Hard Won Not Done: Voting Matters

115 State Street,Montpelier VT 05602

14 August, 2021

Description

Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer-Prize author, historian, law professor presents a message of hope about voting and the future of our democracy HARD WON, NOT DONE: VOTING MATTERS Featuring Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award author of The Hemingses of Monticello, An American Family. Gordon-Reed’s work, described by the Harvard Gazette, “…has reframed the historical dialogue about slavery and enslaved peoples in the United States by enhancing America’s understanding of race in the Colonial era.” A law professor and historian, Gordon-Reed grew up in the racially segregated town of Conroe, Texas, and was the first child to integrate the town’s all-white schools. Her new book “On Juneteenth” examines the legacy of slavery and the struggles that remain to achieve racial equality. Gordon-Reed will use the event’s four themes, immigrant voting, enfranchisement, queer inclusion, and municipal voting in a message of hope about voting and the future of our democracy. SPECIAL GUESTS EVENT MC: Mia Schultz, President of Rutland Area NAACP, the second-largest branch in New England. Mia is an educator, organizer, and problem-solver who is dedicated to working toward equity and inclusion in Vermont. Speaker Melody Walker addressing Native American Voting Rights. Former chair and vice chair of the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, Walker was selected as one of USA Today’s Most Influential Women of the Century in Vermont last year to commemorate the 19th Amendment Centennial Celebration Nicole Nelson, Indie musician and recording artist. Crowned by the Burlington Free Press as "The Voice of Vermont," Nicole has received national acclaim. She founded the Vermont chapter of the Resistance Revival Chorus in response to ongoing racial injustices. Cynthia Cagle, Latina Artist and Muralist. Commissioned to create a painting on Voting, Cynthia will work on the aspects of the painting during the event. Her work is known for exploring narratives of her Chicana identity through the use of many mediums, including graphite, oil, acrylics, watercolors, chalks, clay, charcoal and ink. Book Reading and Signing: Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 12:30 p.m. BRING WATER AND YOUR LAWN CHAIR. The League of Women Voters, founded in 1920, began as a "mighty political experiment" to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. We are proud to be nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing candidates or political parties.We have a long, rich history of grassroots activism and are deeply committed  empowering voters and defending democracy.