MHS’s 8th Annual Race Against Racism 

By Anna Cotterill 

6/12/26 

Photos by Jason Miles 

For eight years, crowds have gathered in Montpelier, Vermont for the annual Race Against Racism each spring. This year, the event consisted of performances by Vermont high school and college students, including the West African drumming group Shidaa Project, and workshops featuring BIPOC artists sharing music, poetry, writing and more with the school community. 

Montpelier High School’s Club Action is the student-led club that organizes the Race Against Racism each year. The group meets once a week after school and plans this event throughout the school year.

This year, a community and school event were organized. Previously, Club Action had only organized a community event, which included a 5k race, but this was the second year where both the school and community were involved. 

“We decided not to integrate that into the school one, it will be a part of the community event.” said Heather McLane talking about the decision not to integrate the 5k race into the school event. 

Everyone gathered together for an assembly at school, where the West African drumming group, poets, and other musicians performed for MHS. The entire day was very youth centered, leaving a positive impact on the school and community. Culture and perspective from a variety of BIPOC artists were shared with our school community, and brought a powerful message about resilience and hope. 

Montpelier High School students as well as members of Club Action led the assembly. Whether that meant MC’ing, introducing the event, or taking charge of the lighting, MHS showed up and put on an incredible set of performances. 

“The purpose of the club is for allowing BIPOC voices to be heard in the community,” said Isis Clark, a junior at MHS who is a part of Club Action, explaining the importance of the event.

Following the assembly, students headed to either lunch or a workshop which was previously signed up for. Lunch was lo mein, a Chinese dish, cooked in the MHS kitchen. After lunch, everyone was treated to Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. 

Workshops ranged from Milk with Dignity & Migrant Worker Rights, to learning about Malcom X, to Culinary Traditions of The Mediterranean, Armenia, & México. 

MHS experienced a wide variety of workshops led by teachers, members of the community, and beyond. 

“This day helps people see a side of things that they don’t always see from other cultures.” said Clark talking about how much this event means to our school. 

Club Action is a group that anyone can join, and they are currently looking for underclassmen to help the Race Against Racism  live on in future years. This is a completely student-led event, and to make sure that MHS can continue to have more events in the coming years, the club needs more members. Contact Heather McLane if you are interested or want to join!