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Racial Equity

The Cannabis market is the first market to be created in Vermont since the acknowledgment of the existence of and the commitment to eradicate systemic racism. It is imperative that historical and ongoing economic oppression and exploitation of Black Americans be considered in every aspect of the development, rollout and regulation of this market.

The work of the Racial Justice Alliance in Vermont over the past several years has moved this state to an acknowledgement of the existence of systemic racism. Since 2017 much has been learned in the work of addressing systemic racism across all systems of state government in Vermont. With the 2019 appointment of the Executive Director of Racial Equity and Panel, greater emphasis continues to be placed on programmatic, data-driven approaches in addressing systemic racism. This year in Joint Resolution, the Vermont legislature pledged to commit to “the sustained and deep work of eradicating systemic racism throughout the State, actively fighting racist practices, and participating in the creation of more just and equitable systems”. The shared definition that the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance has offered in testimony is as follows:

“Systemic racism includes the complex array of antiblack practices, the unjustly gained political-economic power of whites, the continuing economic and other resource inequalities along racial lines, and the white racist ideologies and attitudes created to maintain and rationalize white privilege and power. Systemic here means that the core racist realities are manifested in each of society’s major parts [...] each major part of U.S. society – the economy, politics, education, religion, the family – reflects the fundamental reality of systemic racism.”