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Progressive Action Roundtable: A forum for progressive groups in the Greater New Haven Area where actions and ideas may be publicized so that others are aware of peace, health, justice, energy, environmental and other issues for the common good.

Archive for category Human Rights

Police Brutality Incidents Prompt New Haven March

Dec 1

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By Deb Malatesta, CT ANSWER Coalition

Over 80 people marched in New Haven on Oct. 23 to protest police brutality in the community. The march started with a rally at City Hall and proceeded through downtown, ending at the Police Department.

Marchers demanded an immediate end to police brutality, the right to document police behavior without intimidation and a completely independent Citizens’ Review Board representative of the communities in New Haven and able to discipline officers who commit crimes.

The march was called by the October 22nd Coalition after a number of incidents were reported, including an Oct. 2 incident at Elevate, a downtown club, during which the NHPD, some in full SWAT gear, raided a party for Yale students. Students attempting to record the police on their phones were arrested. One student was thrown on the ground and tazed. In a video circulated on YouTube, an officer is seen standing over the student’s body yelling “Anybody else? Who’s next?”

The Elevate incident proved to be the match that lit the powder keg. Due to the privilege afforded Yale by the city, the raid gained front page media attention. Groups, including the Party for Socialism and Liberation, My Brother’s Keeper, Unidad Latina en Acción, Cop Watch New Haven, Citizens for Policing Reform and the Yale and New Haven NAACP, came together to use the spotlight on the police to publicize cases of police brutality, harassment and intimidation common in the most oppressed neighborhoods of the city.

As the march proceeded from City Hall, the chant “From the Hill to the Ville to City Hall, police brutality affects us all” (referring to neighborhoods of The Hill and Newhallville) could be heard throughout the downtown area. People waiting for the buses joined the chants and celebrated the march.

On the steps of the police department, rally chair Marco Castillo said, “Today is the beginning of the end for brutality. Today is the beginning of unity.” Victims of police harassment shared their stories during the rally, some for the first time.

Addressing the crowd on the City Hall steps, civil rights attorney Michael Jefferson said, “Get angry. Stay angry. Keep up the fight. Keep your eyes on the prize.”  The Party for Socialism and Liberation stands in solidarity with all victims of police brutality and those who are struggling against oppressive and brutal police force. In New Haven further actions are being planned.

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Voices For Jobs, Equality & Peace

Dec 1

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By Joelle Fishman, CT CPUSA

A concert for people’s needs, not corporate greed!  The People’s World Amistad Awards will be presented to John Olsen, president, CT AFL-CIO; Carmen Boudier, president, New England 1199; and Juan Figueroa, president, Universal Health Care Foundation, at “Voices for Jobs, Equality & Peace–A concert for people’s needs, not corporate greed,” on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. at James Hillhouse High School Auditorium, 80 Sherman Parkway, New Haven.

Jazz and Latin music, labor songs and spoken word will be performed by an array of artists including Bill Collins of the Rabble Rousers, Hermanos Son, Jeff Fuller, William Fluker and friends, Baub Bidon, DJ Bell and Ken Brown.

The post-election event is dedicated to expanding grass roots action to achieve good jobs, equal rights and a redirection of funds to meet the needs of local youth and communities. The People’s World is hosting this annual event on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of the Communist Party USA. To make reservations and order tickets at $10 each ($5 students/limited income), contact ct-pww@pobox.com or call 203-624-8664.

George Gould And Ron Taylor: ‘A Manifest Injustice’

Dec 1

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By Anne Higgins, People Against Injustice

Neither the cold winds of November nor sixteen long years unjustly incarcerated in CT prisons could keep Ron Taylor and George Gould from telling their story on Nov. 6 in the basement of the New Haven Main Library. The audience paid close attention as the two (released after 16 years last April by Judge Stanley T. Fuger after being wrongfully convicted of murdering a New Haven shopkeeper) told their story, sitting between their lawyer, Peter Tsimbidaros and the investigator, Gerry O’Donnell. Moderator Attorney Michael Jefferson stood nearby and did a masterful job of asking each one short, to-the-point questions. As they thoughtfully responded and shared the discussion of an answer with each other, it became clear that the four, also including Jefferson, had become a “team,” a group that really trusted each other.

What a relief! In these mean times it felt great to hear about this journey from early angry defeat in 1993 to glimmers of hope – a hope encouraged from outside by family, friends, and others in and out of the legal systems. As we moved to audience questions, I kept thinking, “this is a taste of humanity at it’s best,” a refusal to give in to the power of racism, untruth, and the too-often unjust decisions of police and courts.

Following are comments by three who had been there:

“I kept thinking, if someone doesn’t have friends or good lawyers and investigators, though they know they are not guilty, they are doomed!”

“Jefferson’s questions were phenomenal! But I kept wondering, why were these two picked out to land on? It seemed they had a grudge on one or the other, or both.”

“I have followed this case from the beginning, but the forum was still an ‘eye opener’ to me. George and Ron were so admirable, as were the dedication and professionalism of Peter the lawyer and Gerry the investigator, who uncovered the truth.”

Mark Twain: “A lie can get halfway around the world before the Truth gets its shoes on.” Kudos to all who helped get the shoes on, so the race could be won… and many thanks to all who helped with this PAI (People Against Injustice) event.

According to the Wrongfully Convicated Database Record: Both men were wrongly convicted in 1995 of the 1993 murder of a New Haven, Connecticut shopkeeper. Their convictions were based on their identification by a witness as leaving the store shortly after she heard the gunshot that killed the shopkeeper. Ronald Taylor and George Gould were both sentenced to 80 years in prison. Based on the witnesses recantation and DNA testing that conclusively eliminated Gould and Taylor as the source of DNA on a cord used to bind the shopkeeper’s hands, the men’s convictions were overturned on March 17, 2010. They were released on their own recognizance on April 1, 2010, after more than 16 years of wrongful conviction.

“The Great Debaters” screening taking place 6 p.m., Nov. 15

Oct 24

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By Mary Johnson, Coalition for People

On Monday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m., the Coalition for People will screen “The Great Debaters” in the Performing Arts Center of the New Haven Free Public Library at 133 Elm St.

A true story, the film relates the tireless efforts of a small southern college debating team to overcome an enormous hurdle. Set in the early 20th Century, the students, all African-American, were inspired by their coach, played by Denzel Washington, to debate white students as well as black students at schools in many areas of the nation. Eventually, they took on the Harvard team and won, decades before federal law demanded desegregation.

Join us in viewing this wonderful reminder that persistent struggle can bring change. Call (203) 387-7858 for information or to tell us you plan to come on Nov. 15.

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PAI Hosting Wrongly Convicted Men – Gould & Taylor, Investigator & Lawyer

Oct 18

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By Sally Joughin

When People Against Injustice member Martha Gould told the other members that the murder victim had on several items of gold jewelry and $1800 cash still in his pocket, we were sure that her son George and Ron Taylor had been wrongly convicted of robbing and killing the owner of La Casa Green in Fair Haven on July 4, 1993. Members of PAI attended the 1997 appeal hearing with Martha. At issue was video-taped testimony from the hospitalized “star witness,” a heroin-addicted prostitute, which had been allowed unsupervised into the jury room. Precedent was set against this practice, but no relief for Gould and Taylor, the judges ruled, because of the “overwhelming evidence of their guilt”.

I began visiting George with Martha, and kept in touch with him and his case over the years, keeping the PAI connection. PAI sponsored a conference in 2003 on Wrongful Conviction. George worked on his paintings in the prison art program while waiting for his luck to turn.

Eleven years after the 1995 trial, habeas investigator Gerry O’Donnell learned, following 3 years of gathering new evidence, that the “star witness” had been coerced to lie by several New Haven police officers and hadn’t even been present to witness anything! He uncovered evidence of someone else with a motive, another coerced witness, and many individuals with information whom the police had never interviewed.

On April 1, 2010, after 16 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit, Gould and Taylor were freed by a conscientious judge. With no evidence of guilt remaining, the prosecutors nevertheless plan to appeal the decision.

There’s a lot more to this story. You have an opportunity to hear it firsthand and to meet George and Ron, Investigator O’Donnell and Ron’s Habeas Attorney Peter Tsimbidaros.

Come to the PAI forum from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 6, at the New Haven Public Library, 133 Elm St. For more information, call Mary at (203) 387-7858.

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New Haven/Leon Sister City Project

Oct 3

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By Chris Schweitzer, NHLSCP

This October (until the 25th)  the New Haven/Leon Sister City Project will again be bringing our Nicaraguan staff to Connecticut. They will be available for presentations and discussions on a range of topics related to our work,  including:

  • Rural community life and development issues, with a focus on the community of Goyena outside Leon.
  • The struggle between sugar cane workers and Nicaragua Sugar Estates, Ltd., over the epidemic of chronic renal insufficiency and the resulting death of 1500 workers (see http://www.newhavenleon.org/us_solidarity). 
  • Impact of climate change on rural communities  (Goyena was displaced by Hurricane Mitch in 1998) and other environmental issues impacting the rural communities.
  • Education in Nicaragua

Our presentations tend to tie together the realities faced by Nicaraguans and broader systemic political and economic forces. We also like to invite discussion and encourage participants to get further involved in efforts for social justice.  But we’re open to structuring the presentations to meet the needs of a group, and we can also present on other topics related to Latin America not mentioned above.

Also, if you’re interested in our One World House exhibit  – which invites students to learn about climate change and its impact on rural communities – please see www.newhavenleon.org/earthathon.

If you are interested in any of the above, please contact Chris at (203) 562-1607 (mornings are best) or nh@newhavenleon.org. To get a better sense of our work see www.newhavenleon.org.

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Sustainable Agriculture And Social Justice: Cultivating Peace, One Garden At A Time

Oct 3

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By Witness for Peace New England

“The long-term idea is to create many knots. You can’t have a net without many knots.”  ~ Kiado Cruz

Kiado Cruz, from Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico, is a community organizer for RASA (La Red Autónoma por la Soberanía Alimentaria: The Autonomous Network for Food Sovereignty), a spin-off of UniTierra, a school that concentrates on indigenous forms of education such as mentoring, horizontal networking and apprenticeship, community service and environmental sustainability. RASA is an ever-increasing citywide network of people who are learning, and then teaching, inner-city gardening, while rediscovering their cultural food roots. The people of RASA are reclaiming their complex agricultural and culinary heritage, “roof by roof, yard by yard.”

Señor Cruz will be speaking on sustainable agriculture as well as the community organizing that has been instrumental in the current autonomous movements in Oaxaca and Chiapas. He will also address questions about the effects of U.S. trade policies and increasing privatization that have been damaging to Mexico, and about related migration issues.  The talk will be on Thursday, Oct. 14, 7-9 p.m. at the Yale Office of International Students and Scholars, 421 Temple Street.

With this tour, the organizers, Witness for Peace, aim to enrich the cross-borders dialogue between those who are creating and supporting local food systems and local economies; engaging in education reform; advocating for immigration reform; and/or promoting fair and just international trade, both in Latin America and in the U.S.

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Immigrant Women Denied Human Rights Speak Out

Aug 31

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by Anna Aschenbach, New Haven County Branch, WILPF

On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, our Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) branch presented “Speak Out! Voices of Immigrant Women, Denied Human Rights in the U.S.” at the Courtland Wilson Library in the Hill, with Anna Aschenbach as M.C. Theresa Zumbo photographed the entire event. Branch manager Melissa Canham-Clyne was a tremendous help.

A placard in front of the podium stated, “We are all immigrants.”

Many women could not speak because their immigration status was not entirely clear.

The first speaker was Samaher Hanania, a Christian from Bethlehem, Palestine. Her husband’s cousin, a sick man who is also from Bethlehem, had been arrested in front of her by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and put in jail with no notice, no warrant, no information on where he was taken, and without his medications.

The second speaker, Guadalupe Montiel, came with her translator who also spoke Mexican Spanish. She told about the march from Fair Haven to downtown for May Day 2010 on the Green, and their demands.

The last speaker, Elvira Cereni, told about escaping from Albania and her troubles with low-income employment in the U.S.

Attendance included three WILPF members, a Turkish man, a former Russian Olympic woman athlete and two representatives of ANSWER.

We handed out postcards in English and Spanish: “10 Myths about Immigration” from Tools for Change, Syracuse Cultural Workers.

Attorney Olia Yelner’s points to be included in a good immigration bill were read aloud. One attendee added: “No profiling.”

Most importantly, the three immigrant women speakers heard each other.

Resist racial profiling from Arizona to Fair Haven

Jul 25

Posted by Progressive Action Roundtable in Events, Human Rights, Workers | No Comments

(contributed)

Resist racial profiling from Arizona to Fair Haven. Protest the enactment of SB1070.

There will be a rally at 6 p.m. July 28, in front of the Federal Courthouse at 141 Church St., in New Haven, CT.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s racist law, SB1070, has ignited a firestorm of protests around the country at the very time when immigrants, people of color and workers are standing up for justice. In addition to SB1070, which legalizes and enforces racial profiling and is aimed at all people of color in Arizona, the state has pased SB 2281, which bans ethnic studies from public classrooms and punishes critique of the American government and its international policy.

Other states reportedly are considering sililar moves. Many states and municipalities are seizing this opportunity to push through 287g, ‘Secure Communities’ and other ICE programs that destroy communities, tear apart families and intimidate workers.

These attacks come at a time when all people are suffering from the wave of budget cuts and mass unemployment that makes racism and anti-immigrant xenophobia so dangerous.

On July 29, 2010, the bill will be enacted. In solidarity with Arizona, coordinated actions throughout the country are being planned to show support for Arizona and to highlight local struggles of immigrants, people of color and workers.

For more information contact ulaccion@yahoo.com.

Peace Conference For Nuclear Disarmament In NYC Apr. 30-May 2

Jun 1

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by Nancy Eberg, GNH Peace Council

During the weekend of April 29-May 2, a series of incredible events transpired in NYC. On Friday and Saturday, nearly 1000 participants from around the world attended a conference on the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons at Riverside Church. Hoping to influence the UN Review Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held the following week, the workshop tracks were abolition, peace, economic justice/human needs, and environmental sustainability. Experts in all fields participated, including locals from the Greater New Haven Peace Council—Henry Lowendorf and Al Marder. Henry, along with leaders of the World and Canadian Peace Councils, spoke about struggles against global imperialism; Al, with Cora Weiss, president of the Hague Appeal for Peace, and former Ambassador Sylvester Rowe of Sierra Leone discussed the Luarca Declaration that peace is a human right.

Three plenaries were held that included such noted speakers as Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General; Terumi Tanaka, head of the organization of bomb survivors; Mayor Akiba of Hiroshima; Princeton professor Zia Mian; noted author on nukes Joseph Gerson; and president of the World Peace Council, Socorro Gomes. The conference hoped to greatly expand the momentum started by Obama’s Prague speech and the negotiations between him and Medvedov for the new START Treaty. Highlights of the conference were Ban Ki-moon’s affirmation that he has proposed a nuclear weapons convention toward nuclear abolition and supports the Japanese timetable of 2020 for total abolition – commitments that should have an energizing effect on abolition proponents.

The Sunday march from Times Square to the UN was aimed in part to deliver the 7 million signatures collected worldwide to abolish nuclear weapons. Since Japan was the only country to experience the devastating bomb effects on an urban population, it sent nearly 2000 marchers. Estimates of total attendance varied from 10-15,000 (American newspapers) to 25,000 (Japanese newspapers). In spite of the unseasonably hot, humid, 90-degree weather and too-long pre-rally, spirits soared. Jubilant marchers sang and chanted, passing out innumerable origami peace cranes. Hope for a world without nuclear weapons permeated the group. It was an unforgettable experience that hopefully will have positive results.

The plenary sessions were live streamed during the conference, and most are now available for viewing (the closing session with Ban Ki-moon will be available soon).

For more on the speech by Ban Ki-moon, see the United Nations’ release.

See pictures taken by New Haven’s Henry Lowendorf here.

ADAPT News

Jun 1

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by Heiwa Salovitz, ADAPT

ADAPT is a national grass-roots community that organizes disability rights activists to engage in nonviolent direct action, including civil disobedience, to assure the civil and human rights of people with disabilities to live in freedom. For information about an ADAPT chapter in New Haven, call (203) 887-0248 or e-mail cpmuslim@gmail.com.

One of ADAPT’s campaigns is the Community Choice Act (CCA). For a tax of six dollars a year, the CCA would help seniors to stay in their own homes instead of nursing facilities. People with disabilities would have funding available to help them live independently.

Community Choice Act: S 683 and HR 1670

Even with the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), federal law still requires that states provide nursing facility care in their Medicaid programs without a similar requirement for home and community-based services. The Community Choice Act (CCA) levels the playing field and gives Americans a real choice in long term care by reforming Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) and ending the institutional bias.

The Community Choice Act allows individuals eligible for services in a Nursing Facility, Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF-MR), or Institutions for

Mental Disease (IMD) the opportunity to choose instead a new alternative, “Community-based Attendant Services and Supports.” Services can be provided at home, in school, at work and in the community. Assistance is available for a broad range for needs, such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, money management and certain health related tasks.

In addition, by providing an enhanced match and grants for the transition to “Real Choice” when the benefit becomes permanent, the Community Choice Act offers states financial assistance to reform their long term service and support system to provide services in the most integrated setting

What would this program cost?

On average, a middle class taxpayer would only pay an additional $2.29-$6.07 in taxes annually for CCA, depending on CCA cost. If the cost was adjusted for inflation for 2010, the middle class taxpayer would pay an average of $2.40-$6.35 annually.

What would this program cost?  $6.07 a year.

For more information about the CCA and to learn more about ADAPT, call (203) 887-0248, e-mail cpmuslim@gmail.com or visit the website www.adapt.org

May Day Immigrant March

Jun 1

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by Chris Garaffa, ANSWER CT

1,400 people took to the streets for the annual May Day march in New Haven. The march proceeded from Quinnipiac Park down Grand Avenue in Fair Haven. Marchers were loud, spirited and energetic, chanting “¡Obama, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (Obama, listen, we are in the fight!) and “Full rights now!” as people from the neighborhood joined the demonstration.

A number of groups organized for the march, and people came from New Haven and the surrounding area, and as far away as Stamford and Danbury.

As the march ended, it fed into the Federal Plaza downtown for a rally. Speakers denounced the lack of progress on real and meaningful immigration reform in Congress, Arizona’s racist SB 1070 and the terror of ICE across the country. Speakers also condemned racist police tactics in New Haven and neighboring East Haven, where recent community action and an investigation into racial profiling caused Police Chief Leonard Gallo to be placed on administrative leave in April.

This year’s May Day marches were called as a follow-up to the March 21 march in Washington, DC, which drew a crowd of 250,000. Those in New Haven joined hundreds of thousands of others in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Austin, TX, Seattle, WA and across the country.

Oneworld Progressive Institute

Jun 1

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by N’Zinga Shäni

OneWorld Progressive Institute produces educational programs and community forums for the benefit of the entire community. In 2010 our focus will be mainly on Education and Civic Engagement. Our program “21st Century Conversations” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Comcast, Chan. 26. Visit: www.nhtv.com/Uverse.html to find us on AT&T U-Verse. We are on all major cable systems. Viewers can order DVD copies through our on-line store. We encourage readers to browse our website.

On CTV, Ch. 26: Political Debate with Debra Hauser and Roland Lemar, Thurs., June 3, 8-9 p.m.

Mondays, 8 p.m. during summer months, watch our new Health Care Information Series with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, President Obama and leading CT health care experts. Our Education Series includes teen forums and workshops with principals, teachers and parents.

We encourage people to watch each broadcast.  Read these New Haven Independent articles about our recent programs.

The Kids Get Their Say by Zak Stone | Apr 28, 2010

Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority

Target: The “Brainwashing Thing”

by Zak Stone | Feb 19, 2010

Samples of comments posted about our April Teen Forum:

Pat on May 5, 2010: This is great! We need more opportunities for teens to show that they are good kids. The bad kids always steal the show. These kids are our hope for the future. Keep up the good work!

Mrs. Robles on May 5, 2010: I think all of these kids did a great job. Students should be asked for their input more frequently—too often, their thoughts and ideas are not taken seriously because many people think they are too young and/or immature to understand or talk intelligently about issues. Unfortunately, people usually gravitate towards the more sensational stories (the hijacked bus). However, if more stories like this are written, maybe this could change some people’s attitudes.

Harold on May 6, 2010: Why wasn’t this on the front page of the New Haven Register? We need to celebrate our good kids more and sessions like this do that. I’m glad I stumbled upon this article.

We encourage a desire for life-long learning; we believe that “21st Century Conversations” offer a unique opportunity to those who watch to learn a great deal about an array of issues. We at OneWorld are encouraging civic engagement and extolling Lighthouses of Knowledge. These can start at the kitchen tables; they can expand to the basement of churches and community centers. We welcome comments and feedback. OneWorld Progressive Institute,P. O. Box 8662, New Haven, CT 06531, (203) 407-0250, oneworldpi@yahoo.com,  www.oneworldpi.org.