Taylor contributes to BLM protests with music

MIDDLEBURY — In addition to attending some small-scale rallies around the state, Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Music Matthew Evan Taylor felt like he needed to respond in his own way to the Black Lives Matter protests that have sprung up over the past month. So Taylor released the seven-track digital album “Say Their Names” to the online music site Bandcamp on June 6.  “‘Say Their Names’ is a collection of improvisations that I did using wind instruments and a loop station (a device with guitar … (read more)

In early June, a group of friends and I organized a vigil on the Bristol green to honor the life of George Floyd and raise awareness about police brutality. The aim was to connect people with resources for antiracist self-education and action, and encoura … (read more)

When Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida in 2012, Joanna Colwell’s daughter was 11 years old. Just old enough, Colwell recalled, to walk by herself to the store in East Middlebury for a Snapple. “It was not in my consciousness that she could be the victi … (read more)

BRISTOL — More than 350 people attended a peaceful vigil on the Bristol town green Tuesday afternoon to express solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and to mourn the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed on May 25 by a whit … (read more)

ADDISON COUNTY AND BRANDON — People started gathering in College Park, the former site of the Middlebury town offices, a little before 6 p.m. on Saturday. As the numbers swelled it became obvious that pandemic or not many Vermonters were so upset that the … (read more)

Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy delivered these remarks on the floor of the U.S. Senate on June 3. America is hurting. Reeling from a deadly pandemic that has taken more than 100,000 lives. Witnessing the broad daylight murder of yet another black man by an of … (read more)

We would like to thank the estimated 375 fellow citizens who joined us on the Cross Street Bridge, on very short notice, for Saturday evening’s vigil for Black Lives. Collectively, we bore witness to the sadness and outrage we felt on hearing of the killi … (read more)

We are deeply saddened and enraged by the murder of George Floyd and other recent killings of Black Americans, and the ongoing illness of violence and oppression toward people of color that these deaths represent. This has gone on for far too long, and it … (read more)

On behalf of the Vermont Association of Chiefs of Police and the Vermont Police Association, I express both outrage and sadness surrounding the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis last week. The actions of one maligned officer with his unwarranted use o … (read more)

George Floyd died after being taken into custody by officers of the Minneapolis Police Department. My initial familiarity with this case began with media images and reports. I see Mr. Floyd, handcuffed behind his back, face down on the pavement, next to a … (read more)

The Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council members witnessed, as did the rest of our country, the actions of the Minneapolis Police officers who took the life of a man in their custody. The VCJTC would like to express our outrage, shame and sadness reg … (read more)