View this email in your browser

DAY 12: THE SOUND OF MUSIC, PT. 1

Vermont is home to a wonderful array of performers and creatives, many of whom are people of color. Today we will highlight three acts from the Black community who are deeply rooted in their native cultures as they bring us music and dance that inspires and uplifts.

Data portrait showing household expenses. Courtesy of Library of Congress.

To understand the experiences of our communities, we must seek out qualitative and quantitative data. This means telling our stories in our own words as well as telling our stories through the numbers. One well-known historical figure who knew the power of data was W.E.B. DuBois. As told by WABE, '“In 1900, DuBois led a team of students and alumni from Atlanta University in designing a set of data portraits for the Exposition Universelle, a world’s fair in Paris.” View the data portraits and learn how he used them to represent the lives of Black people in the American South in the early 20th century here: Du Bois’ Data Portraits Tell A Story About Black Life In Georgia And Beyond

The people have spoken, and they spoke with a voiced velar plosive. Let’s break that down: In the English language, the G is most commonly pronounced in two ways. First is the voiced velar plosive (/ɡ/ or "hard" ⟨g⟩), as in “gift” or “gold.” Second is the voiced palato-alveolar affricate (/d͡ʒ/ or "soft" ⟨g⟩), which usually comes before an E or an I and sounds like “ginger” or “gel.” But here’s the interesting part: despite the fact that most of us pronounce “.gif” with a hard G, the person who invented them actually pronounced it with a soft G! Rebels, all of you.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s Pop Quiz question about how the Black community revolutionized music (again!) in the 1980s…

2/15 – LitClub History Present & Future Feature

What: A space to share poetry and build community, featuring Black creatives.

Logistics: This event is being held on Wednesday Feb 15th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Radio Bean, located at 8 North Winooski Ave. in Burlington.

2/16 – “Soul Food: Honoring Black Voices in Music”

What: A late-night musical experience that “honors Black music of yesterday and today.”

Logistics: This free event is being held on Feb 16th from 9:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. at Club Metronome, located at 188 Main St. in Burlington. Learn more here: Soul Food

2/17 – Black Artist Showcase

What: A space to share poetry and build community, featuring Black creatives.

Logistics: This event is being held twice: [1] On Friday Feb 10th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Venetian Soda Lounge, located at 266 Pine St. Suite #122 in Burlington. [2] On Friday Feb 17th from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Kru Coffee, located at 2 Church Street in Burlington.

2/18 – Black History Month event at Rabble Rouser

What: A celebration of local Black performers and artists during an all-day function. The event will include a photo-story project titled ‘I Am Vermont Too;” performances from artists including Khalilah Rose, Freedom seeds, and Rajnii Eddins; a jewelry showcase by SoulSimone; Colombian food; and live music.

Logistics: This event is being held on Saturday Feb 18th from 2:00-10:00 p.m. at Rabble Rouser, located at 64 Main St. in Montpelier. Free to people of color; everyone else is encouraged to donate.

2/25 – The Black Experience

What: This free event will feature discussions and panels with local artists and speakers, and a keynote presentation by iconic activist and scholar Dr. Angela Davis. There will also be a performance by the Philadanco dance company.

Logistics: This free event is being held on Saturday Feb 25th at 5:00 p.m. at The Flynn, located at 153 Main Street in Burlington. Learn more here: The Black Experience 2023

2/26 – “BIPOC Soul Food Sunday” in the NEK

What: An affinity space open only to people of color to experience entertainment from Toussaint St. Negritude and a photo booth by I Am Vermont Too. Attendees are encouraged to bring any kind of dish to share.

Logistics: This event is being held on Sunday Feb 26th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at The Whirligig Brewing, located at 397 Railroad St. in St. Johnsbury.

This Week’s Raffle

Each week, we will draw 5 names from the list of those who signed up for this e-mail series. We hope you win (yes, you!). The drawings are random; we use the True Random Number Service, which will pick 5 numbers each week from the sign-up list. You don’t need to do anything from here—we’ll e-mail you if you’re a lucky winner.

This is an installment in the State of Vermont’s 28-day Black History Month e-mail series, offered by the Vermont Human Rights Commission and the Vermont Office of Racial Equity. The Human Rights Commission protects people from unlawful discrimination in housing, state government employment, and public accommodations. Learn more about the HRC here. The Office of Racial Equity provides guidance and oversight to identify and mitigate systemic racism in state government. Learn more about the ORE here. Did you receive this e-mail from a friend? Want to sign yourself up for the remainder of the month? Subscribe to this list here.