Advocates urge Vermont voters to support amendment banning slavery

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Although slavery has been outlawed in Vermont for decades, a ballot question this November proposes to abolish it for good.

The Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and Vermont Interfaith Action have launched a campaign educating Vermont voters about Prop 2.

Earlier this week, Gov. Phil Scott formally signed off on the proposal, allowing it to appear on ballots later this year. It changes old language that provided certain exceptions to slavery and reaffirms that slavery and indentured servitude in Vermont are illegal in any form.

“We’ve never been a nation without slavery. Ever. We’ve never been a state without some form of slavery, sanctioned slavery, ever. And if we could just imagine what that looks like, maybe we might understand some of the implications, but truthfully we can’t say what the implications are, but they’ve got to be good because they would include the absence of slavery,” said Mark Hughes of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance.

The governor says Vermont is known for having one of the most difficult constitutional amendment processes in the country. But a yes vote on Prop 2 is the final step to making the change official.

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