In Vermont’s idyllic small towns, injustice can lurk below the surface.
At a live storytelling event last week, VTDigger’s Katie Jickling and Kevin O’Connor spoke about Vermonters whose experiences remained invisible to their communities for years at a time — and about the process of bringing those stories to light.
For Jickling, a Facebook message from a former schoolmate this January led to five months of conversations with Sam McPhetres and Rose Earl, two women who came forward to report abuse by former Randolph Union Middle/High School vice principal David Barnett. How did the close-knit school community overlook the abuse, she wondered?
O’Connor met the Providence family in 2009 for a story about the optimism of a multiracial family during the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Eleven years later, amid a national reckoning over racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd, they had a different conversation. Rohan, Aaron and Justin Providence detailed their treatment as young Black men at the hands of Brattleboro police, surprising even their mother with what they had silently endured.
Local Live(s) was produced by Back Pocket Media and sponsored by Vermont Glove.
St. Albans farmers get a bailout, but no break
Stephen Kiernan sticks up for state power
Chittenden case dismissals could spark legislative change
Can technology save Lake Carmi?
Primary season starts early for 2020 hopefuls
Lyme patients in limbo as tick rates rise
Anti-racism in the auditorium
From biotech "dream" to federal court
Seeking justice in the Steven Bourgoin trial
Ending the session proves elusive
Making plans for the women's prison
CityPlace tensions resume, but construction doesn’t
Police body cameras bring clarity and questions
What proficiency-based learning looks like
Vermont marriage equality turns ten
Vermont's pension funding gap, explained
Can cannabis giants be contained?
BONUS: John Hickenlooper LIVE at the Flynn
How Vermont hospitals end up in the red
A 'reset button' on the legislative session
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Before Your Time