White Supremacy in the Green Mountain State

Michelle Fay
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

Representative Kiah Morris’s decision to break from politics is a wake-up call for Vermont. Bigotry, parochialism, and white supremacy live in our green mountains, and manifest in both small and big ways that largely go unchallenged.

Much of the outrage about Rep. Morris’s withdrawal from her House race is focused on the blatant bigotry and racist threats directed at her and her family. It’s easiest for us to point to a villain and draw a bright line between the actions of a few bad actors and the rest of us. But the conditions that support racism are all around us, in the institutions that govern our lives: capitalism, law enforcement, education, health care, and government as a whole.

Institutions are built by and for the dominant culture and are hardwired to resist change. The fundamental charge of anti-racism work, then, is to redesign these institutions to center around justice and equity.

Two schools of thought govern systems change work. The first is to change systems from the inside, as summarized by this quote from Albert Einstein: “You have the learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” The other approach argues that playing by the rules of the dominant group is an exercise in futility, as in Audre Lorde’s assertion that “the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.”

While I lean toward Ms. Lorde’s way of thinking, I believe movements require a dynamic, multi-pronged approach. Change agents on the inside can bring new perspectives to decision-making, build relationships that expand understanding, and push for institutions to engage in meaningful self-evaluation and development. At the same time, people and movements on the outside can make it difficult or uncomfortable to maintain the status quo through more confrontational methods and by holding people on the inside accountable to the the injustices of our society. To build truly inclusive, equitable communities we need to challenge the legitimacy of institutions that were not built for all the benefit of all and force change from both inside and out.

The announcement that Rep. Kiah Morris will not seek reelection means we’ve temporarily lost one of our most powerful leaders on the inside who also willingly challenged the status quo from the outside. Our institutions did not do enough to support the tremendous sacrifices she made as the only Black woman serving in the Vermont legislature and we, her friends and colleagues, didn’t do enough to make sure she and her family were safe while she courageously pushed all of us to get serious about racial, ethnic, and social equity.

The legislature is a powerful institution, and it harbors white supremacy with perhaps a greater impact than any other body. Racism manifests in myriad ways under the golden dome, from truly appalling floor speeches that make most members cringe in their seats, to playing politics with bills that matter to people of color, low income people, and other marginalized communities.

It’s time for legislative leaders to examine the ways that institutional norms and conventions stand in the way of equity. It’s time to listen when people of color, women, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups identify policy priorities, and work to make them happen. Most importantly, it’s time to stop protecting institutions and start being truly accountable to the people who have been excluded and exploited by them.

We’ll be a stronger state for it.

Michelle Fay

Written by

Mother, inclusive feminist, policy advocate for kids & families, occasional college instructor, former VT State Representative.

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