Climate Council BIPOC-only public hearing cancelled for ‘Zoom security issues’

By Guy Page

Tuesday night’s Vermont Climate Council virtual public hearing at which white people were not welcome to join or participate was cancelled at the last minute due to “Zoom security issues,” the Vermont Climate Council director told registrants in an email.

The meeting was designed “as a dedicated space for people who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color,” explained Jane Lazorchak, Director of the Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act for the Agency of Natural Resources, in an email to registrants at 5:01 pm Wednesday. The BIPOC-only public hearing has been rescheduled for next Tuesday.

“We have designed this space in order to center the needs and perspectives of a set of communities that faces disproportionate risk from climate change. The purpose of this meeting is to hear specifically from Black, Indigenous, and people of color about feedback on actions being considered by the Climate Council and Sub-Committees for the Vermont Climate Action Plan,” Lazorchak said.

Levar Cole

Still, a public meeting that excludes people by race doesn’t sit well with Levar Cole, a black farmer and Chelsea selectboard member.

“I would be offended if whites were excluded from the public hearing,” Cole wrote to Vermont Daily Chronicle yesterday. “In the 1830s, The US House passed a resolution (gag rule) barring/automatically tabling all debate on slavery and then renewed it in several subsequent sessions. That gag rule was a “Safe Space” for Planters. Encouraging participation in the aspirations and actions of our republic by folks who were not allowed to fully participate in the past is one thing, but implicitly or explicitly excluding anyone from debate based on race or ethnicity is what we war against. I don’t get the safe space. Are we trying to right the wrongs of segregation and exclusion or recreate them under a new banner?”

The full text of the Lazorchak email is printed below:

Thank you for registering to be a part of the BIPOC Affinity Public Meeting for Vermont’s Climate Action Plan on Tuesday October 5th from 6-7:30 pm. We had to cancel the meeting at the last moment due to Zoom security issues, and extend our apologies to those who did not receive a timely notification of cancellation, and to all for the inconvenience that this has caused.

We are writing to let you know that we are rescheduling this session for next Tuesday October 12th from 6-7:30.

This session was designed as a dedicated space for people who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color.  We have designed this space in order to center the needs and perspectives of a set of communities that faces disproportionate risk from climate change. The purpose of this meeting is to hear specifically from Black, Indigenous, and people of color about feedback on actions being considered by the Climate Council and Sub-Committees for the Vermont Climate Action Plan. We will be asking the same questions and going through the same process as we have in other in-person and virtual public input meetings. We ask that people who do not belong to the above categories refrain from joining this meeting to give us the grace to create the space needed for this critical work. 

If you do not identify in any of the above categories, you are welcome to join the Public Input Meeting tonight Wednesday October 6th from 6-7:30. The zoom link is here.  For those who signed up out of interest in BIPOC perspectives, but not necessarily to share your own lived experience as a BIPOC person, we thank you for your interest and want you to know that the summarized data from this session will be shared with the Climate Council, the Sub-Committees and will be publicly available on the Climate Council website.

If you would like to join us for the rescheduled meeting on Oct 12th, please register here:

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAufuutrD8qGtEzVr9G8JgvpGFljAEnD0pu

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This session will be co-facilitated by Sarika Tandon of Rise Consulting, and Kiah Morris. Rise Consulting is partnering with Climate Access on the public engagement for the climate action plan, and Kiah is a former Just Transitions Sub-Committee co-chair and is now engaged with the Council as a consultant in helping apply an equity framework to the proposed actions.

Guy Page is publisher of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. Reprinted with permission.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

8 thoughts on “Climate Council BIPOC-only public hearing cancelled for ‘Zoom security issues’

  1. Snowflakes melt when the hot light of Truth shines upon their corrupt, criminal, $$ laundering scam. They have no idea they are nothing more than pawns in a big scam. They pretend to be so informed and resolute on this issue. They are being played, they are fools, and they are performing just as they are herded and instructed to do – really sad and pathetic. Incapable of critical thinking and educated to be ignorant slaves to the puppet masters controlling their narratives….fools – total fools.

  2. Does anyone out there really need additional proof that the Vermont Climate Council is a fraudulent scam created to monetarily benefit a select group of elitist ‘Climate Warriors’ at the expense of tax payers who had no say in the creation of this fake council to fight thousands of years old natural climate change that is NOT caused by humans, or cows, or any other living thing. My fellow Vermonters, we’re getting robbed and screwed by these crooks…

    • Yes Roland a computer virus will double the effect of the chynaCrud
      by leaching system files which boost the curd power by x10… if you thought the Delta variant was bad wait until billy gate’s corrupt sys files invade the
      mRna bots from the vax… you’ll need boosters every month just like microsuks software does…

  3. ” at which white people were not welcome to join or participate” ???!!!
    You have to be kidding me, yes?
    Have any of thee people ever heard of the Civil Rights Act?

    Maybe a nice fat lawsuit with criminal charges also attached will begin to awaken a few of them…

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