BURLINGTON — The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance says it is opening the state’s first community center run by Black and brown Vermonters for Black and brown Vermonters this month, with a space in Burlington focused on wellness, cultural empowerment and economic development.
The Richard Kemp Center is named for the late social justice leader who served as the first African American city councilor in Burlington.
“For once in Burlington, Black and brown people are implementing policies, processes, programs and initiatives for Black and brown people in Burlington,” Mark Hughes, executive director of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and Kemp’s son-in-law, said in an interview.
The new space in the Old North End of Burlington will be unveiled on Tuesday, with a display of the pop-up exhibit “1619: Arrival of the First Africans.”
Hughes said the fact that the center is led by Black and brown Vermonters will set it apart from other local programs aimed toward helping Vermonters of color, including young people.
“A lot of these systems are under-serving our youth and I think it’s largely because of the way they were designed and who designed them and who they were actually designed for,” Hughes said in an interview last week.
Kemp, who died Sept. 28, was a community activist in the city fighting for racial and economic justice for decades. According to his obituary in Seven Days, Kemp served on the boards of the Vermont Community Loan Fund, Peace & Justice Center, Champlain Housing Trust, Community Justice Center and CCTV.
Kemp hosted the show “Near and Far,” on the Center for Media and Democracy Community Television broadcast, where he interviewed guests from all walks of life.
Hughes spoke following the alliance’s presentation “Turning the Curve on Systemic Racism: Building Back a Healthier Vermont” at Fletcher Free Library. During the presentation, he shared the last thing Kemp said to him: “Don’t give up.”
The center will serve as a place to continue that legacy.
“This has really been more like a dream for us in the alliance,” Hughes said.
The 4,000-square-foot building sits at the intersection of Hyde Street, Riverside Avenue, and North Winooski Avenue in Burlington’s Old North End. According to the alliance’s press release for the center, the organization chose this location for its accessibility to the communities it will serve.
While the neighborhood has started to experience gentrification, Hughes said, the alliance chose the Old North End for the number of Black, brown and low-income residents. It’s also across from the Community Health Center, which Hughes said is a bonus, and right off Riverside Avenue, which goes straight into Winooski, the only majority-minority school district in the state.
The variety of happenings at the Richard Kemp Center will focus on wellness, youth, cultural empowerment and economic development. Programs are not yet set in stone, but Hughes said there’s excitement over what’s coming.
Hughes said there could be huge value for youth in providing homework help and mentorship programs where they can meet real role models in their own communities.
“Because we know right now that kids are really having a hard time in school right now with Covid, but also the racial reckoning and the fallout,” Hughes said.
The center is not just for kids, Hughes said, but will be a place for people to walk to and sit down to talk to someone about what they’re struggling with, whether that be mental health challenges, economic assistance or help starting a business.
Leaders also plan to host programs with help from their community partners like the Community Health Centers of Burlington, the University of Vermont and the Boys and Girls Club. According to the center’s press release, programming will include adult basic education courses, wellness support, financial, home and land ownership education, youth activities and more.
In response to George Floyd’s murder last year, the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance announced an initiative called Operation Phoenix RISE, which advocates for restructuring public safety, implementing cultural empowerment, securing equal opportunity, and expanding racial equity, belonging and inclusion.
Though RISE’s agenda is multi-faceted, Hughes said many points were overshadowed by discussions around policing dominated by affluent and liberal white people.
“In addition to getting one’s knee off certain folks’ necks, it’s very important that you focus on the social and economic aspects of their lives,” Hughes said.
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