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DAY 1: NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY

February 1st is National Freedom Day in the U.S.

This observance commemorates the signing of a resolution that proposed the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution on February 1, 1865.

The day was marked by Proclamation 2824 in the year 1949 by then-President Truman—you can read the Proclamation here.

On freedom, in the words of Toni Morrison…

This week’s visit to the NMAAHC

This week, staff from the Office of Racial Equity and from the Governor’s Workforce Development Board jointly participated in a national gathering of state-level Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officers from around the country. Afterward, we visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Here are some of the photos we took:

In honor of the wonderful Harriet Tubman-centered exhibits we saw at the museum this week, today’s pop quiz question asks about the human and civil rights heroine’s work on the Underground Railroad.

2/2 – “Global Blackness: Together We Stand” at UVM

What: The African Student Association at the University of Vermont is hosting a panel for students to share their experiences within the many cultures of the African continent and the diaspora, with the goal of creating “greater understanding and appreciation of the many spectrums and intersectionality of blackness globally.”

Logistics: This free event is being held on Thursday Feb 2nd at 6:00 p.m. at the Mosaic Center for Students of Color, located at 633 Main St. in Burlington.

This Week’s Raffle

This week’s drawing: Tuesday 2/7

Each week, we will draw 3 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 3 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.