Green Mountain State Update
Arts Council honoree
Kudos to Shanta Lee Gander, for winning the 2020 Arthur Williams Award for Meritorious Service to the Arts from the Vermont Arts Council.
Gander, a Brattleboro-based photographer, poet and journalist, is the director of publicity and outreach at Mount Island, a literary magazine dedicated to the voices of rural LGBTQ and minority populations.
“The award is named after the Council’s founding executive director. In addition to his critical work at the Arts Council, Williams’ long career included public school teaching, serving in the Vermont Legislature and chairing the effort to restore the Vermont State House. The award is given to those who mirror his selfless public service and devotion to artistic excellence as one vital ingredient in a robust community as well as his desire to see the arts thrive,” says the Council’s website.
More: mountisland.com, vermontartscouncil.org
Social justice appointees
The town of Brattleboro has appointed two LGBTQ leaders to its newly established Community Safety Review Committee for social justice and equity in policing. The committee was formed to review public safety in the town and make recommendations on how to serve all members of the town’s diverse community, with an equitable representation on the committee itself.
“All the applicants honor the town with their respective service and it’s going to be a lot of hard work,” Select Board Vice Chairwoman Elizabeth McLoughlin told the Brattleboro Reformer, which reported that out of 23 candidates nine were chosen.
The two from the LGBTQ community are Drift Mayvn, a social worker who identifies as queer, transgender and nonbinary, and Kazimir DeWolfe, who identifies as transgender and has been a peer patient advocate for Vermont Psychiatric Survivors.
Samara Fund awardees
With a priority on funding LGBTQ organizations facing fundraising challenges due to COVID-19, the Samara Fund of Vermont announced its line-up of 2020 grant recipients—12 LGBTQ nonprofits totaling $38,105 plus scholarships for five graduating LGBTQ high school seniors.
The grant-winning organizations include: AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, Chandler Center for the Arts (for Pride theater productions), Epsilon Spires (for Drag Queen Story Hours), Out in the Open, Green Mountain Library Consortium (for Even More LUV LGBTQ audiobook collection), New England Center for Circus Arts (for LGBTQ youth scholarships), Outright Vermont, Pride Center of Vermont, Twin States Network (for HIV services), Vermont CARES, Vermont Folklife Center (for its exhibition on Pride through the years in the state) and Vermont PWA Coalition.
The 2020 scholarships went to graduating high-school seniors from Brattleboro, Colchester, Hinesburg, Springfield and St. Johnsbury in recognition of their advocacy and leadership in support of LGBTQ issues within their schools and communities.
More: www.vermontcf.org
Pride Center stands with BLM
Pride Center of Vermont announced its support of the Black Lives Matter movement and in particular with a protest encampment outside the Burlington Police Department.
On their website, PCV posted ways supporters can bring the protesters hot meals, join them in organized marches—which include mask requirements, traffic control volunteers, a de-escalation team and medics—and contact info for people to contact their elected officials to voice their support.
In a statement, PCV said, “We also call on our community to show up and turn out in support of The Black Perspective. Our history of Pride celebrations are rooted in an uprising led by two trans women of color, Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera, against blatant police brutality and excessive force. May we hold this history as we stand in solidarity with our Black, Brown, and Indigenous community members.”
More: pridecentervt.org
Healthcare Equality Leader
VA White River Junction Medical Center earned the distinction of 2020 LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader from the Human Rights Campaign, earning a perfect score of 100.
Scores were based on four criteria: LGBTQ patient-centered care, patient services and support, employee benefits and policies, and patient and community engagement. For the second year, health care centers also had to offer transgender-inclusive benefits to employees to be named as leaders.
