to support a humane and respectful contract for our bus drivers.
Organized by the Committee to Support CCTA Drivers.
Working with Vermont unions, social justice organizations, bus riders, and other supporters of public transportation.
Drivers are asking for:
1. SAFE & REASONABLE WORKING CONDITIONS:
Management wants to extend the length of split-shifts to 13 ½ hours which means having fatigued and overworked drivers on the road. This extension of already long work hours raises serious safety issues for everyone on the road.
2. FULL-TIME EMPLOYMENT: Management wants to bring in more part-time workers that don’t come with health coverage. CCTA drivers do not want to see full-time jobs being turned into part-time work. We want our drivers to have livable jobs.
3. NON-PREDATORY MANAGEMENT: CCTA drivers are constantly spied on, followed, pulled in for small issues, threatened with suspension. This is predatory management. They want a contract that will protect them from disciplinary abuse.
We depend on CCTA drivers for safe transport-for ourselves, for our loved ones-to school and to work. We depend on CCTA drivers to keep the road safe for everyone on it. Now the CCTA drivers are depending on us to send a message: WE SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR SAFE AND LIVABLE JOBS!
https://support-ccta-drivers.weebly.com/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cctasolidarity/standwithcctadrivers@gmail.com
Spanish for Activists
The Spanish for Activists taller is an interactive workshop that invites local activists, community members, volunteers and students to learn and increase their Spanish communication skills. Our workshops are designed to support ongoing work in the community, help advance academic studies, and/or prepare you for international travel.
We will convene for our second introductory session on Wednesday March 5th at 6:30pm at Muddy Waters, 184 Main St, Burlington, VT. This initial session is free and open to all who are interested in learning more about our methods, content, and curriculum.
Whether working within a grassroots, non-profit, or academic environment the Spanish for Activists taller can be a useful space to learn with native speakers through a focused and personalized curriculum. Each taller or workshop explores themes and topics of events and social movements currently underway throughout Latin America and the U.S. Through a collaborative pedagogy we will also review grammar and vocabulary to improve on our Spanish communication skills.
Let us know if you have any questions, and please forward to anyone you know who may be interested.
Marita Canedo and Armando Carmona
Upcoming Events
March 6, 13, 20, 27, Thursdays
• 6-7:30 White Privilege Discussion Group: Candid weekly discussion open to all, focusing on white privilege, with the goals of: examining privilege in our own lives, learning to identify the effects of systemic racism, and developing appropriate response to these realities. Readings and sometimes a video are emailed out weekly, then discussed the following week. Contact Corey Mallon for more information, to be added to the email list and/or get directions.VT Workers Center, 294 N. Winooski Ave., Burlington, VT.
March 8, Saturday
• 12 noon in Montpelier.
Women’s March for Dignity: Paid Sick Days for All!
• 1 pm Burlington International Women’s Day Celebration. See above.
• 7 pm Two Sided Story: a documentary featuring Palestinians and Israelis in dialogue about their experiences losing loved ones in the Middle East conflict. The film is directed by Emmy Award Winner Tor Ben Mayor. Discussion led by Crow Cohen, founding member of “Small Steps” a group that promotes peace in the Middle East by encouraging non-violent communication among those who hold “opposite” points of view. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, 188 N. Prospect St, Burlington.
• 7pm International Women’s Day Panel & Hunger Banquet: a panel of invested Vermonters who are leaders in their fields to discuss the role of women in agriculture and agricultural entrepreneurship, at home and abroad. The panel will be followed by a Hunger Banquet. First Congregational Church, South Winooski Ave, Burlington VT.
March 26, Wednesday
• 4:30 Rashied Omar, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, will speak on Islam Between Violence and Peace at St. Michael’s College, Cheray 101.
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Courtesy of the Peace and Justice Center