12 Years of Centering Blackness!

“The Root helped me feel accepted, helped show me I belong in my community. Helped me blossom as a person. Saved my life.”
—BIPOC Root Community Member

For 12 years, The Root has been building a collective movement for racial justice. From our earliest days, we have created spaces that center Blackness, prioritize BIPOC voices and needs, and cultivate joy as we work toward collective liberation. The Root is more than an organization. We are a home, a hub, and a place where community members gather in safety, affirmation, and power. Doing this work in the second whitest state in the country carries particular weight: we are carving out spaces of belonging, visibility, and resistance in a context where BIPOC communities are often isolated and underrepresented. Together with you, we have built these spaces through years of organizing, relationship-building, and showing up for each other, creating a network of support that has made real impact possible in Brattleboro, across Vermont and beyond.

Our work has been impactful, and our community has shown up for us time and again. But we are also facing a moment of unprecedented threats. Across the country, the rights and safety of the communities we serve — Black, Brown, immigrant, queer, trans, disabled, low-income — are under direct attack. From dismantling DEI initiatives, to erasing trans rights, to attempts at rewriting history to erase lived experience, the political climate is becoming more repressive than many of us have seen in our lifetimes. We know that when history is erased, its injustices are bound to be repeated. And that is exactly what we are seeing unfold. The very heart of who The Root is and how we do our BIPOC centering work is under attack. These attacks aren’t just reversing progress we and generations before us fought hard for, they are setting dangerous precedents that could take generations to undo.

And yet, we persist. We resist. We stand in our power. We claim our joy. We know that collective power, collective resistance, and collective liberation will carry us forward. We are persevering and building a movement for justice not only for the present moment, but for generations to come and we need you with us.

This year’s 12th Anniversary Party and FUNdraiser on September 20th is more than a celebration. It’s a call to action. Our goal is to raise $12,000 in honor of our 12th anniversary by the end of September to ensure we can continue filling the critical gaps faced by most impacted communities at a time when those gaps are widening.

This is why we’re inviting you to connect to impact and stand with us. “Connect to impact” means showing up in a way that makes a real difference for our community. It’s about taking action, whether through your time, your resources, or your voice, to support The Root’s work and help sustain the spaces and programs that have been built over the last 12 years. By connecting to impact, you help ensure that our work endures and our community continues to thrive.

When you join us on September 20th, you’ll hear directly from The Root team, volunteers, and community members about the impact of the work we’re doing in the community and why it matters now, more than ever. You’ll enjoy an afternoon filled with JOY, including free food, raffles, Root merch, and plenty of opportunities to support our mission in ways that fit your capacity and passion.