“Vermont was the first state to abolish slavery.” That’s the common refrain around here. Except, the history is more complicated. Reporter Lexi Krupp answers a question from Peter Langella about this oft-misunderstood history, and explores how the legacy of slavery is still reverberating in Vermont today.

Check out the web version of this story for photos and additional resources from Lexi’s reporting. And thanks to Peter Langella for the great question.

Recommended episodes from the BLS archive:

• What's the history of the Underground Railroad in Vermont?
• Remembering Vermont's 19th century Black communities

Additional reading:

• The Problem of Slavery in Early Vermont, Harvey Amani Whitfield
• The Blind African Slave, Or Memoirs of Boyrereau Brinch, Nicknamed Jeffrey Brace, Jeffrey Brace as told to Benjamin F. Prentiss, Edited and with an introduction by Kari J. Winter
• Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island, by Christy Clark-Pujara
• From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century, William A. Darity Jr., A. Kirsten Mullen
• "Eat the Rich," NPR's Invisibilia

Lexi Krupp reported this episode. Mix and sound design by Myra Flynn, with editing and additional production from Angela Evancie, Josh Crane and Mae Nagusky. Ty Gibbons composed our theme music; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.  

Special thanks to Kari Winter, Stephanie Seguino, Lindsay Varner, Erica Donnis, Rebecca Zietlow and Thomas Denenberg.

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Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public.