HARTFORD — A recent interaction between a black father and his son and two white men who told them they weren’t welcome in Quechee is indicative of the discrimination people of color still face in Upper Valley communities, residents of color said.

They said it’s time to come to grips with the notion that even in a region often stereotyped as progressive, racism remains prevalent.

“I’m glad this is getting some attention. Something needs to change,” Hartford Selectboard member Alicia Barrow said in an interview on Thursday.

Barrow said that there’s a misconception that racial tension isn’t a problem here: “As a woman of color with multiple children of color, I know racism is here in Hartford, Vt.”

Last week, 51-year-old college professor Chris Brown was accosted at a Route 4 intersection by two white men while driving in Quechee with his 11-year-old son.

Brown, who moved to Hartford for the foreseeable future with his family in March, said he believes the men initially flagged him down because his car still has New York license plates. (Out-of-staters have been urged to stay away for fear of spreading COVID-19.)

However, the interaction quickly took on a racist tone, according to Brown, when one of the men said, “We don’t want your drugs and your crime and your COVID.”

“Your kind,” the men told the father and son, weren’t welcome in Hartford.

Brown said he defused the situation and drove away. Later, he called Vermont State Police, who are investigating with help from the Hartford Police Department.

In a press conference this week, Scott decried the incident, saying it had “racial undertones” and that he has called Brown and his family to apologize. He also said the state’s travel restrictions are not meant to create an “us versus them” mentality.

Barrow, who has been a Hartford resident for nearly 14 years and was elected to the Selectboard this spring, said she recalls having a talk with her son after he experienced racism at 4 years old. When she reached out to a friend for support, the person brushed it off as unrepresentative of the community, Barrow recalled.

“I cannot tell you how many times I have been told it doesn’t happen here,” she said.

Barrow said she hopes to bring up Brown’s experience at a Selectboard meeting to discuss ways that the town can address it, starting with education.

“Anyone that is a town employee should be receiving training around racial issues,” Barrow said, adding that she hopes there can be the same education available to residents in Hartford, as well.

But, she said, the Selectboard as an entity can only do so much.

“This is not just on a management level, it’s a community issue,” Barrow said.

There are resources available in the community for residents to learn more about racial issues, she added, including the Hartford Committee on Racial Equity and Inclusion, or HCOREI.

Selectboard member Kim Souza said the board may want to wait for the police investigation to finish before publicly addressing the incident.

But she said the town’s Strategic Plan focuses heavily on anti-discrimination and pro-diversity policies — something the board continues to emphasize.

“This is an ongoing problem that just happens to have gotten some attention,” Souza said.

Selectboard Chairman Dan Fraser, who like Souza is white, said in an email Thursday that the incident is not an accurate reflection of Hartford residents as a whole, and that the board is working to promote inclusiveness in the town.

“We are making progress but it cannot occur fast enough,” he said. “Everyone should feel safe, welcome and never feel threatened.”

Like Barrow, Allene Swienckowski, the chairwoman of HCOREI, said last week’s incident shows the need for continuing to educate residents on race matters.

Swienckowski said she would like to see an ombudsman in the towns of Hartford, Lebanon, Norwich and Hanover who could address complaints on racial issues from residents.

“(It would be) a safe place for people to go and talk to someone to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Swienckowski said.

She said that the confrontation likely came from a place of stress over COVID-19, but that doesn’t excuse the behavior. The issue — and how HCOREI can address it — will likely come up at their next meeting, she said.

“I want to be able to open a dialogue with people. I don’t want biases coming out based on ignorance or pain or fear,” said Swienckowski, who is black.

For other residents of color from Hartford and the surrounding community, the incident strikes a familiar chord.

Former Dartmouth College professor and Thetford Center resident Bill Cole said Scott’s travel restrictions may have played a role in the incident by making it seem OK for Vermont residents to confront people.

“I felt that he did not really understand the totality of what he was trying to do and how it might affect citizens,” Cole said. “It doesn’t surprise me that this happened to this individual. White people quite often think that they have jurisdiction over all the other races in this country.”

Asma Elhuni, a Hartford resident and activist for immigrants rights, also said she was sad but not surprised to learn about Brown’s confrontation this week.

She called on local leaders to “stand up” and address the incident, as well as take action by implementing policies and promoting education around racial discrimination to prevent this from happening again.

“Any person of color knows that we have these issues here,” Elhuni said.

Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.