"Slavery was not abolished it evolved; The legacy of Terrorist Lynching’s in America”
A presentation of a firsthand account of the Museum and Lynching Memorial which directly connects slavery to mass incarceration, followed by a discussion regarding the impact of this necessary and compelling work through the eyes and intersection of the experiences of a Vermont raised African American – Daimeyon Williams. Mr. Williams is an Educator, Speaker, Cultural and Linguistic Competency Trainer and Youth Advocate in Burlington, VT. He is the current Program Director for the Spectrum Youth and Family Services Multicultural Youth Program (MYP), a program which advocates for and supports the empowerment of multicultural teenagers, and young adults of color to make and sustain positive changes, while advocating for and identifying new resources and policies that will increase racial justice and equity in the state of Vermont. Mr. Williams was convicted of a violent felony offense resulting from a one-time emotional and traumatic altercation during his graduate training, which irrevocably changed the trajectory of his career. He was sentenced to and served six years in the California State Penitentiary, a system that is completely inundated with systemic racial injustice, gang and mafia manipulation, violence, disease, staff corruption and political scheming. This introduction to the inequities and injustices plagued upon young men of color in the criminal justice system opened his eyes to the need for transparency and the education of the public regarding the state of mass incarceration and the criminalization of black and brown people in this country. This 90 minute presentation will walk the audience through the ideology of the museum and memorial and relate it to the experiences of this Vermonter here in our state and the implications of race on Vermonters as a whole. We will end the discussion with suggestions for changing the narrative surrounding this issue and for continuing the conversation to dismantle systemic racism and mass incarceration.
Sponsored by Spectrum Youth and Family Services and the Peace and Justice Center.
Staff setup: 50 chairs, podium, AV