On June 10, 2020

What kind of a nation, state do we want to be?

By Sen. Alison Clarkson

This week’s New Yorker magazine cover ,“This Side Up,” illustrates an upside down world, capturing an aspect of how many are feeling right now. Our U.S. government has failed to adequately prepare and protect its citizens from a global pandemic — and our public safety officers, whose job is to protect and serve the people who pay their salaries, are, in far too many instances, traumatizing them — and even killing them. This is not the way it is supposed to be. This is indeed an upside down world.

The Legislature has been consumed for the past three months in our response to the challenges the Covid-19 crisis has wrought upon our state. Every one of us who serves our state in this capacity is clear on the level of stress and anxiety which our constituents are living with. When you add to that the murder by a policeman of yet another innocent black man — you have a tinder box — you have an explosion of all that we feel is unfair, unjust, inhumane and unwarranted. George Floyd’s death reminds us that this pandemic is not the only crisis we face.

The tragedy of George Floyd’s death is a terrible reminder of the embedded racial inequality in our country. It has torn the scab off the great national wound of racial disparity and subjugation. It calls the question on what every state is doing to address systemic racism.

While Vermont has begun the work of righting centuries of wrongs, it still has a long way to go. We have taken some steps to heal wounds many of us didn’t even realize were still open. There are many systemic failures we need to continue to reform: the growing inequality in our economic system, in our criminal justice system and in our educational system. Over the years I have served in the Legislature we’ve enacted many measures from fair and impartial policing policies, to improving inclusive educational policy, to increasing the minimum wage, to continuing our work reforming our criminal justice system, to addressing systemic racism in state government by creating a racial equity advisory panel in 2018, which in 2019, hired a racial equity director.

A stark reminder of our need to continue honing our racial equity policies happened last year when our legislative colleague, Kiah Morris of Bennington, resigned as a result of terrible racial harassment. We would like to think that this kind of ugly, immoral behavior doesn’t happen here in Vermont, but it does. And to that end, I am pleased the governor has appointed Xusana Davis, Vermont’s racial equity director, to lead the Racial Equity Task Force. Many of you have emailed with constructive ideas about how to change and improve Vermont’s laws around racial equity and policing. I have high hopes that this task force will address each and every one of these and come back to the Legislature with recommendations for how Vermont can make significant progress on correcting our course incorporating racial equity in all we do. Our work will, in small part, ensure George Floyd did not die in vain.

The nation is outraged and the nation is listening. Maybe in a way we couldn’t have several months ago. Because we have been in a ‘stay home, stay safe’ mode for three months — we are quieter, less busy. As a result, we are better able to listen to the anger and injustice the death of George Floyd has challenged us to address. So many questions are being asked that we have to answer. And, chief among them: “What kind of a nation do we want to be?”

Alison Clarkson can be reached via email at: [email protected] or by phone at 457-4627.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Vermont’s adult loon population is at an all-time high, but fewer chicks are surviving

July 2, 2025
By Izzy Wagner/VTDigger Vermont’s adult loon population is at an all-time high, but scientists have noticed a recent decrease in the number of chicks surviving. In 2024, Vermont saw a record-breaking 123 nesting pairs, 11 of which landed at first-time nesting sites. Out of the 125 loon chicks that hatched in 2024, 65% survived through the…

Vermont State University graduates 414 nurses, boosting local health care workforce

July 2, 2025
Vermont State University (VTSU) has graduated 414 new nurses this year, marking a significant step forward in addressing the state’s ongoing health care workforce shortage. With approximately 92% of these graduates testing for licensure in Vermont and strong NCLEX pass rates, the university continues to deliver on its promise to educate and prepare nurses who…

VT Agency of Education announces summer food service program

July 2, 2025
The Agency of Education announced the availability of summer meal sites providing meals to all children, 18 and under, through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). This program ensures that children across the state have access to nutritious meals throughout the summer. Families are encouraged to access these meals to help support children’s growth, health,…

Sanders restores $17m for Vt schools canceled by Trump

July 2, 2025
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), ranking member of the Senate health, education, labor, and pensions (HELP) committee, June 27 announced that the U.S. Dept. of Education reversed its decision to cancel nearly $17 million in federal K-12 Covid-19 funding for Vermont school districts and some $2.5 billion for schools across the country. The administration’s announcement follows…