Mia Schultz has watched three other Black women in Vermont resign from leadership posts in the mostly white state because of harassment and threats.
She’s also seen Black acquaintances move away from the progressive state that is home to Bernie Sanders and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream because they felt unwelcomed.
But the 45-year-old mother of two teenage boys feels called to continue fighting racism, which she’s done since moving to the state from southern California six years ago.
Now, the former insurance professional is carrying on a broader fight for her community in her new leadership role as president of one of Vermont’s two NAACP branches. “I really don’t feel like I have a choice,” said Schultz, who replaced another Black woman,