Vermont Edition

Black excellence, creativity and history in Vermont

By Connor Cyrus,

Published February 14, 2023 at 4:54 PM EST

Black History Month - poster, card, background — February is Black History Month and we're highlighting some excellent work by Black Vermonters across the state.

There are approximately 8,000 Black Vermonters across the state. This year for Black History Month, we’re highlighting some of their excellent work, with conversations on the term Black excellence, Black creativity, and the importance of studying Black history.

Our guests:

Mia Schultz, president of the Rutland Area NAACP
Steffen Gillom, president of the Windham County NAACP
Matthew Delmont, the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College and author of Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad
Kathline Chery, director of production, Kalchē Wine Cooperative in Fletcher
Erica and Ed McClain, owners of Hangry The Donut Bar in St. Albans

Broadcast live on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.

Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or tweet us @vermontedition.

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Connor Cyrus

Connor Cyrus joined Vermont Public as host and senior producer in March 2021. He was a morning reporter at WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island. A graduate of Lyndon State College (now Northern Vermont University), he started his reporting career as an intern at WPTZ, later working for WAGM in Presque Isle, Maine, and WCAX Channel 3, where he covered a broad range of stories from Vermont’s dairy industry to the nurses’ strikes at UVM Medical Center. He’s passionate about journalism’s ability to shed light on complex or difficult topics, as well as giving voice to underrepresented communities.

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Andrea Laurion

Andrea Laurion joined Vermont Public as a news producer for Vermont Edition in December 2022. She is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa., and a graduate of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine. Before getting into audio, Andrea worked as an obituary writer, a lunch lady, a wedding photographer assistant, a children’s birthday party hostess, a haunted house actor, and an admin assistant many times over.

See stories by Andrea Laurion