 Raleigh is gonna start in just a minute. People wanna gather around a little bit to be able to watch the performers. So my name is Louisa Braun. I'm a senior at Montpelier High School and I'm one of the organizers of this event. Thank you. The Race Against Racism was founded in 2017 by Hope Petraro, a Montpelier High School sophomore. Hope sought to call attention to racism in our schools and community and to provide an opportunity to come together to listen to the voices of people of color in our state in order to learn, grow and support one another. This year, all profits from the race will be split between two local nonprofit organizations, the Central Vermont Action Network and building the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network, sorry, and Building Fearless Futures. The Central Vermont Refugee Action Network is a Montpelier-based nonprofit that works to provide a supportive and welcoming community for new Vermonters coming from countries around the world. Building Fearless Futures is a local Vermont nonprofit that brings anti-racist programming into schools with the goal of dismantling white supremacy in education and supporting the futures of students of color. Both organizations are here, tabling today, so be sure to stop by and learn more about their work at these tables over here. All right, and first up, we have A2VT, a performance group from Winooski. How we doing? Good money. Jelsie, façois, give it time. Façois, jelsie, façois. I don't really care what you're doing, what you're doing, what you don't really care what I do, what I go, go, give it time. Façois, jelsie, façois, baby. Can you give me dance? Can you give me jillip dance? Can you give me dance? Can you give me jillip dance? She told me, give it to me online. Know what she can do with jillip dance. If she wanna do, we can do it my way. If she wanna go, we can hit the highway. The way she talk, the way she walk. Gotta stand that you rock, the way she move. She crazy. Tell me, tell me, level up, level up. A2VT, we're in the house. You know, tell me I have a little party without the vibe, man, that's not a good party. My next song right here, I think we all always have a good time, every time I come here. Shout out to Montpelio High School. My next song right here, the song right here is for the ladies, now I'm talking about it. Can't end the show without doing a song with the ladies. Level up, level up. The energy, this is the love that I get every time I come over here. You know, power, you know, together, we believe we can make a change in this world. You know what I mean? We have to stand for each other no matter where you from, no matter what color you are. You know, I believe in that, cause that's where we come from. I come from Africa, Somalia. You know, a small village called Jilip. That's where I go by name, AKA Jilip. You know, being here for after 18 years, I learned a lot, we want to make a change, and I believe in you, I stand with you guys. Thank you again, shout out to everybody here. And don't forget, we got CDs for sale, and t-shirts for sale, to support ATVT. Once again, check me out on ATVT.com. You know, we do performance around a lot, and come check us out more, like gloves. Thank you. This is Isaac Duncan, and I'm a Cossack American freshman at MHS. I'm gonna tell you about the everyday struggle for black and brown people in Vermont. First off, yes, racism exists in Vermont. Many have this false assumption that Vermont is a small, close, safe state of people where there's no injustice at all. This is wrong. Though kindness and hate come in many forms, when I see, experience, or think about racism, I think of two main kinds. These are hate and ignorance. Both come from many overlapping thoughts and causes, but eventually you begin to see the difference in them. Hateful racism is blatant. Hateful racism has gone from colonizing, to enslaving, to segregating, racially motivated violence, and yelling slurs. In that sense, you're right, this area does not have a lot of that. But ignorant racism can be hidden. Ignorant racism is not hating another race, but failing to respect them, see them, or look deeper into their history, problems, and culture. Ignorant racism is hard to understand when you're white. It's gone from giving another race less rights to spreading rumors about others, to unknowingly misrepresenting or underrepresenting a race, to telling jokes and making comments and assumptions that aren't always about race, but always trace back to it when you look deeper. And Vermont has loads of this. If you walk down a hallway, you'll hear an Asian joke, you'll see a white student touch a black student's hair, or you'll hear a white teacher say, and excuse this language, orientals, blacks, or Indians. The intent might not be so bad, but that's not what it feels like. I might sound sensitive or uptight, but I can take a joke. It's just that these issues are not jokes. If I tell a joke about Asian people, that's because I've been through a time when it was used as an insult. If a white kid tells an Asian joke, he can never know what it feels like to be the target of it. Most of the time, the stereotypes that we do karate were good at math and that our eyes look weird. How do you think that impacts the many Asian kids who are second generation immigrants and have the pressure of their family to do well in school just so they can get by? How do you think that impacts other Asian students like me, who look different than everybody else, no matter how we dress? If I could go back to give younger me advice, it would be to educate yourself outside of school and just stay quiet. Because younger me, who didn't know about race yet, just like doing challenging math problems or answering questions. Sure, I might be good at some subjects, but there's so many other people in my classes who are better. But still, when we get put in groups, a lot of people lean on me to do the work. I've been labeled as a smart Asian kid just because I chose to do well in school. Sorry. I've reinforced the stereotype that we're nerds and that you can give us all the work. But here's the thing, I was adopted into a middle-class white family of doctors and I'm a generation ahead because my parents are old. All of that pressure is still there. They don't say it, but I know my family wants me to be a doctor because they believe that I can do it. Truth be told, I probably can and you probably could too. The problem is that I don't wanna be a doctor and reinforce that stereotype. The problem is that I can't change my color nor what I want to. The problem is that if I stop doing well in school and just do music like I want to, then I failed. It's a lose-lose scenario because I know I can do well in school and not doing that comes off as lazy and dumb. But if I keep doing well, I'm a walking stereotype. Being the first means paving the way for others. It's fallen on me as one of the few Asians in our school to fix these problems when it should not be my responsibility alone or even that of a group. Though I wanna help, I also deserve to live my life and be a kid like everybody else. I have the responsibility as probably the first Cossack to attend MHS to do the best to support my culture. I have the responsibility to my family to do the best that I can to support my parents when they retire, which could come by the time that I'm 20. And it's hard not being able to fit in. When I enter a room, I'm usually the only brown dude. When I'm around, sorry, man, the wind. When I'm around other brown people, I'm usually the only Asian kid and when I meet other Asian people, they treat me differently because I'm darker and I express myself in different ways. Even when I meet other Cossack Americans, I'm too American. I know that I shouldn't need validation from others, but society says that I do. From who? White people. No matter how many times I tell myself to not care and just be me, there's a little voice in my head telling me, man, I got a two on this test. What would my people think of me? Or, okay, if I walk into this store with my dad, I'll look suspicious. Or maybe I should ask this person out, but wait, no, the media has deemed Asian men unattractive. That's the stuff that only people of color can understand. We need affinity spaces where we can go and not think about these things. This event's funding goes to those spaces and I truly hope that you contribute to one in your community, whether that be by finding someone to start one, being a white ally, or donating to these groups. Thank you for coming today and I hope my words made you think. Spoken word, poet. Let's have a tremendous amount of applause for all the youth and collaborators who've worked so hard to put together this event. We really need more events like this. I'm gonna share two pieces, one by my mother, called Nobody Came, about the need for peace in the world. We all have the capacity to honor. And then a piece from my text, Their Names Are Mine, called For Trayvon Mike Brown and the Countless Unnamed. But before I do that, I'd like to make sure I invite each of you to a pretty historical event that's happening June 18th. We just found out recently that we have secured the necessary funding to put on the first ever Black Unity Summit in the history of Vermont in New England, unifying Black people across the U.S. goal. That's gonna be June 18th from 4 to 7 p.m. And our keynote and panelist is Dr. Angela Davis. Whoo! For those of you who know who that is, I know you know what that means. If not, start Googling right away. Whoo! All right. So this piece right here is called Nobody Came. When you learn your part, please sing along. I'd like there to be a war where nobody came. To be a war where the gunners didn't show and the flyers didn't flow. Like a river carrying death to those below, where artillery moved too slow, missed the boat and the whole dang show. And we all refused to go. I said, we all refused to go. I'd like there to be a war. I'd like there to be a war where infantry said no in crisp tones the taste of snow. And Obama stated clear they won't go in any year. And sharpshooters closed their eyes, much to the brass great surprise. And there was peace with no reprise. We chose to peace with no reprise. I'd like there to be a war where. I'd like there to be a war where we first would check ourselves, see what our causes do foretell, tweak what tweaking would do well, then maybe check ourselves again. Remembering some crazy macho in does not signify you in, cannot signify you in. So I'll say it once again. I'd like there to be a war where. I'd like there to be a war where. We'd like there to be a war where. Wouldn't you give it up for yourselves? Beautiful, well done. Yes, war cannot take place without people compromising that there's nobody there to fight it. It can't happen. This next piece is called for Trayvon Mike Brown and the Countless Unnamed. And before I started, I just want to give another warm round of applause for Brother Isaac being so courageously vulnerable, sharing his truth, and honoring all of you, but the good work, man. For Trayvon, Mike Brown and the Countless Unnamed. Lynching is not dead. It's done in broad daylight, under the hot lights of media frenzy, for black blood, white guilt, white fear, and white acquittal, where brown boys are still expendable. Michael Vick should have had Zimmerman's lawyer. Brown boys are worth less than black dogs. Trayvon should have been a brown lab. Maybe then we'd see more of a humane society's presence. If poems could merge in the streets, overturn verdicts, bring corrupt police to justice, if they could bring a boy back his life and a mother back her son, a father back his boy, return bullets to a gun, unloose the lynch rope, and unravel the not-so-choke throats, we would not be choking on tears. When do our lives become valuable? In the eyes of the law, when does hate cease to be exonerated behind a badge and lighter skin? And God forbid you wear a hoodie in the rain, while having black skin with skittles in your pocket. You can taste the rainbow, but you can't taste freedom. You can taste your own blood, but you can't taste the rainbow. Diversity is white people's cold word for niggers. You can taste the rainbow, but not if you're too dark. The rainbow may come during the storm. If you're too dark on a block and a hoodie, and the skittles fall from your pocket, you never taste the rainbow. Your killer has the right to stand his ground. He may shoot you in the heart, and America may relive it in sordid detail. She's only reliving her nightmares. She dreams nightmares often, open caskets, ashes, weighted limbs, no coffins. Two, his name is Trayvon Martin. Say it. Trayvon Martin. Khalif Browder. Khalif Browder. Cory Jones. Cory Jones. Freddie Gray. Freddie Gray. Michael Savvy. Michael Savvy. Del Ronsmall. Terence Sterling. Terence Crutcher. Joseph Mann. Dee Wiggum. Keith Lamont Scott. Tyree King. Jarevis Scruggs. India Keijer. Darren Seals. Anthony Nunez. DeAndre Joshua. Philando Castile. Alton Sterling. Coryn Gaines, Oscar Grant, McKinsey Cochran, Jordan Baker, The Charleston Nine, Andy Lopez, Mariam Carey, Kamani Gray, Timothy Standberry, Sean Bell, Sandra Bland, Natasha McKenna, Rakhina Jones, Samuel Hose, Maya Hall, Darnisha Harris, Alicia Thomas, Tarika Wilson, Troy Good, Benzel Hampton, Aaron Campbell, Alonzo Ashley, Renell Lewis, Wendell Allen, Tanisha Anderson, Dante Parker, Victor White, Jonathan Ferrell, Eric Garner, John Crawford, Ezell Ford, Keith Vidal, Michael Brown, Jordan Davis, Akai Gurley, Romain Brisbone, Darian Hunt, Kajim Powell, Tamir Rice, Jack Jacquez, Manuel Loggins, Ayanna Jones, Melissa Williams, Chavez Carter, Maria Godinez, David Latham, Yvette Smith, Luis Rodriguez, Matthew Palo, Amaru Diallo, his name, he has a name. His name is I Can't Breathe. His name is Emmett Till. His name, his name, his name, you must remember his name. James Burr Jr. He may whisper it in the wind. You may hear it in your skin. His name is Guilty. In his innocence. Freedom fighter, martyr, troublemaker. His name, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, he has a name. His name is Black Boy, Black Listed, Blackboard. His name is Black Power, Black Babies in a black market for green cash. Stolen life, tied to a tree, burnt at the stake. His name, probable cause, the Negro problem. Chalk outline, white man's fear. His name, Ear for Souvenir. His name, Black Nigger Boy. Fred Hampton, Huey P. Newton, Mega Evers. His name saves lives, mobilizes movements. His name is Watch for a Black Messiah, Bullet to the Heart, Boy in Jaws of Wolf, White Girl Card Rape, Whistle to Free, Head to High. His name looked me in my eye, his name must die. Gangster, Thug, Menace, Stereotype. His name is Wretched like Demon. His name is taken to the Iron Bridge on Main Street. His name, his name's legs to pull until his neck cracks. Stabbed, hung, shot, burned, ravaged by brother-hunters. His name is Mistaken Identity, Scottsboro Boys, The Ski Experiments, David Walker, Living, Breathing, Black Manhood. Heathen, Pagan, No Salvation. His name is, you free nigger, now get over it. Koota Kente, Stolen African, Strange Fruit. Stranger in a strange land, in danger of deranged hands. Enemy of the State, Genetic the Center, Asphalt Art, Bloody Memory, Collateral Damage, White Man's Burden, That Happened So Long ago. Chain Gang, Wade Slave, Chattel, On the Rack, In the Irons, On the Run, Wanted. His name is Arthur the Canster, Felt More Thistles Than Cotton. His name is Put Your Hands Up, Spirtle, Stop Brawl, Shoot. His name is Bang, 41 Shots, Assata Secours, Angela Davis, Breakfast Program, Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. His name is, his name is he has a name. His name is Beaten Severely, United Dawn, Chain Brother, Ankle's name is Drag from Three Milds in Decapitated. 81 Places Have the Remains, His name is Mistaken Arm, His name is Crackhead, War on Drugs, War on Poverty, Scapegoat, Sacrificial Lamb. His name is Kicked Carcass, Convict, Criminal, Thief, Drug Dealer, Victim, Still a Child whose name will never breathe again. His name is a Mother, His name is Expendable, Sundown Laws, Jim Crow Cards, Jim Crow Bars. His name is Racial Profiling in Court, Just call him Profiling, Cause this is not about race. His name is Marcus Garvey, Threadbrook Douglas, Ida B. Wells. No rights a white man is bound to respect. His name has a title when he dies. His name is Mr. Martin. Wearer of the Black Hoodie, Walker of the Home Path, Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Skin, Wrong Crime. His name is Holder of the Skittles. His name, his mother knows his name, Her tears spell it in big, bold letters down her cheeks. His name is Gone Too Soon. His name is Darky, Spook, Jigaboo, Sambo. His name is Different, Too Difficult to be pronounced By Thin Lips with Forked Tongues. His name dies without Justice. Missing, Lost, Bottom of the Ocean, Shark Voved, Triangle Traded Littered Bones. His name is Sunchild, Starfruit, Young Gifted in Black, But you can call him Nigger. His name, he has a name. His name is The Sun is Rising. His name is Waker. I know his name, because his name is mine. Thank you Rajni. Next we have Jojo Michelson, who's a junior here at MHS. Sing for us. So the first song I'm gonna be singing is Stand Up from the movie Harriet. If you haven't seen that, I recommend. Many of you probably know this song because I've sung it a bunch. But you know, it's all good. I wrote myself, I interrupt my dad's snoring. Yeah, so I went into the car and I was so scared I thought that someone was gonna kill me, but it's okay. I was fine, I'm fine, I'm here. So, oh yeah, and it's only like one minute because I'm not allowed to release the whole thing to you guys. So if you want more, I don't have anywhere for you to go. But if you want more, you can stay tuned. That move on now, turn around, come with me now. Don't you forget, that move on now, don't you forget that. Central Vermont Refugee Action Network, who's one of our beneficiaries. This is my friend Sarah, and my last speech was five years ago. I'm a little bit scared. Okay. I'm Ruth G here, I'm from Tunisia. I'm a politician in the refugee. When I was lost and alone in my darkness, I heard a voice coming from the west. The voice crossed the sea and they heard the call of lady Liberty and she said, Here at our seawashed sunset gates shall stand a mighty woman with a torch whose flame is the imprisoned lightning and her name, mother of exiles. From her beacon hand, glorious worldwide welcome with silent lips, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Send them the homeless, tempest tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door. And I answered the call, and I'm here now. Because of Siguran, the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network, I have a new home in this community and they can breathe freely. I have come to dissolve into the fabric of the new mixed community, in which here there is no difference because of race, sex, religion, or any other characteristic. This is the first gathering after COVID and what did we learn from COVID? What you learn is that we are all the same. COVID doesn't discriminate because of race, religion, or sexuality. We saw the sadness visit all homes across the world. So what I learned is that COVID is not racist. The catastrophe hurts everybody, despite race, color, or origin. So for that, we have to be unified. That's the conclusion. Friends, we have to accept others. We don't know how hell will come or from home. So here on this beautiful spring day, this gathering itself is planting of the seeds of acceptance for our wonderful community. Together, we can grow unified through our experiences of sadness and hope. Accepting of all who breathe this air, all who drink in this beautiful sunshine on this precious earth and make it livable. Thank you and say a word. To close out our main portion of our rally, we have A2VT back with another set for us. Check, check, check, are we ready? Check, check, check, are we ready? Make some noise for me. When I say A2, you say VT, all right? A2, thank you, I appreciate. Next artist I want to bring in the stage is Draycan. All right, straight from Congo. This guy has a lot of energy. Every time he come on the stage, I don't know, he does some crazy stuff. But I want to introduce you to Draycan, the king. Please welcome him on stage. Let's go. You have to find A2VT. The next artist I want to bring in ‹ this guy can sing French like the Snow Team model. Are you viping the French? This guy got the vibe, all right? FF Find me first no im talking about you know, this is my brother. He's been working with me for a minute. I like his energy. I like his vibe. He really much. His activity, you know Next song you are about to do. I want to introduce you in a stage alright? R.O.D. Straight from Florida He's going to tell you all about it. He'll set up a letter on it. Please, welcome. Yo, real over the seat, man. That's what I go by. That's how I live my life, man. You know what I'm saying? I've been out here making music like seven years now. I met up with A2VT, did a single with them. And we been out here doing it ever since. So I believe in the law of attraction. So I make a lot of money. Well, I make a lot of music about making money and how to make money, and just the aura of money. So here we go, man. DJ, drop the track, man. Drop it, drop it. Yeah, my groove from that sound. But I came up in the north. Yeah, I'm playing and patting to it. Man, we're jumping out the porch late night. Back and forth, skywalking, use the force where they take. Know the force be the center like the stores mustang. Not a horse history, run the stores now. I don't even go in. I ready to fade the creature down. And it's a little touching floor, man. One more time for ROD, straight from Florida. Africa to Vermont, you know. We really don't choose though. And we like everybody, man. We show love to everybody. Everybody. If you want to do it, you know, we down for it. The next song right here, Peter Much, is called Soul Survivor. Check out, listen to the lyrics. Peter Much, everybody's been through what I'm saying in the track. You know, everybody can relate it to it. You know, after becoming of your energy, your power, being through so much struggle, you know, coming through some Mali, you know, born in the 80s. I don't know, man. But I see what I see. Been through what I've been through. And I'm right here, Montpelio. Sing along, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. They just asked me to let you know. Nitya Sharma, as was just mentioned, for donating their profits from today. So everyone.