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Willie Matos, Friend and Comrade

by Andy Piascik, PAR reader

Willie Matos, who worked his entire adult life for Puerto Rican liberation and freedom for working class people everywhere, passed away on October 14 at 84. Born in Puerto Rico, Willie emigrated with his family to Bridgeport in 1951 and soon confronted the many manifestations of racism that Puerto Ricans face. He also came to better understand that many of the problems are directly related to US colonial domination.

Willie joined the Young Lords Party after its formation in 1968, helped found a chapter in Bridgeport and served on the organization’s national leadership body. He played a leading role in the Bridgeport Lords’ work against slumlords, police brutality and on other issues. They established a Free Breakfast for Children program and worked for the liberation of Puerto Rico and in opposition to the Vietnam War. The Lords also advocated on behalf of the unemployed and helped establish a statewide organization of Puerto Rican migrant agricultural workers.

Willie helped form the Spanish American Coalition and in 1979 pulled together a committee to support striking workers at a local factory. The committee’s work proved important to the strike being settled on favorable terms. He and others carried that work forward in the Plant Closures Project in an attempt to hold corporations accountable for the layoffs ravaging working class communities. Willie helped establish the Vieques Support Committee that sought to end the US Navy’s use of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques for target practice. That effort proved successful and Vieques today is home to the Caribbean’s largest wildlife refuge.

Willie worked for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and as an adjunct professor at Housatonic Community College. He remained involved in activist organizations and mentored hundreds of Latino youths. He also gathered for many years on New Year’s Eve day with friends at a marker in Bridgeport that honors Roberto Clemente to pay homage to the great baseball player on the anniversary of his death.

A friend, comrade and mentor to hundreds, Willie’s spirit lives on in those who walk in his footsteps. [See https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/10/29/williematos-friend-and-comrade for a more detailed article]

Webinar on Environmental Justice Dec. 3

The Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, Health Resources in Action, and Alternatives for Community & Environment, Inc. invite you and your organization to an informational webinar on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, at 4 p.m.

This session will explore the exciting opportunities available through the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program. This initiative aims to strengthen environmental justice efforts by providing funding and support to local communities. During the webinar, you’ll learn about:

– The goals of the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program.
– How this program supports projects that address environmental injustices in communities.
– Available technical assistance to support organizations in their efforts.

RSVP at info@ctclimateandjobs.org.

This is a valuable opportunity to gain insight into this transformative program and connect with organizations committed to environmental and community justice.

Breaking Chains, Building Bridges, 9 am – 6 pm Sat. Nov. 16, Hartford.

Register here — https://www.eventbrite.com/e/breaking-chains-building-bridges-ct-for-palestine-tickets-1002651446467

 

Wesleyan University, Middletown CT: Breaking Chains, Building Bridges will bring together activists, organizers, students, workers, artists and all those ready to stand in solidarity with Palestine and grow the movement for collective liberation. We invite people of conscience from across Connecticut and the greater region to join us in political education, skill-building and strengthening relationships for the struggle ahead. Free Palestine! Mask up and see you there – Unitarian Society of Hartford, 50 Bloomfield Ave. Hartford, CT 06105.

Activists gathered Oct. 7 Action on Gaza at Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s Office

On Oct. 7, peace and justice activists gathered in front of Rep. DeLauro’s New Haven office at 59 Elm St. for a community reading of the open letter to Pres. Biden and Vice Pres. Harris from American medical professionals who served in Gaza. The letter was then given to her aide Lou Mangini to read to her. The reading was organized by the Greater New Haven Peace Council.

Below are excerpts. The entire letter is online at www.gazahealthcareletters.org/usa-letter-oct-2-2024.

I’ve never seen such horrific injuries, on such a massive scale, with so few resources. Our bombs are cutting down women and children by the thousands. Their mutilated bodies are a monument to cruelty. Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, trauma and critical care surgeon, Veterans Affairs general surgeon

I saw so many stillbirths and maternal deaths that could have been easily prevented if the hospitals had been functioning normally. Dr. Thalia Pachiyannakis, obstetrician and gynecologist

Gaza was the first time I held a baby’s brains in my hand. The first of many. Dr. Mark Perlmutter, orthopedic and hand surgeon

Open Letter from American Medical Professionals Who Served in Gaza

October 2, 2024

Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris,

We are 99 American physicians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, nurses, and midwives who have volunteered in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. Combined, we spent 254 weeks volunteering in Gaza’s hospitals and clinics. We worked with various nongovernmental organizations and the World Health Organization in hospitals and clinics throughout the Strip. In addition to our medical and surgical expertise, many of us have a public health background, as well as experience working in humanitarian and conflict zones, including Ukraine during the brutal Russian invasion. Some of us are veterans and reservists. We are a multifaith and multiethnic group. None of us support the horrors committed on October 7 by Palestinian armed groups and individuals in Israel. …

…[T]he human toll in Gaza since October is far higher than is understood in the United States. It is likely that the death toll from this conflict is already greater than 118,908, an astonishing 5.4% of Gaza’s population.

Our government must act immediately to prevent an even worse catastrophe than what has already befallen the people of Gaza and Israel. A ceasefire must be imposed on the warring parties by withholding military support for Israel and supporting an international arms embargo on Israel and all Palestinian armed groups. We believe our government is obligated to do this, both under American law and International Humanitarian Law. We also believe it is the right thing to do.

Read the letter in its entirety here: https://www.gazahealthcareletters.org/usa-letter-oct-2-2024

News from the Urban League of Southern CT

Vanessa Simmons, Exec. Admin. Assistant, ULSC

The Urban League of Southern Connecticut proudly announces its involvement in a groundbreaking national initiative to diversify participation and equitable access to clinical trials. The EQBMED initiative is dedicated to fostering diverse representation in clinical trials.

We are in partnership with Yale School of Medicine’s Equitable Breakthroughs in the Advancement of Medicine Development (EQBMED). It is our goal to engage our communities in conversations to provide information, and discuss the importance of our participation in clinical trial research that we have been hesitant to become involved in due to our past history, and to address barriers that have prevented us from participating in the research and development of life-saving medicines that are genetically researched and developed for our bodies to ensure the best outcome for us.

For more information about EQBMED visit us at: www.ulsc.org, www.EQBMED.org, or medicine.yale.edu.

Amistad: Retold

by New Haven Museum

The reconceived exhibition “Amistad: Retold” takes a new angle on the familiar story of the Amistad, centering [on] the people who led the revolt and their collective actions to determine their own lives. It also foregrounds New Haven as the site of their incarceration and organizing by Black and white abolitionists.

The 1839 Amistad Revolt was led by 53 West African captives who were being trafficked from Havana’s slave markets on the schooner La Amistad after being kidnapped from their homelands, despite European treaties prohibiting the Atlantic Slave Trade. The Museum notes the diversity of the Amistad captives—their multiethnic, multilingual, and economic backgrounds, with trades that ranged from rice farmer to blacksmith, in addition to weavers, hunters, and merchants.

Incarcerated for nearly 19 months in New Haven, the Amistad captives worked closely with anti-slavery activists who formed the Amistad Committee and connected with networks of engaged citizens to organize and fundraise for their legal defense. Artists, particularly those based in New Haven, gave representation to the movement by creating engravings and paintings that enabled the public to envision the circumstances of the captives and recognize their individuality and resolve in protecting their freedom. A number of those significant works made their way to the New Haven Museum collection.

Visitors will be immediately surprised by the new visual experience of the gallery – its vibrant colors, transformation of the space, as well as a new acquisition – the color serigraph of artist Jacob Lawrence’s “Revolt on the Amistad,” created in 1989 to commemorate the Amistad Revolt sesquicentennial. A cover image from a Golden Legacy comic book offers a 1970s pop-culture adaptation of NHM’s iconic Sengbe Pieh portrait, which was painted in 1840 by Nathaniel Jocelyn at the time of the trials. The painting has returned to view after two years, following its inclusion in “Afro-Atlantic Histories,” a major traveling exhibition organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

In response to questions and comments from students and teachers during workshops, the new exhibition includes a large-scale map that charts the voyages of the Amistad rebels. The map provides context about the continual resistance to the slave trade in West Africa and across the Atlantic, as well as the changing Trans-Atlantic politics in the years preceding the Amistad Revolt in 1839.

This article can be read in its entirety at www.newhavenmuseum.org/education/current-exhibitions. The New Haven Museum is located at 114 Whitney Ave.

Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide Film to Premier Early in 2025: Venues Needed for Showings

Joan Cavanagh, Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide

Thanks to those who have contributed funds, ideas, and/or moral support, the Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide (PAMAS) film about the social and humanitarian dangers of legalization of medical assisted suicide is on target for completion by the end of the year. On Sept. 16, four interviews were filmed, each powerful in its own way. We are looking forward to a second group on Nov. 12. We are working on background content, and our filmmaker will complete a “first draft edit” late in November which we will review for a final edit. Then, American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be synced in for the completed version.

2025 arrives soon, bringing a new CT legislative session. A new MAS bill will likely be introduced into a committee that proponents have publicly promised to stack with supporters. So, it’s prime time for public discussions about the general issue. We are seeking venues in which to show the film and host discussions following it. We’re approaching libraries, medical schools, colleges and universities, law schools and any other venues in Connecticut that we can think of.

This is more than just asking for a room to rent. We are looking for locations that will do publicity through their own networks and lend a hand with technical issues. If you have or can make relevant contacts in the greater New Haven area or elsewhere, let us know.

We are also pleased to share the film with people in Connecticut (or in other states) for showings. The issue of medical-assisted suicide is a national (and international) problem. Many states will have legislation pending next year and in the future. Our film will not be specific to any particular state or piece of legislation, so it should be relevant for all areas and for several years at least. It will be available on our website or via a YouTube link for people to watch individually, but the beauty of showing the movie quality version to a group is to allow for subsequent discussion and remarks. The film itself will be about 15-20 minutes long.

Please contact us at progressivesagainstmas@hotmail.com.

Keep the Pressure Up to Stop Fracked Gas Expansion in Connecticut

by Samantha Dynowski, Director of Sierra Club CT

During the last week of September Sierra Club of Connecticut organized two powerful events in opposition to the proposed expansion of fracked gas pipelines in the state. On Sept. 23, the researchers who completed a study on the health impacts of the fracked gas compressor station in Brookfield, CT, presented their findings at an event at the Brookfield Library. The corporations that own the compressor station want to double the size of the facility. One of the biggest concerns is that the town’s middle school is just 1900 feet away from the compressor station.

About 30 people attended the event including Marty Foncello, the State Representative for Brookfield, two of the town’s Selectmen, and the principal of the middle school. The researchers broke down the different emissions that come from the compressor station and how they impact people’s health. The event wrapped up with a discussion about how the community can fight the proposed expansion.

Then on Sept. 24, Sierra Club Connecticut organized a rally at the State House in Hartford calling on Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to reject all permits for the Enbridge company’s Project Maple pipeline expansion, and for the proposed compressor station expansion in Brookfield.

Over 50 people attended the midday rally. After hearing from some speakers, we marched to the Governor’s office and then to DEEP’s office and delivered a letter signed by over 30 elected and appointed officials in Connecticut calling on the Governor and DEEP to publicly oppose Project Maple and the Brookfield compressor station expansion.

TAKE ACTION! It’s urgent that we build on this momentum and keep the pressure up on Governor Lamont and DEEP. This is especially important for Brookfield – as DEEP is reviewing the final permit for the proposed compressor station expansion right now. Please take a few minutes to send a message to Governor Lamont and DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes using this action page: https://act.sierraclub.org/actions/National?actionId=AR0469700&id=701Po00000LgR69IAF.

You can also go a step further and call Lamont’s office (860-566-4840) and Katie Dykes’ office (860-424-3001) and urge them to oppose Project Maple and the Brookfield compressor station expansion. Every phone call and email matters!

‘Emma Jones Justice for Malik Corner’ OK’d

by Laura Glesby, Oct. 8, New Haven Independent

The corner where East Haven police officers chased, shot, and killed 21-year-old Malik Jones in 1997 will not be called “Malik Jones Corner” after all.

Instead, the Board of Alders decided to name that inter-section after Jones’s mother, Emma, and the campaign for police accountability she has carried forth after his death…. On Monday, Oct. 7, the full Board of Alders unanimously voted to amend the proposed corner name to “Emma Jones Justice For Malik Corner,” an edit proposed by Fair Haven Alder Frank Redente.

Redente … elaborated after the meeting that he heard passionate feedback from constituents about the corner-naming proposal in recent weeks.

Some opponents of the proposed corner name took issue with Malik’s criminal record… the input that primarily spurred his amendment Monday night was “more that Emma was being left out.” Emma Jones’s activism around the memory of her son led to the creation of New Haven’s Civilian Review Board to review complaints of police misconduct, a board on which Redente now serves…

As he introduced the amendment during Monday’s meeting at City Hall, Redente explained that the name “Emma Jones Justice for Malik Corner” would “shift away from the personal connection and toward justice.”

…[All] the alders present voted in favor of this name change.

The activists who had first submitted the corner name shuffled out of the room after the vote. [Norman] Clement immediately called Jones to update her…

“I think it’s important to have Malik’s name there because of what happened to him, and I never want people to forget,” Jones said. She praised how the new version puts her own name alongside Malik’s and “gives it a greater meaning.”

“It’s a great honor,” she said. “I didn’t expect to be honored. But I’m delighted that people thought enough of me to remember all of the work that I did do.”

She hopes it will speak to the terror that so many mothers of Black sons have felt and still feel — “your son goes out to the store to get a loaf of bread, and you’re terrified because you don’t know whether he’s coming back.”

“I will never forget what that officer did to my son,” she said. Now, neither will the street.

Article can be read in its entirety at https://tinyurl.com/kp997bb7.

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