Documenting the lives of black Vermonters is not a project one would immediately associate with Michael Sullivan. Born in Sheldon Springs in 1935, a seventh generation Vermonter, and reared in Burlington, the first black person he ever saw, he says, was in the men's room at the Champlain Valley Fair. But Sullivan is fascinated by all aspects of Vermont history and "African-Americans in Vermont History" is one of three books he is now working on – each in a different way, a love letter to the state of his birth.

"African-Americans in Vermont History" presents profiles of thirty black Vermonters – some chosen because of their special accomplishments, some ordinary folks. State legislators Francis Brooks and Lavinia Bright are included, as is Ray Nails of Burlington, the first black policeman in the state. Alexander Twilight, (1795-1857) a preacher and school principal was the first black man to graduate college (Middlebury) in the United States and the first black legislator in Vermont. Lucy Prince (1730 – 1821) bought out of slavery by her husband was a poet and renowned speaker who lived with her family in Guilford. She argued a land dispute case before the state Supreme Court – and won. Then there are people about whom little is known. Lavinia Parker lived in Burlington in a house that is now the site of the Ski Rack. Her manumission papers, signed in 1841, show that she was purchased in Alabama by Lucy Hitchcock, a daughter of Ethan Allen. Black Nance was born in Boston and brought as a slave to Vermont by a Reverend Freeman.

Although he left Vermont in 1965 and lived most of his professional life out of state, Sullivan says, "I always wanted to get home." Now retired with a seasonal home in North Hero, he spends much of his time thinking about the special attributes of his native state. "African-Americans in Vermont History" grew out of an interest in race relations in the state sparked by a UVM course in race and ethnicity. Having dropped out of UVM in the 1950's, Sullivan went back to the university in 2002 with a self-designed major in Vermont Studies. He wound up writing a paper about the Ku Klux Klan in Vermont and learning about the state's part in the Civil War; and he was hooked.

When Sullivan told his friends and family about the book project, his daughter Katie, an elementary school teacher in Warren and 2007 Vermont Teacher of the Year, asked him to write it for school children, arguing that it would be invaluable in her classroom. So, he took a course in writing for children and recast the book to be told as first person narratives suitable for eight to ten year olds. Katie's students have reviewed the first draft with instructions from the author to "be honest or I will send the wicked witch of Boomertown to set fire to your underwear." He has also gotten reviewing help from his colleagues at UVM's Center for Research on Vermont.

Sullivan's second project is a history of Vermont's reaction to slavery, this one also a children's book, geared to sixth and seventh graders. In it Sullivan explains that the Constitution of the Republic of Vermont adopted in 1777, before Vermont became a state, clearly states that "all men are born equally free…with certain inalienable rights" and that no male could be enslaved after the age of 21, women after the age of 18 – the first such declaration in the territory of the United States. Sullivan also describes Vermont's role in the years leading up to and including the Civil War – as a leader in the abolitionist movement and a prime source of soldiers and treasure during the war. In fact, Vermont lost more soldiers per capita than any other state. Abraham Lincoln is revered in Vermont. His is the only statue of a president to be found in the Statehouse.

Sullivan's third project, which exists at this point only on index cards, has the working title "101 Reasons To Be Proud of Being a Vermonter." He starts again with the Constitution. Besides banning slavery, the Vermont Constitution was also the first to grant suffrage to non-land owning males and provide for free public schools. The University of Vermont, the third university in the United States, cited as its main purpose the making of good citizens. The first two, Harvard and Yale, were established to educate ministers.

More reasons for Vermont pride: The electric motor was invented here – by Thomas Davenport in Brandon; the steamboat was invented here – by Sam Morey in Fairlee. Other inventions attributed to Vermonters include the wet mop wringer, the platform scale, the refrigerated rail car, sandpaper, Novocain, and the rope tow. Sam Hopkins of Pittsford received the first U.S. patent for his potash making process. Skinny-dipping is a right in Vermont, established by Patrick Leahy when he was Attorney General. Sullivan cites Vermont's civil union legislation as a source of pride – "a commonsense solution" – but he leaves out Act 60.

"Traditionally Vermonters have done the brainwork," Sullivan says. "Other states, like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, and Michigan, got mired in the industrial revolution and did the grunt work." He notes that today Vermonters are at the forefront of the movement to work at home – living where they want to and using their brains to work wherever they can make a living.

When asked, "What makes a Vermonter?" Sullivan refers back to the old Quaker terminology – "birthright or convinced." He comes down squarely on the side of "convinced." "You can be a Vermonter, even if you were born in New Jersey," he says. On the other hand, you could have been born in Sheldon Springs and never be one. Real Vermonters have enormous pride in where we live. We know that we're just a tiny bit better than anyone else."

Barbara Leitenberg writes on senior issues for the Champlain Valley Agency on Aging. This article originally appeared in the Burlington Free Press.