Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie

Saturday Oct. 25 from 3:00-5:00 p.m.

Part 2 Under the Surface

Viewers need not have seen any others in this series to thoroughly enjoy any one or more. This second part digs beneath the surface of Vermont’s bucolic image to explore labor wars, eugenics experiments, the McCarthy era, and progressive Republicanism. Covering over a century—from pre-Civil War to 2009—the movie chronicles the rise of unions and quarry work, Barre’s Socialist Labor Party Hall, the marketing of Vermont, the state’s reaction to New Deal policies, George Aiken's gentle populism, and Republican Ralph Flanders’ stand against Joe McCarthy during the Red Scare. Émigrés from urban areas, back-to-the-landers like Helen and Scott Nearing, and lead filmmaker Nora Jacobson’s father, Nicholas Jacobson, came to Vermont in search of an alternate lifestyle.

Please join us in our quest to answer: What is it about Vermont that makes it so special? with Linda Bland facilitating. The conversation will be lively and thought provoking, exploring subjects not generally covered at your dinner table.

Open to the public. Light refreshments served. Free.