Black Female Lawmaker in Vermont Resigns After Racial Harassment.

Kiah Morris, a Democrat, resigned from her seat in the State House of Representatives one month after she ended her re-election campaign over harassment and threats.

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Kiah Morris, the only African-American woman in the Vermont House of Representatives, announced her resignation on Tuesday, a month after she ended her re-election bid because of what she described as a yearslong campaign of racially motivated harassment and threats.

In a Facebook post, Ms. Morris said she had originally hoped to serve the remainder of her term, which would have ended in January, but that “this time has proven to be one of significant challenge for my family.” She ended her re-election campaign on Aug. 24.

“My husband is beginning the long physical journey of recovery following extensive open-heart surgery. We face continued harassment and seek legal remedies to the harm endured,” she wrote. “I step away now to focus on caring for and supporting my family during this time of transition and ensure our health, safety and well-being are prioritized.”

Ms. Morris, a Democrat, was elected to represent the town of Bennington in 2014 and is the second African-American woman to serve in the State Legislature in Vermont’s history. The United States Census Bureau estimated in 2017 that the population of Vermont is more than 94 percent white and slightly more than one percent African-American. . .

But she declined to provide a timeline or detailed information about the events that led her to end her campaign and resign from office, saying she did not want “the glossy minutiae” of her case to distract from larger issues of systemic racism.

“I am having a really hard time with this line of questioning, and I apologize,” she said. “I feel very resistant to get into the details of what we are talking about.”'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/us/politics/kiah-morris-vermont.html?