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BooksNCats11 t1_j5rpfk6 wrote

I think you'll find the racism here in Vermont is a lot more...microaggression than overt bullying type things. We are a largely white area (esp in the wealthy white Killington area) but consider ourselves "better" than racism. Which, of course, we are not. So your child is less likely to have kids shouting at her with the hard r and more likely to have randos touching her hair or saying things like "You speak so well." as if it's a compliment.

I don't know a ton about the schools down there. I went to one not far from there but the high school has since closed. I think that area of the state has schools that are either not great (Rutland, very recently still fighting over racist mascot) or very wealthy and likely to be...difficult for a newcomer.

As others have mentioned the Burlington area is much more diverse but you're not gonna want to be commuting to Killington for work from here.

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trutknoxs t1_j5t6u8b wrote

I second this! I’m biracial and I grew up in central Vermont. I only had a few kids call me the n word in school (literally maybe 2 or 3) and while I definitely experience micro aggressions, I internalized it and was really impacted until I was an adult and realized how unfair my treatment was.

My advice to you is that your kids will likely experience microaggressions where ever they go. You have to set them up for success and teach them what to tolerate and what to not tolerate, and how to safely and appropriately stand up for themselves. Truth be told, I’m not condoning violence but I think a lot of the folks who treated me poorly could’ve been easily corrected with a punch or two (and one was! Never had trouble with that kid again).

I know they’re both a bit of a jump from Rutland/Killington, but Putney area and Burlington area have both been very tolerant for me. As for the Rutland area, we’ll that’s sort of where I grew up. I watched a darker completed family get bullied right out of my school once so if you have any personal questions you want to ask, please feel free to dm me. For reference, I am 24F, moms white, dads very dark, and I am black enough to notice but white enough to be tolerated most places.

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DifficultyNeither273 t1_j5tmobb wrote

Thank you!! I will definitely be reaching out to you!

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trutknoxs t1_j65smkq wrote

By all means, please do. There’s very little black community in VT and I’d love to help bolster that.

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