Community leaders and organizers held a press conference to advocate for a Peoples Agenda to, “call for racial justice and economic equity in the City of New Britain.”
Alicia Strong, co-founder of the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition led the event. The New Britain Racial Justice Coalition and the Black Ministerial Alliance are leading the effort, pressing for, “systemic changes in public institutions.” The two organizations were joined at the event by leaders of the NAACP New Britain Branch, the People’s Coalition of Central Connecticut and others.
“New Britain has a long history of systemic racism and economic inequality. It’s important that we as community leaders acknowledge this and actively dismantle these forces,” said Strong.
“We are unimpressed by the dismissive tone and disregard of the heart of the people,” said Tara Givens Smith, founder of the People’s Coalition of Central Connecticut. “We support issues such as a strong and fully funded civilian review board, the removal of the Columbus statue and both the reform and the defunding of the police. The People’s Coalition of Central Connecticut unapologetically supports our community leaders and the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition on changes that will obviously make our communities safer and more cohesive.”
“I fully support this agenda as a resident of New Britain, a member of the Black Ministerial Alliance and founder of ALM’s Ministries International, Inc,” said Rev. André L. McGuire, J.D.
The People’s Agenda called for at the event included a number of points, including:
To the City of New Britain we are asking for,
- The immediate removal of the Christopher Columbus Statue and the redistribution of funds used to maintain the statue towards grass-roots community projects.
- The reallocation of police department funds towards institutions that address the root cause of crime: mental health and poverty
- The re-appropriation of the School Resource Officer funds directly to the school district to be used on non-punitive, restorative justice in New Britain Schools
- The creation of a Civilian Review Board with subpoena powers whose membership is selected by the community.
- The hiring of Black and Latinx, New Britain residents to fill city job vacancies. This includes having Black and Latinx residents heading city departments
To the State of Connecticut we are asking for,- The passage of the police accountability bill (LCO# 347) An Act Concerning Police Accountability
- The expansion of access to absentee ballots due to COVID-19
To our community organizations, business and non-profits we are asking for,
- The full support of any community programs that promote voter registration and census completion in New Britain.
- The provision of monetary, logistic and/or other forms of support towards projects that focus on dismantling racism and economic inequality in New Britain.
Among the speakers were New Britain NAACP President Ronald P. Davis, who spoke in favor of voter empowerment and for people making their voices heard by voting.
Reverend Gervais Barger of Peace Missionary Ministries and President of the Black Ministerial Alliance of New Britain, spoke about being counted in the census and for removing the Christopher Columbus statue in New Britain.
“Having a voice is incredible, and powerful. What we say with that voice should be responsible and intelligent,” said Rev. Barger. “There is no reason why people of color should have to live in a community with statues and monuments that remind us of the cruelty and savagery of those people that caused us such great pain and humiliation. If the removal of this reminder brings healing and unity to our community, then let us take that step and strengthen our relationship as we walk together as responsible brothers and sisters in this new world.”
Strong highlighted the points of the People’s Agenda, including changing the emphasis of city funding from policing to education and social services, saying studies show that doing that makes communities safer.
Strong went on to advocate for a decision by the city to reallocate funds that had been spent on the school resource officer program to the school system to be used for transformative justice.
Strong said this is important, “as somebody who graduated from the High School, because I have literally seen my friends get arrested in school. And once you get arrested and once you have a record, that’s it. No job wants to hire you. You can’t get any services. You can’t get government housing. Your life is over, for one thing or two things. I don’t want to see that any more.”
For new legislation on absentee ballots and the police accountability legislation recently approved by the State House of Representatives, Strong encouraged people to contact Sen. Gennaro Bizzarro (R-6), to support both bills when they come to the State Senate for a vote. “If he claims to represent the people of New Britain, then he needs to vote for the people of New Britain,” Strong said.
The organizations holding the press conference said that,
Local activists, religious leaders and community organizations are unifying on the issues presented in the People’s agenda. Most recently, an online petition started by Candyce Scott, calling for the removal of the Columbus statue in New Britain has sparked a broader interest in making big changes to the City. Many of New Britain’s Black leaders passionately advocate for the items on the agenda.
