Markers have been set up in Burlington in memory of a mother and son who were enslaved by the daughter of Ethan Allen nearly 200 years ago.
Ethan Allen helped found Vermont in the late 1700s. Lavinia and Francis Parker were enslaved by Allen's daughter, Lucy Caroline Hitchcock, from 1835 to 1841, even though Vermont had entered the union as a slave-free state in 1791.
The markers, called Stopping Stones, were installed on a Main Street sidewalk followed by a ceremony Sunday attended by Black and faith leaders and politicians.
"Not just the south, but every region of the country relied on this industry to prop up its economy and enslave African-Americans and Vermont is no exception to that," the Rev. Arnold Thomas said.
The goal of the Stopping Stones Project is to help eliminate racism by bringing attention to the history of slavery in local communities in order to advance racial equity.
"I think this location here on Main Street, one of the busiest streets in the city, means that the children of this community, the college kids who spend their years here, the millions of visitors who come here over time and come to this street — a significant number of them are going to pause and see these plaques and consider their implications and think a little bit about the life of Lavinia Parker and Francis Parker," said Mayor Miro Weinberger, D-Burlington.
