Vermont Human Rights Commission, & discrimination/diversity on a smaller scale

This is the link to the Vermont Human Rights Commission, which operates within the Vermont state government. It seems very similar to the Massachusetts version, which John presented on last class, in terms of the way it's set up and the kinds of things it does. The VT HRC does a lot with education and outreach within the state, as well as mediation and advocacy in actual cases of human rights issues and complaints. 

Above is a chart displayed on their website, about what protections against discrimination fall under the jurisdiction of the VT HRC. Again, these seem similar to the Mass equivalent; they have sections for housing, public accommodations (spaces) and employment, and the categories which they protect against discrimination for each. 

Overall, the commission, just like we already learned with MA's, is overwhelmingly driven by a social-justice type mission, through a variety of outreach and education programs and advocacy in different settings within the state, and the enforcement of existing anti-discrimination legislation. 

That said, I think it's important to remember that this is the broad state institution entrusted to help resolve and prevent pretty much all discrimination issues that fall within state law/jurisdiction. It definitely is a great commission to have, and I think it's made more effective due to its independent status as a commission dedicated specifically to this issue (not true for all states). However, past being very outwardly liberal, Vermont is one of the most homogeneous states, mostly in terms of race and culture. To relate back to the town near me specifically (pop. around 12,000 so there is no specific human rights organizations), when I was home over break I read an editorial in the local newspaper written by a black student at a graduate/training institution (not from VT), who was talking about his experience with racism and racial profiling in the town. He made the point that, although it is an extremely open-minded community to begin with, and any kind of overt racism would never be tolerated, the town's lack of racial/cultural/ethnic diversity can lead to more innocent, subconscious, and perhaps more insidious (being deeply engrained in societal subconscious) kinds of racism. 

Although this is just one case/opinion, it's an important point to make in a community like the one in which I live; these are issues that I think are true of much of the state of Vermont overall. The state human rights commission is definitely an interesting and beneficial organization to have, and Vermont itself seems to have a good human rights track record anyway, to match its very general liberalism and overall open-mindedness as a state. But in any small community and especially in VT given what I mentioned above, it's both important and interesting to consider the diversity (in all senses) of the population, and how this might affect any and all kinds of discrimination.