Vermont Left Events: January 2024

Below is a selection of upcoming events in Vermont relevant to the left.

Have an upcoming event? Let us know.

Date	Location	Event Description
Thursday Jan. 4 6:00 PM	The Bassett House 173 N. Prospect St Burlington	Discussion of “From the River to the Sea” Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation “Join the VTCPL Education Working Group Media Club discussion of From the River to the Sea. Recently published in collaboration with Haymarket and Verso Books, this anthology explores both contemporaneous and historical experiences in both Palestine and the Palestinian diaspora while inspecting Western responses, complicity and outright support of Israel’s genocide.”
Saturday Jan. 6 2:30 PM	Fletcher Free Library Burlington	Opening Reception: Finding Hope Within “Finding Hope Within features art that has emerged through the carceral system in Vermont. The work featured in this exhibition includes drawings, mixed media, poetry and narrative writing by incarcerated artists at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington.”
Monday Jan. 8 5:00 PM	FreeHer space, 94 Colchester Ave Burlington and online	FreeHer Call to Action Party FreeHer Vermont “Join us 5 – 7 PM at the Freeler space in BTV to write letters to legislators and incarcerated folks. Call your legislators & tell them you want FreeHer’s prioritized bills passed, and VT does not need new prisons. Ask 3-4 loved ones to participate in FreeHer’s week of action.”
Tuesday Jan. 9 8:00 AM	State House Montpelier	FreeHer Legislator Greeting FreeHer Vermont “Meet outside the statehouse in Montpelier at 8 AM with signs & flyers to greet legislators.”
Wednesday Jan. 10 6:00 PM	Democracy Creative 266 Pine St, Burlington	Burlington Workers’ Circle Vermont AFL-CIO, DSA “A Workers’ Circle is an informal, peer mentoring group for workers to help each other resolve workplace issues while creating a more democratic culture. Workers’ Circles are open to all workers who do not have hiring, firing, or disciplining power in their workplace.”
Wednesday Jan 10 7:00 PM	Zoom	FreeHer Virtual Teach-in FreeHer Vermont “Join a virtual FreeHer teach-in from 7-8:30 PM to explore the role prisons play in our communities & updates on incarcerated organizing!”
Wednesday Jan 10 8:00 PM	Radio Bean 8 N Winooski Ave, Burlington	Palestine Relief Benefit Vermonters for Justice in Palestine, Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation Featuring Marcie Hernandez, Vega, tip/toe, DJ Broosha, Eric George, Young Lady, Rebecca Ryskalczyk, Super Blue
Thursday Jan. 11 6:00 PM	Rabble-Rouser 64 Main St Montpelier	Montpelier Workers’ Circle Vermont AFL-CIO, DSA “A Workers’ Circle is an informal, peer mentoring group for workers to help each other resolve workplace issues while creating a more democratic culture. Workers’ Circles are open to all workers who do not have hiring, firing, or disciplining power in their workplace.”
Friday Jan. 12 11:oo AM	State House Montpelier	Tell Governor Scott: Health & Housing Now! Vermont Workers’ Center “Thousands of Vermont residents have been cut off from Medicaid or evicted from their homes since the pandemic, in what amounts to a mass denial of human rights by our state government. At the same time, our public programs are dramatically underfunded, leading to service cuts, staffing shortages, and low wages for the workers who care for our communities. On January 12th, tell Governor Scott: Austerity budgets, evictions, and Medicaid cuts are policy murder, and we won’t be silent anymore. Participants are encouraged to wear black to underscore poverty and the denial of basic needs as a death sentence.”
Saturday Jan. 13 1:00 PM	7 Farrell Street South Burlington	An Act of Love Solidarity at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility FreeHer Vermont “Join us outside Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility to send love to incarcerated community members.”
Saturday Jan 20 1:00 PM	City Hall Burlington	Rally and March: Stop Israel’s Genocidal War Now! Vermont Coalition for Palestinian Liberation “With the full support of the Biden administration, Israel is carrying out genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. It has repressed Palestinians within its borders, launched attacks on the West Bank, and bombed Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, threatening a regional war. Now more than ever, we must unite to stop Israel’s war and stand with Palestinians in their struggle for liberation from Israeli occupation, siege, and apartheid.”
Saturday Jan 20 1:00 PM	239 S. Union Street Suite 3 Burlington	Free Zine Making Workshop Peace & Justice Center “Have you ever wanted to make your own zine? Come to the Peace & Justice Center on Saturday, January 20th at 1pm and you can learn how to do it! After a brief presentation about the history of zines, PJC Director of Operations Kason Hudman will demonstrate two different ways to make your own and we will all make some together!”
Wednesday Jan. 24 6:00 PM	Democracy Creative 266 Pine St, Burlington	Burlington Workers’ Circle Vermont AFL-CIO, DSA “A Workers’ Circle is an informal, peer mentoring group for workers to help each other resolve workplace issues while creating a more democratic culture. Workers’ Circles are open to all workers who do not have hiring, firing, or disciplining power in their workplace.”
Thursday Jan. 25 5:30 PM	Zoom	Full Funding for Public Schools in a post COVID Recovery Funds Era Vermont NEA, Education Justice Coalition of Vermont “COVID Recovery Funds (ARP ESSER) are coming to a close fall of 2024. These funds have been used for key student support roles such as mental health counselors, school nurses, and academic interventionists. Many of these funds were used to support our most vulnerable students. At this event we’ll discuss why we need to continue fully funding public schools to create the environments our educators and students need and deserve.”
Thursday Jan. 25 5:30 PM	Old North End Community Center, Rm 218 20 North Allen St Burlington	We Will Not Be Silenced! Resisting the Racist New McCarthyism Tempest Collective “Across the country Palestinians and Palestine solidarity activists have been targeted for political repression. The political establishment, the far right in the GOP, corporations, and university bosses have led the charge, attempting to silence and cancel anyone standing up for Palestine. Their backlash has been developing for several years, but they have intensified it in a desperate attempt to shield Israel from criticism of its apartheid regime and genocidal war. The Tempest Collect invites you to this panel of local activists to discuss the nature of the New McCarthyism, how we can resist it, and strategies for building an even larger and more militant struggle in solidarity with Palestine.”
Thursday Jan. 25 6:00 PM	Rabble-Rouser 64 Main St Montpelier	Montpelier Workers’ Circle Vermont AFL-CIO, DSA “A Workers’ Circle is an informal, peer mentoring group for workers to help each other resolve workplace issues while creating a more democratic culture. Workers’ Circles are open to all workers who do not have hiring, firing, or disciplining power in their workplace.”
Saturday Jan. 27 1:00 PM	City Hall Montpelier	Vermonters Together Building a Better Future: March & Rally for Justice FreeHer VT, Rural Vermont, Migrant Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, others “The problems we are working to solve are interconnected and we need our Legislators to address the root-causes of injustice. We are bigger than what divides us. No more corporate schemes, forgotten people, prisons and wars. Vermont should be built on a strong democracy that prioritizes the needs of the people and our collective future. Together we can embrace new solutions that drive investments in our communities, farmers and our land, provide safe, warm and affordable housing, and give all Vermonters access to 100% low-emissions income-assessed energy. It takes courage to work for systemic change, but time is running out. Later is too late. Bring your voice to the statehouse on January 27.”