Talking About Ubuntu: The Youth Speak | Randolph Union High School (VT)

Randolph Union High School sits in central Vermont and is a small school dealing with many familiar challenges faced by rural America. In 2018 this racial justice class was born following calls to meet the needs of the BIPOC students in the predominantly White school. Staff and students have spent the following years exploring how race and racism affect our communities at a local, state and national scale.

This year, in the midst of the pandemic, students have spent time reading, listening, and watching a variety of sources to deepen their understanding of racism in Vermont. They have worked independently and in small groups to create racial justice-focused art-work. Students worked together to create a website that unites their mission and provides a platform to sell their work. The students committed to contribute all proceeds from their art-making sales to the Vermont BIPOC Land Trust.

Thanks to the resources provided by the school’s Innovation Center, students learned how to screen-print, use a laser-cutter and tie-dye. Through road bumps and successes, the students created a variety of artistic products for a good cause.