Beyond I Have A Dream: A Discussion of The Radical Martin King

Event Information Updated (02/11):

Brattleboro Common Sense is planning this event to be a public discussion with the descriptive title “Beyond I Have A Dream” and with short presentations by Etan Nasreddin-Longo, Reverend Arnold Thomas, Rv. Lise Sparrow, and Dr. Mary Gannon, honoring King and Black History Month and featuring Q&A and public discussion more than presentations. The purpose will be to raise awareness of King’s radical evolution and of other militant anti-racist thought.

A commentary by Rev. Thomas’ published in Jun 1, 2020, was the inspiration for this event. He lamented the outcry about the killing of George Floyd: “The increasing numbers of black and brown people across the nation and in Vermont have also increased in their intolerance of noisy-gong-and-clashing-cymbal-like rhetoric of whites who momentarily raise their voices against what they see as a momentary crisis and then resume their lives supporting and sustaining the systems of their own privilege.”

About the Presenters:

Dr. Mary Gannon is a training consultant with the Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity, a prominent activist around Brattleboro, and honored for Lifetime Achievement by the Windham County NAACP.

Reverand Dr. Lise Sparrow and Dr. Gannon founded the the Community Equity Foundation. As a leader of Vermont Interfaith Action pastor, Rev. Dr. Sparrow made the Guilford Church a well known resource for social justice events and organizing. She received special commendation for her work by the Vermont Legislature.

Professor Etan Nasreddin-Longo has served as director of the Vermont Legislative Panel on Racial Disparities in Montpelier and as counsel to the Vermont State Police on officer training. Locally, he has been a visiting professor at Marlboro College. In 2022, he gave a public introductory lesson on critical race theory for BCS.

The Reverend Arnold Thomas: The reverend’s awards in the ministry and civil rights advocacy are far too many to mention. He is:

• Cofounder, Vermont Social Equity Caucus of the State House and Senate
• President & Founder, Northern Berkshire Human Rights & Relations Task Force
• Board Member, Vermont Racial Justice Alliance
• Board Member, Vermont ACLU

These are only four positions he holds in community leadership in social justice only around Vermont. His scholarship and leadership positions outside Vermont are quite extensive and far-reaching.

All are welcome to join in what promises to be a compelling conversation.