A reliable source reported that Youth Service Officer Alicia Kane has been walked off the girl's facility -called Pueblo- in Middletown. This facility was opened by DCF especially for girls and has been a role model for disarray since. Why did Connecticut Juvenile Training School administrators ( around Oct. 15, 2014 ) walk a female YSO off the property ?? We are seeking to find out the details because this is a departure from the normal routine at CJTS. In the past only employees of color held the distinction of being hustled off the property ...so to speak. In the last two years CJTS has walked off a white male YSO and now a white female.
Let me be clear. This latest incident might be a ruse by CJTS to convince the public at large that all employees are treated equally at the DCF Plantation. In other words now management can point to the fact that white employees are held to the same disciplinary standards as everyone else. Yeah right.
It is known however that Kane is now treated the same ( as folk of color i.e.).
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Saturday, October 25, 2014
THE TALE OF JANE DOE -PART II
The last story about Jane Doe pointed out that the transgender person at Connecticut Juvenile Training School might have received help - on the outside- after she escaped not long ago from that facility. Sources inside CJTS also hinted at the fact a new Youth Services Officer at that facility might have been involved in some sort of inappropriate relationship with Jane [ both inside and after the escape ]. Now more revelations come to the staff of DCF Plantation blog and Lord have mercy it is indeed scandalous.
Reliable sources report that when Jane was apprehended on Park Street in Hartford her accomplice abandoned her over some quarrel or misunderstanding. When Jane went back to CJTS she was taken to intake and searched as is the custom at CJTS with returning residents. However now the plot thickens. A male YSO discovered what appeared to be bodily fluids and blood in Jane's undergarments. This YSO informed the female administrator standing around the corner and bagged the evidence. Where are those pieces of clothing ? and did management think to connect the dots to that male staff member spending inordinate amounts of overtime on Jane's Unit? This blog staff member has been informed that management at CJTS have an idea that this male YSO might be involved with Jane, in a manner not befitting a state worker, but lack the proof to make any charges. Now this is where it gets even murkier and convoluted.
Two female employees at CJTS have been informed about the Great Escape of Jane Doe and all the salacious details ... including the possible tryst outside with a YSO. Why have these women and other sources not stepped forth to confirm what they heard from not secondary sources but THE PRIME source? It is inconceivable that three grown adults have knowledge of a possible indiscretion but say nothing bout it. Hey what about all that verbal swill coming out of DCF public mouthpiece Gary Keeblatt about " now DCF can get on with its mission of protecting children." Well that applies evidently to everyone expect a transgender person of color called Jane Doe. Let us be honest about this entire thing swirling around about Jane : DCF / CJTS do not know what to do with a transgender person. Jane has been tossed around - first at a male facility, then a women's prison, then a girl's facility named Pubelo, now back at CJTS- like a pair of funky socks. Now this latest episode in the modern day tragedy called Jane Doe is hovering over DCF / CJTS like the Sword of Damocles.
Wonder what all those self entitled administrators will say when the identity of the YSO is revealed and it is proven he carried on inappropriately with a child in their care?? It could be that Jane is just another cipher in the game played by those who enjoy white privilege at an agency pretending to care for children [ of color mostly ] in their care. If Euripides were alive today Jane's story would read better than any of his Greek tragedies from antiquity.
Reliable sources report that when Jane was apprehended on Park Street in Hartford her accomplice abandoned her over some quarrel or misunderstanding. When Jane went back to CJTS she was taken to intake and searched as is the custom at CJTS with returning residents. However now the plot thickens. A male YSO discovered what appeared to be bodily fluids and blood in Jane's undergarments. This YSO informed the female administrator standing around the corner and bagged the evidence. Where are those pieces of clothing ? and did management think to connect the dots to that male staff member spending inordinate amounts of overtime on Jane's Unit? This blog staff member has been informed that management at CJTS have an idea that this male YSO might be involved with Jane, in a manner not befitting a state worker, but lack the proof to make any charges. Now this is where it gets even murkier and convoluted.
Two female employees at CJTS have been informed about the Great Escape of Jane Doe and all the salacious details ... including the possible tryst outside with a YSO. Why have these women and other sources not stepped forth to confirm what they heard from not secondary sources but THE PRIME source? It is inconceivable that three grown adults have knowledge of a possible indiscretion but say nothing bout it. Hey what about all that verbal swill coming out of DCF public mouthpiece Gary Keeblatt about " now DCF can get on with its mission of protecting children." Well that applies evidently to everyone expect a transgender person of color called Jane Doe. Let us be honest about this entire thing swirling around about Jane : DCF / CJTS do not know what to do with a transgender person. Jane has been tossed around - first at a male facility, then a women's prison, then a girl's facility named Pubelo, now back at CJTS- like a pair of funky socks. Now this latest episode in the modern day tragedy called Jane Doe is hovering over DCF / CJTS like the Sword of Damocles.
Wonder what all those self entitled administrators will say when the identity of the YSO is revealed and it is proven he carried on inappropriately with a child in their care?? It could be that Jane is just another cipher in the game played by those who enjoy white privilege at an agency pretending to care for children [ of color mostly ] in their care. If Euripides were alive today Jane's story would read better than any of his Greek tragedies from antiquity.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
THE PLANTATION IS FORCED TO CORRECT INJUSTICES
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Five employees who had their names added to a child abuse registry as a form of discipline by Connecticut's child welfare agency will be taken off the list, union officials told The Associated Press.
The fired youth service officers, including an outspoken critic of the agency, had been prevented from getting other jobs that involved interaction with children because of their placement on the Department of Children and Families list of people who have abused or neglected children.
A labor union said it had been working for about a year to address an increase in the number of workers whose names were placed on the statewide registry.
Paul Lavallee, president of AFSCME Local 2663, said the five covered by the settlements were involved in incidents where they failed to pay attention on the job and youths were injured. He said he has never known of the registry, created to make the public aware of people who pose a risk to children, to be used in such cases.
Individual settlements were reached in recent weeks between the union and the agency regarding the five, who worked at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in Middletown, according to the union. They've either been rehired with back pay or retired. The union has not named the workers.
The Department of Children and Families commented on the state's settlement involving only one of the officers, Cornell Lewis, who has made his firing known publicly. Lewis is a black youth services officer who has been involved in numerous protests to draw attention to what he says is a racist attitude at the child welfare agency and the Middletown school, the state's only secure facility for delinquent teenage boys.
"At times, it is not in the department's best interests to support an individual's continued employment in working with the high risk and vulnerable population of youth and families whom we serve," the department said in a statement regarding the action taken against Lewis.
Department of Children and Families spokesman Gary Kleeblatt declined to comment on the other four cases beyond the statement.
Lewis was fired in July 2013 after he and two other employees were looking at non-work-related content on a computer when a youth was injured. At the time, Lewis said his firing was retaliation for him being so outspoken. An independent arbitrator ruled that Lewis actions' did not warrant his termination but that he did deserve a 60-day suspension without pay.
The child welfare agency agreed earlier this month to settle a separate lawsuit originally filed in 2010 by Cornell and four other black officers who claimed they were the target of racially motivated disciplinary action. The department has admitted no wrongdoing or discriminatory actions.
Lavallee, who raised concerns of possible misuse involving the registry to the legislature's Judiciary Committee in March, said the arbitrator's decision in Lewis' case helped the union reach settlements with the four fired youth service officers. Earlier this year, Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz was approached by the union and a state lawmaker who heard complaints from workers about the agency increasingly placing people on the registry, which also bars them from interacting with children, such as a coach or a school chaperone.
"Particularly due to the serious consequences of placement on the registry, we need to be sure that individuals are not placed on the registry in an arbitrary or capricious manner," Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown, wrote to Katz in July.
In a response to Lesser, Katz defended her agency's actions. She said her department "must fully and fairly investigate all incidents of child abuse and neglect, including those in our own workplace." Katz said each decision concerning whether an allegation of abuse and neglect can be substantiated is "based on a careful examination of the facts found during the investigation."
The fired youth service officers, including an outspoken critic of the agency, had been prevented from getting other jobs that involved interaction with children because of their placement on the Department of Children and Families list of people who have abused or neglected children.
A labor union said it had been working for about a year to address an increase in the number of workers whose names were placed on the statewide registry.
Paul Lavallee, president of AFSCME Local 2663, said the five covered by the settlements were involved in incidents where they failed to pay attention on the job and youths were injured. He said he has never known of the registry, created to make the public aware of people who pose a risk to children, to be used in such cases.
Individual settlements were reached in recent weeks between the union and the agency regarding the five, who worked at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School in Middletown, according to the union. They've either been rehired with back pay or retired. The union has not named the workers.
The Department of Children and Families commented on the state's settlement involving only one of the officers, Cornell Lewis, who has made his firing known publicly. Lewis is a black youth services officer who has been involved in numerous protests to draw attention to what he says is a racist attitude at the child welfare agency and the Middletown school, the state's only secure facility for delinquent teenage boys.
"At times, it is not in the department's best interests to support an individual's continued employment in working with the high risk and vulnerable population of youth and families whom we serve," the department said in a statement regarding the action taken against Lewis.
Department of Children and Families spokesman Gary Kleeblatt declined to comment on the other four cases beyond the statement.
Lewis was fired in July 2013 after he and two other employees were looking at non-work-related content on a computer when a youth was injured. At the time, Lewis said his firing was retaliation for him being so outspoken. An independent arbitrator ruled that Lewis actions' did not warrant his termination but that he did deserve a 60-day suspension without pay.
The child welfare agency agreed earlier this month to settle a separate lawsuit originally filed in 2010 by Cornell and four other black officers who claimed they were the target of racially motivated disciplinary action. The department has admitted no wrongdoing or discriminatory actions.
Lavallee, who raised concerns of possible misuse involving the registry to the legislature's Judiciary Committee in March, said the arbitrator's decision in Lewis' case helped the union reach settlements with the four fired youth service officers. Earlier this year, Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz was approached by the union and a state lawmaker who heard complaints from workers about the agency increasingly placing people on the registry, which also bars them from interacting with children, such as a coach or a school chaperone.
"Particularly due to the serious consequences of placement on the registry, we need to be sure that individuals are not placed on the registry in an arbitrary or capricious manner," Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown, wrote to Katz in July.
In a response to Lesser, Katz defended her agency's actions. She said her department "must fully and fairly investigate all incidents of child abuse and neglect, including those in our own workplace." Katz said each decision concerning whether an allegation of abuse and neglect can be substantiated is "based on a careful examination of the facts found during the investigation."
PUBLISHED 10/22/2014 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, October 19, 2014
A YOUNG CHRISTIAN COMMENTS ON THE FERGUSON UPRISING
My Trip to St. Louis (i.e. My Overtly Religious Musings)
Posted on October 16, 2014 by Josiah R. Daniels
I am 4 days removed from participating in the “Weekend of Resistance” in St. Louis, MO. I was honored to go with a group of friends (Ben, Brian, Jay and Nathan) who, like me, are outraged at the current events surrounding the executions of young, black men. This post serves two purposes: 1) to summarize my experience and 2) to offer an exhortation to other Christians to do more than simply pray, “Go in peace; stay safe and be well” (James 2:14-18).
A new movement has come upon us. As it goes with most movements, those of us who occupy a place of privilege were unprepared. Yet those on the underside of history demonstrate for us that systemic racism has not gone away–mystically disappearing via Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I went to St. Louis to listen and learn from grass-root organizers who have become all too familiar with the forces and machines of death. As it has been shown on major news outlets, some of these activists have taken up arms against their oppressors in hopes of a reckoning.
Yet, in my own opinion, the media drastically over exaggerates this violent faction while a peaceful majority trek on. As I reflect on our marching this past Sunday night, images of peaceful youth leading the charge stand out in my mind. I myself marched next to one of these youth for a good portion of the night. But this does not dismiss the realities of the riots and looting that have occurred en lieu of Michael Brown’s death. These events have added an element of tension and danger that have resulted in unprovoked violence towards peaceful protestors. Tef Poe, a local activist and rapper, offered an indictment against the religious leaders Sunday night as he explained that in these dangerous times they have looked by the wayside while the local gangs offer protection from police barbarity.
This indictment is the insight I wish to explore. Should not the church take special care to protect those in society who are pushed to the margins (Gal 2:10, Jam 1:27)? It is tempting to engage in a game of semantics when answering this question. “Yes,” some might respond, “But the individuals in St. Louis and Ferguson, MO are not truly being oppressed. They are bringing the violence upon themselves.”1 Or there are those who piously retort that Christians should defend the disenfranchised but, as a caveat, they insist that the movement must take on a more nonviolent ethos before these protestors get their nod of approval. Only the privileged of society make such an obtuse observation such as, “They are bringing the violence upon themselves,” or “None of this would be happening if they just obeyed the laws.” I have already critiqued this group in a previous post. It is the latter group, the group that wishes to maintain their nonviolent-purity by remaining uninvolved, that I turn my attention to now.
I myself am an ardent pacifist.2 So I believe I have a responsibility to critique those who remain aloof from the movement. It seems to me that in our pursuit for peace, we pacifists can become disincarnate from those Christ identified with the most. Stated differently, I as a pacifist often times worry about my involvement in acts of resistance because I want to avoid associating with those who seek justice “By any means necessary.”3 This, I tell myself, is a way for me to remain faithful to my “convictions.” In reality, I am only erecting a boundary between me and a group of people who are in desperate need of justice. My refusal to associate with those who could compromise my religious purity prevents me from seeing the Imago Dei in even the most “radicalized” individuals.4
Jesus Christ, Messiah and King, allows himself to be scandalized by those in society who “tarnish” and “contaminate” his character (Mt 11:19). If one looks in the Gospels, Christ continuously associates himself with the wrong crowd. The act of table fellowship is Christ provocatively suggesting that one need not subscribe to the way of Jesus in order to be included into the fold (Mt. 9:10-13; Lk 14:1-14). Perhaps more to our point, Jesus Christ, who was undoubtedly a pacifist,5 chooses at least one disciple that can be identified as a Zealot (Lk 6:15)!6
So where then do these insights leave us? I am not suggesting, in any way, shape or form that Christian pacifists need to compromise their moral convictions concerning nonviolence. Instead, what I wish to emphasize is that Christ was a “man for others” and Christians therefore have a duty to “exist for others.”7
I am convinced that this means we, Christians, are to engage those who use questionable tactics to ascertain their liberation. Our engagement with them serves two purposes: 1) we identify with those Christ identified with and 2) we invite them to embark on an adventure where evil is scandalously overcome by good (Mt 5:43-44; Rom 12:21). Therefore, I do not mean that we condone violent actions. Rather we must take this opportunity to practice a faithful presence where we continuously point to YHWH’s shalom.
This faithful presence requires us to risk our reputations and, if need be, our very lives. Perhaps if more Christians were willing to be “in the fray” Tef Poe’s indictment would be less cutting. Imagine Christians, en masse, protecting protesters by standing in front of police tanks and rubber bullets–all along, reminding the world that, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”8
———————————————————————————————————
-Josiah R. Daniels
Dedicated to Rob & Ruthie Daniels
Posted on October 16, 2014 by Josiah R. Daniels
I am 4 days removed from participating in the “Weekend of Resistance” in St. Louis, MO. I was honored to go with a group of friends (Ben, Brian, Jay and Nathan) who, like me, are outraged at the current events surrounding the executions of young, black men. This post serves two purposes: 1) to summarize my experience and 2) to offer an exhortation to other Christians to do more than simply pray, “Go in peace; stay safe and be well” (James 2:14-18).
A new movement has come upon us. As it goes with most movements, those of us who occupy a place of privilege were unprepared. Yet those on the underside of history demonstrate for us that systemic racism has not gone away–mystically disappearing via Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I went to St. Louis to listen and learn from grass-root organizers who have become all too familiar with the forces and machines of death. As it has been shown on major news outlets, some of these activists have taken up arms against their oppressors in hopes of a reckoning.
Yet, in my own opinion, the media drastically over exaggerates this violent faction while a peaceful majority trek on. As I reflect on our marching this past Sunday night, images of peaceful youth leading the charge stand out in my mind. I myself marched next to one of these youth for a good portion of the night. But this does not dismiss the realities of the riots and looting that have occurred en lieu of Michael Brown’s death. These events have added an element of tension and danger that have resulted in unprovoked violence towards peaceful protestors. Tef Poe, a local activist and rapper, offered an indictment against the religious leaders Sunday night as he explained that in these dangerous times they have looked by the wayside while the local gangs offer protection from police barbarity.
This indictment is the insight I wish to explore. Should not the church take special care to protect those in society who are pushed to the margins (Gal 2:10, Jam 1:27)? It is tempting to engage in a game of semantics when answering this question. “Yes,” some might respond, “But the individuals in St. Louis and Ferguson, MO are not truly being oppressed. They are bringing the violence upon themselves.”1 Or there are those who piously retort that Christians should defend the disenfranchised but, as a caveat, they insist that the movement must take on a more nonviolent ethos before these protestors get their nod of approval. Only the privileged of society make such an obtuse observation such as, “They are bringing the violence upon themselves,” or “None of this would be happening if they just obeyed the laws.” I have already critiqued this group in a previous post. It is the latter group, the group that wishes to maintain their nonviolent-purity by remaining uninvolved, that I turn my attention to now.
I myself am an ardent pacifist.2 So I believe I have a responsibility to critique those who remain aloof from the movement. It seems to me that in our pursuit for peace, we pacifists can become disincarnate from those Christ identified with the most. Stated differently, I as a pacifist often times worry about my involvement in acts of resistance because I want to avoid associating with those who seek justice “By any means necessary.”3 This, I tell myself, is a way for me to remain faithful to my “convictions.” In reality, I am only erecting a boundary between me and a group of people who are in desperate need of justice. My refusal to associate with those who could compromise my religious purity prevents me from seeing the Imago Dei in even the most “radicalized” individuals.4
Jesus Christ, Messiah and King, allows himself to be scandalized by those in society who “tarnish” and “contaminate” his character (Mt 11:19). If one looks in the Gospels, Christ continuously associates himself with the wrong crowd. The act of table fellowship is Christ provocatively suggesting that one need not subscribe to the way of Jesus in order to be included into the fold (Mt. 9:10-13; Lk 14:1-14). Perhaps more to our point, Jesus Christ, who was undoubtedly a pacifist,5 chooses at least one disciple that can be identified as a Zealot (Lk 6:15)!6
So where then do these insights leave us? I am not suggesting, in any way, shape or form that Christian pacifists need to compromise their moral convictions concerning nonviolence. Instead, what I wish to emphasize is that Christ was a “man for others” and Christians therefore have a duty to “exist for others.”7
I am convinced that this means we, Christians, are to engage those who use questionable tactics to ascertain their liberation. Our engagement with them serves two purposes: 1) we identify with those Christ identified with and 2) we invite them to embark on an adventure where evil is scandalously overcome by good (Mt 5:43-44; Rom 12:21). Therefore, I do not mean that we condone violent actions. Rather we must take this opportunity to practice a faithful presence where we continuously point to YHWH’s shalom.
This faithful presence requires us to risk our reputations and, if need be, our very lives. Perhaps if more Christians were willing to be “in the fray” Tef Poe’s indictment would be less cutting. Imagine Christians, en masse, protecting protesters by standing in front of police tanks and rubber bullets–all along, reminding the world that, “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”8
———————————————————————————————————
-Josiah R. Daniels
Dedicated to Rob & Ruthie Daniels
Friday, October 17, 2014
ACTIVISTS SPEAK AGAINST INJUSTICE OF JANE DOE
Justice for Jane: Students, community confront DCF head at Yale
By Connecticut Liberation Staff Oct 17, 2014
On October 16, Connecticut DCF Commissioner Joette Katz did not get the welcome she was expecting when she finished speaking in front of a class at Yale University. Katz is responsible for the cruel decisions to place 16-year-old transgender girl Jane Doe first into a women’s prison without charges and then into a facility for delinquent boys. She continues to defend her decisions through rabid, sophomoric attacks on the youth’s character.
The commissioner was met outside the classroom door by a crowd of about 35 students and community members, holding signs reading “Justice for Jane Doe”, “End DCF Abuse” and “Being Young and Trans is Not A Crime.” Katz jumped when confronted with Jane’s face on placards, attempted to walk out of the building, but was followed out by the group. When outside, the crowd
erupted with chants: “Katz! You lied to me! Prison isn’t therapy!” and “Katz is a liar – shut it down! Jane’s in prison – shut it down!”
Students and community members, including members of the PSL, the LGBTQ office at Yale and the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, spoke out with an update on Jane’s case and actions to come. The teen is currently in solitary confinement at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, a boys’ facility, where now two staff members have been reported to have sexually assaulted her.
IV Sta, a Justice for Jane organizer, said of recent events: “It is clear that Governor Malloy won’t pretend to care about Jane or youth like her – he wouldn’t speak to us. It is clear that Joette Katz won’t
pretend to care about Jane – she’s walking away from us. But what got Jane out of prison? It was people like us in the streets, people like us on the phones, people like us standing up and fighting for Jane and saying we won’t take it anymore. So that’s what we have to do.”
Katz has refused to comment on Jane’s conditions in a long time, but every time she has spoken to students, her words were full of hate and disgust towards both Jane and her supporters among the student body. Despite this, Thursday evening Yale students and Justice For Jane organizers stood together to tell DCF that their transphobic, abusive representatives are not welcome on campus, and that students and communities refuse to stop standing up and fighting for Jane and youth like her.
By Connecticut Liberation Staff Oct 17, 2014
On October 16, Connecticut DCF Commissioner Joette Katz did not get the welcome she was expecting when she finished speaking in front of a class at Yale University. Katz is responsible for the cruel decisions to place 16-year-old transgender girl Jane Doe first into a women’s prison without charges and then into a facility for delinquent boys. She continues to defend her decisions through rabid, sophomoric attacks on the youth’s character.
The commissioner was met outside the classroom door by a crowd of about 35 students and community members, holding signs reading “Justice for Jane Doe”, “End DCF Abuse” and “Being Young and Trans is Not A Crime.” Katz jumped when confronted with Jane’s face on placards, attempted to walk out of the building, but was followed out by the group. When outside, the crowd
erupted with chants: “Katz! You lied to me! Prison isn’t therapy!” and “Katz is a liar – shut it down! Jane’s in prison – shut it down!”
Students and community members, including members of the PSL, the LGBTQ office at Yale and the Yale Undergraduate Prison Project, spoke out with an update on Jane’s case and actions to come. The teen is currently in solitary confinement at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, a boys’ facility, where now two staff members have been reported to have sexually assaulted her.
IV Sta, a Justice for Jane organizer, said of recent events: “It is clear that Governor Malloy won’t pretend to care about Jane or youth like her – he wouldn’t speak to us. It is clear that Joette Katz won’t
pretend to care about Jane – she’s walking away from us. But what got Jane out of prison? It was people like us in the streets, people like us on the phones, people like us standing up and fighting for Jane and saying we won’t take it anymore. So that’s what we have to do.”
Katz has refused to comment on Jane’s conditions in a long time, but every time she has spoken to students, her words were full of hate and disgust towards both Jane and her supporters among the student body. Despite this, Thursday evening Yale students and Justice For Jane organizers stood together to tell DCF that their transphobic, abusive representatives are not welcome on campus, and that students and communities refuse to stop standing up and fighting for Jane and youth like her.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
JANE DOE AND NEW ABUSE ?
The Face Book post read as just another request for people to be aware of the transgender person Jane Doe now housed at Connecticut Juvenile Training School. Some activists want people to contact Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy about moving Jane to another location where therapeutic services can be provided. However do not read past the section that highlights Jane not being exposed “to past and new abusers.” There are rumors about Jane Doe and new abuse from several sources at the CJTS and DCF Plantation.
Let this staff writer be clear about what is about to be placed for readers to meditate on. This comes from several sources [ CJTS employees ] and not management. The staff of DCF Plantation blog did not speak with Jane at any point nor has management confirmed what you will read. A few weeks ago Jane Doe was transported outside of CJTS to receive therapeutic services, while on this visit she escaped. Sources report that Jane could have connected with a male employee ( arranged meeting ) outside with the idea of traveling to Bridgeport, Connecticut and then New York City. If the readers mediate on these words so far it appears as if several areas of concern are raised by our sources ( 1.) an inappropriate relationship between Jane and CJTS male employee, ( 2.) CJTS employee might have contributed to the mental manipulation of Jane in some manner, ( 3.) created a power differential between resident and worker in a supposedly safe / nurturing environment. When DCF Plantation inquired further about this male employee it was reported he might have been spending inordinate amounts of overtime work on her Unit. This allowed a symbiotic bonding to occur with a powerless (and previously abused in other placements ) transgender person that only knows abuse physically or mentally.
Let this staff writer be clear about what is about to be placed for readers to meditate on. This comes from several sources [ CJTS employees ] and not management. The staff of DCF Plantation blog did not speak with Jane at any point nor has management confirmed what you will read. A few weeks ago Jane Doe was transported outside of CJTS to receive therapeutic services, while on this visit she escaped. Sources report that Jane could have connected with a male employee ( arranged meeting ) outside with the idea of traveling to Bridgeport, Connecticut and then New York City. If the readers mediate on these words so far it appears as if several areas of concern are raised by our sources ( 1.) an inappropriate relationship between Jane and CJTS male employee, ( 2.) CJTS employee might have contributed to the mental manipulation of Jane in some manner, ( 3.) created a power differential between resident and worker in a supposedly safe / nurturing environment. When DCF Plantation inquired further about this male employee it was reported he might have been spending inordinate amounts of overtime work on her Unit. This allowed a symbiotic bonding to occur with a powerless (and previously abused in other placements ) transgender person that only knows abuse physically or mentally.
How did CJTS officials allow something like this ( if true ) to occur under their noses to Jane? Did no one in authority see the warning signs of supposed manipulation, and inappropriate bonding with this sentient human being? There are many more disturbing items to this story that will be printed , focusing on details that are causing many to wonder if there is really JANE DOE AND NEW ABUSE ??
This was composed by staff person AJAMU on special assignment for this story
Saturday, October 11, 2014
SILENCE OF THE CLINICIANS ON THE PLANTATION
To be neutral in a situation of injustice is to have chosen sides already. It is to support the status quo.
----Desmond Tu Tu
The clinicians working at Connecticut Juvenile Training School are suppose to be caregivers. They provide comfort for those incarcerated residents who might have cognitive issues. Many of these clinicians are handsomely paid for their skills and in all honesty probably do help souls tormented by mental anguish. However does the responsibility of clinicians at CJTS begin or end only with taking care of residents cognitive problems. These clinicians are people of higher learning and reasoning, so why are they silent about injustices at the facility where they work?
For a seven year period employees in a certain economic bracket [ Youth Service Officers ] were fighting for egalitarian rights against an oppressive management system. The mostly white management discrimnated against employees of color by disproportionate terminations and disciplines. The white YSOs caught hell too, just by being in the same economic class as blacks---Latinos. Clinicians never voiced their concern over what was happening in front of them, they continued to ignore all signs pointing to injustice. Why? It seems incomprehensible clinicians could go about healing residents minds while ignoring warped worldviews of CJTS management that allowed them to bully employees. When conversations were broached about what management did openly against employees, most clinicians refused to engage in conversation. Instead they buried their noses in the Diagnostic Statisical Manual or some other lofty publication. Meanwhile back at the ranch natives suffered mental and spiritual pain that needed addressing through praxis. However esoteric thinking clinicians kept their heads in the clouds- not seeing what transpired on the ground.
Hey, by the way, most clinicians at CJTS look like the top tier of management. Perhaps the identification with the rulers( ethnically and in thought ) and not the natives is one reason clinicians keep silent. Hell, no matter how much therapy clinicians give out if [those] employees are not from your tribe does it matter ?
In the opinion of this blog writer all injustices suffered at the hands of management by employees has been co-signed by clinicians, whose major concern is getting a check bi-weekly, while not being true to the code of caregivers.
The above quote by Desmond TuTu certainly is appropriate for this blog story.
----Desmond Tu Tu
The clinicians working at Connecticut Juvenile Training School are suppose to be caregivers. They provide comfort for those incarcerated residents who might have cognitive issues. Many of these clinicians are handsomely paid for their skills and in all honesty probably do help souls tormented by mental anguish. However does the responsibility of clinicians at CJTS begin or end only with taking care of residents cognitive problems. These clinicians are people of higher learning and reasoning, so why are they silent about injustices at the facility where they work?
For a seven year period employees in a certain economic bracket [ Youth Service Officers ] were fighting for egalitarian rights against an oppressive management system. The mostly white management discrimnated against employees of color by disproportionate terminations and disciplines. The white YSOs caught hell too, just by being in the same economic class as blacks---Latinos. Clinicians never voiced their concern over what was happening in front of them, they continued to ignore all signs pointing to injustice. Why? It seems incomprehensible clinicians could go about healing residents minds while ignoring warped worldviews of CJTS management that allowed them to bully employees. When conversations were broached about what management did openly against employees, most clinicians refused to engage in conversation. Instead they buried their noses in the Diagnostic Statisical Manual or some other lofty publication. Meanwhile back at the ranch natives suffered mental and spiritual pain that needed addressing through praxis. However esoteric thinking clinicians kept their heads in the clouds- not seeing what transpired on the ground.
Hey, by the way, most clinicians at CJTS look like the top tier of management. Perhaps the identification with the rulers( ethnically and in thought ) and not the natives is one reason clinicians keep silent. Hell, no matter how much therapy clinicians give out if [those] employees are not from your tribe does it matter ?
In the opinion of this blog writer all injustices suffered at the hands of management by employees has been co-signed by clinicians, whose major concern is getting a check bi-weekly, while not being true to the code of caregivers.
The above quote by Desmond TuTu certainly is appropriate for this blog story.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
MANAGEMENT GOT MEAN AND WALKED MR.GREEN OFF THE SCENE
A few sources from Connecticut Juvenile Training School reported how white administrators were behind terminating the employment of another black male Youth Service Officer at the plantation. Ashanti Green is a 25 year old black male who was hired [ on probationary period ] in May 2014 as a YSO. From all accounts this Hartford resident related well with residents and had no prior disciplinary issues that are documented. Why in the hell then did management [ using a black and female supervisor as cover ] walk this man off the plantation on September 10, 2014?? The official CJTS reply is how Green developed lapses in judgement by not performing duties during third shift. Allegedly Green missed what is called a tour; when residents are asleep in locked rooms after a certain time red lights appear on their doors and bells ding. When this occurs YSOs on duty are to check each room with a flash light to make sure residents are safe. Each half hour the red light / bell / dinging sound happens. When YSOs push a button on residents doors the dinging stops.
In their justification of firing Green, CJTS management said " he is on probation and showed lack of judgement." Well from our sources there are reports lots of YSOs never even complete tours on third shift but do not get fired. What makes matters even worse is how Green was walked off the plantation. CJTS management used two black supervisors to approach the unsuspecting victim ( Green ) and walk him to Human Resources for the slaughter. In farming vocabulary when a lead goat walks other goats to the slaughterhouse the name is Judas goat ( for the one leading ). Green had no indication what was going on, he even asked these two Negro supervisors if anything was wrong. Green got a smile with plenty of teeth showing and calming words.
What is of concern here in this story revolves around another black male being terminated by CJTS / DCF for allegations of lack of judgement. Well. When a white male YSO slapped a resident of color at CJTS a few years ago he did not get fired. The YSO in question received 10 day suspension for an offense that was cut and dry. At the CJTS plantation stories of black males being abused by management are common place.
In the final analysis management got mean and walked Mr. Green off the scene.
In their justification of firing Green, CJTS management said " he is on probation and showed lack of judgement." Well from our sources there are reports lots of YSOs never even complete tours on third shift but do not get fired. What makes matters even worse is how Green was walked off the plantation. CJTS management used two black supervisors to approach the unsuspecting victim ( Green ) and walk him to Human Resources for the slaughter. In farming vocabulary when a lead goat walks other goats to the slaughterhouse the name is Judas goat ( for the one leading ). Green had no indication what was going on, he even asked these two Negro supervisors if anything was wrong. Green got a smile with plenty of teeth showing and calming words.
What is of concern here in this story revolves around another black male being terminated by CJTS / DCF for allegations of lack of judgement. Well. When a white male YSO slapped a resident of color at CJTS a few years ago he did not get fired. The YSO in question received 10 day suspension for an offense that was cut and dry. At the CJTS plantation stories of black males being abused by management are common place.
In the final analysis management got mean and walked Mr. Green off the scene.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
THE RATS ARE LEAVING A SINKING SHIP
Sources at Connecticut Juvenile Training School are talking about the sudden retirement of an administrative staff. Rumors are circulating that CJTS top administrators now face withering criticism over issues of bias/ racism against employees of color; a transgender youth named Jane Doe is housed at CJTS on a separate housing Unit. She is not being given the necessary services needed according to advocates. Former employee Cornell Lewis recently won ( July 2014 ) an arbitration case against CJTS / DCF for wrongful termination ( Cornell was really fired because of organizing workers against the injustices they faced ). Also employees signed a mass petition about ill treatment forcing DCF Commissioner Joette Katz to meet with them at CJTS.
However let me not digress from the point that all of the above mentioned turmoil is making feudal warlord middle management types uncomfortable. Past injustices by middle management were overlooked due to the weak knee leadership of top management; Youth Services Officers were abused mentally / financially by the vindictive petty machinations of out of control staff. However when the public scrutiny became intense about infractions at CJTS then things started to happen, no longer were the middle management allowed to sift YSO's like wheat in a sieve. Now top management started putting pressure on their outlaw lower administrators to curtail personal vendettas : one YSO named Barray Monteiro was falsely accused of abandoning his post. The top administrator at CJTS found out the allegation was not true and informed his staff " if this is personal it better stop now." Shortly thereafter things started to change at CJTS i.e. winds of change began blowing in a culture that for years refused to treat employees fairly.This meant that lower management were told to shape up; in one particular case administrative staff was asked to sign a stipulated agreement in order to stay employed , due to bad decision making. Of course the person ( in their arrogance) refused to cooperate or sign the agreement and made other life altering decisions.
In the background of all this drama there are other middle administrators under the gun for mistreatment of employees at CJTS. Now the pendulum has swung full circle and the arc of justice is catching those responsible for so much human misery. Let DCF Plantation blog be the first to report how employees at CJTS are filing complaints against the cabal of miscreants who are now running for cover. Let it be known to all reading this blog THE RATS ARE LEAVING A SINKING SHIP.
However let me not digress from the point that all of the above mentioned turmoil is making feudal warlord middle management types uncomfortable. Past injustices by middle management were overlooked due to the weak knee leadership of top management; Youth Services Officers were abused mentally / financially by the vindictive petty machinations of out of control staff. However when the public scrutiny became intense about infractions at CJTS then things started to happen, no longer were the middle management allowed to sift YSO's like wheat in a sieve. Now top management started putting pressure on their outlaw lower administrators to curtail personal vendettas : one YSO named Barray Monteiro was falsely accused of abandoning his post. The top administrator at CJTS found out the allegation was not true and informed his staff " if this is personal it better stop now." Shortly thereafter things started to change at CJTS i.e. winds of change began blowing in a culture that for years refused to treat employees fairly.This meant that lower management were told to shape up; in one particular case administrative staff was asked to sign a stipulated agreement in order to stay employed , due to bad decision making. Of course the person ( in their arrogance) refused to cooperate or sign the agreement and made other life altering decisions.
In the background of all this drama there are other middle administrators under the gun for mistreatment of employees at CJTS. Now the pendulum has swung full circle and the arc of justice is catching those responsible for so much human misery. Let DCF Plantation blog be the first to report how employees at CJTS are filing complaints against the cabal of miscreants who are now running for cover. Let it be known to all reading this blog THE RATS ARE LEAVING A SINKING SHIP.
Friday, October 3, 2014
MR. GREEN IS REMOVED FROM THE SCENE
The body count continues to rise at Connecticut Juvenile Training School. Another black male has been terminated [ walked off the property ] under a dubious cloud of suspicion. Details are still coming in on the September 2014 dismissal and will be discussed in a later blog story. We can tell you the Youth Service Officer terminated is named Green.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
NEWTON'S FIRST LAW AND THE DCF PLANTATION
Newton's First Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it, and a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.
The constant denial of racial issues or bias at the DCF Plantation by administrators boggles the imagination of reasonable thinking people. There are documents available highlighting the disproportionate disciplinary actions aimed at black and Latino male employees at Connecticut Juvenile Training School and Department of Children and Family facilities. However the predominately white administrators ( backed up by recently elevated sycophants of color ) refuse to even acknowledge something MIGHT be out of place at the old plantation. This narrative of denial leads me to wonder if Newton's First Law might be at work within the cognitive sphere of white administrators.
Notice how Newton describes a "body at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force." The refusal of DCF / CJTS to acknowledge any chance bias etc might be going on shows unwillingness to truthfully analyze the issues at hand. Ergo, within the cognitive process of white administrators it appears that their brains ( a body ) is at rest due to the refusal to see problems in plain sight. Now it is common knowledge that if the body is not active it becomes heavy, lethargic and hard to activate. Let us apply that same idea to thinking of administrators on the plantation who for years have not looked critically at racial issues nation wide. All over America a hue and cry goes up from people of color about racial injustice by the dominant culture. In many instances the response to cries of injustice caused policies to change and some sort of justice toward the grievances to be addressed. However on the DCF Plantation cries for racial justice have been ignored for years by tone deaf whites leading the agency. To me this implies their thinking process ( brain = body ) is at rest and refuses to allow outside forces ( activists, protests, or public opinion ) to act upon it as a motivating force.
In light of what is written above how then does the DCF / CJTS duo of non- conformity get out of this position of being in cognitive rest? Well in my humble opinion the first thing is to look at what the issues are surrounding racial bias and address them in a productive manner. Then the second thing is to change leadership at troubled facilities like CJTS. William Rosenbeck is the Superintendent of CJTS and there have been several incidents of major proportions under his reign but no change in leadership occurred. You cannot expect things to change if weak in the knee leaders are afraid or incapable of maintaining order or implementing policies reflective of justice modes. Lastly, repressive actions against advocates of justice must cease on the DCF Plantation in order for " the body at rest" to have a chance for outside forces to impinge upon it.
Thank you mister Newton for helping to give DCF Plantation leaders a method out of their dilemma.
The constant denial of racial issues or bias at the DCF Plantation by administrators boggles the imagination of reasonable thinking people. There are documents available highlighting the disproportionate disciplinary actions aimed at black and Latino male employees at Connecticut Juvenile Training School and Department of Children and Family facilities. However the predominately white administrators ( backed up by recently elevated sycophants of color ) refuse to even acknowledge something MIGHT be out of place at the old plantation. This narrative of denial leads me to wonder if Newton's First Law might be at work within the cognitive sphere of white administrators.
Notice how Newton describes a "body at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an outside force." The refusal of DCF / CJTS to acknowledge any chance bias etc might be going on shows unwillingness to truthfully analyze the issues at hand. Ergo, within the cognitive process of white administrators it appears that their brains ( a body ) is at rest due to the refusal to see problems in plain sight. Now it is common knowledge that if the body is not active it becomes heavy, lethargic and hard to activate. Let us apply that same idea to thinking of administrators on the plantation who for years have not looked critically at racial issues nation wide. All over America a hue and cry goes up from people of color about racial injustice by the dominant culture. In many instances the response to cries of injustice caused policies to change and some sort of justice toward the grievances to be addressed. However on the DCF Plantation cries for racial justice have been ignored for years by tone deaf whites leading the agency. To me this implies their thinking process ( brain = body ) is at rest and refuses to allow outside forces ( activists, protests, or public opinion ) to act upon it as a motivating force.
In light of what is written above how then does the DCF / CJTS duo of non- conformity get out of this position of being in cognitive rest? Well in my humble opinion the first thing is to look at what the issues are surrounding racial bias and address them in a productive manner. Then the second thing is to change leadership at troubled facilities like CJTS. William Rosenbeck is the Superintendent of CJTS and there have been several incidents of major proportions under his reign but no change in leadership occurred. You cannot expect things to change if weak in the knee leaders are afraid or incapable of maintaining order or implementing policies reflective of justice modes. Lastly, repressive actions against advocates of justice must cease on the DCF Plantation in order for " the body at rest" to have a chance for outside forces to impinge upon it.
Thank you mister Newton for helping to give DCF Plantation leaders a method out of their dilemma.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
MEETING AT CONGRESSMAN JOHN LARSON'S OFFICE
A meeting was held at the Hartford, CT office of Congressman John Larson to address racism / bias within DCF / CJTS. Below are points of the agenda discussed by community members.
August 19, 2013
Introduction,
The community of Greater Hartford suffers from bias and discrimination as it relates to employees of color within the Department of Families and Children. For years various DCF employees/ community members have filed lawsuits, protested outside of facilities of DCF, spoken to the Fourth Estate, gone on a hunger strike and all to no avail. The DCF bureaucracy continues to exist in a multi- cultural environment where many of their adolescent clients are of color. Yet, over 66% per cent of all disciplinary actions are against an employee base (of color) not numerically representative of the total employment. We are asking Congressman Larson’s office for assistance in addressing this discrimination issue.
1. Why the disparity within DCF with regards to high disciplinary actions 66% against employees of color? (they make up less than 46% of employee base).
2. There is a need for and instrument by which employees can provide feedback, evaluate management, and rate progress on the degree to which they are addressing issues of bias or discrimination (administered by outside person of color). Further, there is a need for an official mechanism for staff to give input and perspective into policy decisions and changes that affects the performance of their duties.
3. There is a need for regularized, independently facilitated dialogue about racial issues within the organization. Management should be required to participate as a party to the discussion but NOT be allowed to run the meetings or control the agenda. (unlike in 2009 when DCF led "Courageous Conversation”).
4. Looking at the possibility of Congressman Larson’s office hosting a public meeting for a discussion on issues of bias/ racism that have plagued this agency for year. And looking into what reasons caused employees of CJTS to file a class action lawsuit plus go on a hunger strike.
5. Helping open political avenues that allow us to speak with other politicians about these issues [Senator Chris Murphy, members of the State Legislature, etc.].
Rabbi Donna Berman
Minister Cornell Lewis
Pastor James Lane
The 10-12 minute meeting at 2pm on August 19, 2013 will focus on 4-5 issues.
The discrimination / bias within the Department of Children and Families as it relates to employees of color and suggestions to address those concerns.
August 19, 2013
Introduction,
The community of Greater Hartford suffers from bias and discrimination as it relates to employees of color within the Department of Families and Children. For years various DCF employees/ community members have filed lawsuits, protested outside of facilities of DCF, spoken to the Fourth Estate, gone on a hunger strike and all to no avail. The DCF bureaucracy continues to exist in a multi- cultural environment where many of their adolescent clients are of color. Yet, over 66% per cent of all disciplinary actions are against an employee base (of color) not numerically representative of the total employment. We are asking Congressman Larson’s office for assistance in addressing this discrimination issue.
1. Why the disparity within DCF with regards to high disciplinary actions 66% against employees of color? (they make up less than 46% of employee base).
2. There is a need for and instrument by which employees can provide feedback, evaluate management, and rate progress on the degree to which they are addressing issues of bias or discrimination (administered by outside person of color). Further, there is a need for an official mechanism for staff to give input and perspective into policy decisions and changes that affects the performance of their duties.
3. There is a need for regularized, independently facilitated dialogue about racial issues within the organization. Management should be required to participate as a party to the discussion but NOT be allowed to run the meetings or control the agenda. (unlike in 2009 when DCF led "Courageous Conversation”).
4. Looking at the possibility of Congressman Larson’s office hosting a public meeting for a discussion on issues of bias/ racism that have plagued this agency for year. And looking into what reasons caused employees of CJTS to file a class action lawsuit plus go on a hunger strike.
5. Helping open political avenues that allow us to speak with other politicians about these issues [Senator Chris Murphy, members of the State Legislature, etc.].
Rabbi Donna Berman
Minister Cornell Lewis
Pastor James Lane
The 10-12 minute meeting at 2pm on August 19, 2013 will focus on 4-5 issues.
The discrimination / bias within the Department of Children and Families as it relates to employees of color and suggestions to address those concerns.
DEMAND JUSTICE FOR JANE DOE
Justice for Jane rally and march September 27, 2014
Posted: September 21, 2014 in Call to Action, Events, Fight Back.
SATURDAY, September 27 @ 12 noon
RALLY at DCF Headquarters – 505 Hudson St., Hartford, CT
MARCH to State Capitol – 210 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT
Car pool from New Haven – comment on event or contact justice4janedoe@gmail.com / 203.787.8232
Join us to demand #JusticeForJane!
For over a month now, Jane Doe, a transgender Latina teenager and abuse and trafficking victim, has been in solitary confinement at CT Training Juvenile School, a prison-like boys’ facility. After being held in a women’s prison without charges for over a month, Jane is suffering again – this time in a solitary cell surrounded by boys.
CT DCF and Commissioner Katz, who has been shamelessly protecting Jane’s abusers and demonizing Jane every step of the way, have gone to extreme lengths to make sure Jane is kept in these disgusting conditions and not allowed into a loving family or to demand justice for the horrific abuse she has been suffering since age 8.
Jane has waited long enough for legal maneuvering. We need to stand together in demanding the truth about Jane’s conditions, demanding that she be released immediately and that her abusers be brought to justice. Please join us to rally and march and say NO MORE to Katz and DCF’s abuse of Jane and other youth!
Justice for Jane!
Justice for all youth in DCF “care”!
Justice for all poor and LGBTQ* youth and youth of color!
Facebook page for this event.
Share this:
TwitterFacebook
Related
Justice for Jane Update. Furbirdsqueerly Stands In Full Support of Jane Doe.
Posted: September 21, 2014 in Call to Action, Events, Fight Back.
SATURDAY, September 27 @ 12 noon
RALLY at DCF Headquarters – 505 Hudson St., Hartford, CT
MARCH to State Capitol – 210 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT
Car pool from New Haven – comment on event or contact justice4janedoe@gmail.com / 203.787.8232
Join us to demand #JusticeForJane!
For over a month now, Jane Doe, a transgender Latina teenager and abuse and trafficking victim, has been in solitary confinement at CT Training Juvenile School, a prison-like boys’ facility. After being held in a women’s prison without charges for over a month, Jane is suffering again – this time in a solitary cell surrounded by boys.
CT DCF and Commissioner Katz, who has been shamelessly protecting Jane’s abusers and demonizing Jane every step of the way, have gone to extreme lengths to make sure Jane is kept in these disgusting conditions and not allowed into a loving family or to demand justice for the horrific abuse she has been suffering since age 8.
Jane has waited long enough for legal maneuvering. We need to stand together in demanding the truth about Jane’s conditions, demanding that she be released immediately and that her abusers be brought to justice. Please join us to rally and march and say NO MORE to Katz and DCF’s abuse of Jane and other youth!
Justice for Jane!
Justice for all youth in DCF “care”!
Justice for all poor and LGBTQ* youth and youth of color!
Facebook page for this event.
Share this:
TwitterFacebook
Related
Justice for Jane Update. Furbirdsqueerly Stands In Full Support of Jane Doe.
Friday, September 19, 2014
HUEY P. NEWTON SPEAKS ABOUT THE GAY COMMUNITY AND INCLUSION
Huey P. Newton’s August 15, 1970 speech on gay rights and women’s rights.
Huey P. Newton:
During the past few years strong movements have developed among women and among homosexuals seeking their liberation. There has been some uncertainty about how to relate to these movements.
Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion. I say ” whatever your insecurities are” because as we very well know, sometimes our first instinct is to want to hit a homosexual in the mouth, and want a woman to be quiet. We want to hit a homosexual in the mouth because we are afraid that we might be homosexual; and we want to hit the women or shut her up because we are afraid that she might castrate us, or take the nuts that we might not have to start with.
We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude that the White racists use against our people because they are Black and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover something that he does not have. So you’re some kind of a threat to him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established norm.
Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say that we recognize the women’s right to be free. We have not said much about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the most oppresed people in the society.
And what made them homosexual? Perhaps it’s a phenomenon that I don’t understand entirely. Some people say that it is the decadence of capitalism. I don’t know if that is the case; I rather doubt it. But whatever the case is, we know that homosexuality is a fact that exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: that is, a
person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants.
That is not endorsing things in homosexuality that we wouldn’t view as revolutionary. But there is nothing to say that a homosexual cannot also be a revolutionary. And maybe I’m now injecting some of my prejudice by saying that “even a homosexual can be a revolutionary.” Quite the contrary, maybe a homosexual could be the most revolutionary.
When we have revolutionary conferences, rallies, and demonstrations, there should be full participation of the gay liberation movement and the women’s liberation movement. Some groups might be more revolutionary than others. We should not use the actions of a few to say that they are all reactionary or counterrevolutionary, because they are not.
We should deal with the factions just as we deal with any other group or party that claims to be revolutionary. We should try to judge, somehow, whether they are operating in a sincere revolutionary fashion and from a really oppressed situation. (And we will grant that if they are women they are probably oppressed.) If they do things that are counterrevolutionary or counterrevolutionary, then criticize that action. If we feel that the group in spirit means to be revolutionary in practice, but they make mistakes in interpretation of the revolutionary philosophy, or they do not understand the dialectics of the social forces in operation, we should criticize that and not criticize them because they are women trying to be free. And the same is true for homosexuals. We should never say a whole movement is dishonest when in fact they are trying to be honest. They are just making honest mistakes. Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women’s liberation front and gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies,
and we need as many allies as possible.
We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have about homosexuality. When I say “insecurities,” I mean the fear that they are some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this fear. Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity in the American male, homosexuality might produce certain hang-ups in us. I have hang-ups myself about male homosexuality. But on the other hand, I have no hang-up about female homosexuality. And that is a phenomenon in itself. I think it is probably because male homosexuality is a threat to me and female homosexuality is not.
We should be careful about using those terms that might turn our friends off. The terms “faggot” and “punk” should be deleted from our vocabulary, and especially we should not attach names normally designed for homosexuals to men who are enemies of the people, such as Nixon or Mitchell. Homosexuals are not enemies of the people.
We should try to form a working coalition with the gay liberation and women’s liberation groups. We must always handle social forces in the most appropriate manner.
Many of us in the gay liberation movement remarked Thank You Huey. It was really the first time in the revolutionary struggle that I as a young queer truly felt a part of something and that something was revolutionary solidarity among the oppressed. We no longer were living in a one issue world of fighting for only “gay” rights but for the rights of all people and all people for us. This I believe was a real turning point in our battle as the old left and many homophobes on the new left after Huey P. Newton’s statement, had to move out from under their heavy hand over and on our people and into a new way of thinking and into the new day that we were all seeking and helping to dawn. In simple terms they could no longer consider themselves to be a part of the revolutionary solidarity as long as they clinged to out modded ideas on “gays”. (we use the term gay here as that was the term used as an umbrella term for the LGBT community at this time.)
Huey P. Newton:
During the past few years strong movements have developed among women and among homosexuals seeking their liberation. There has been some uncertainty about how to relate to these movements.
Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion. I say ” whatever your insecurities are” because as we very well know, sometimes our first instinct is to want to hit a homosexual in the mouth, and want a woman to be quiet. We want to hit a homosexual in the mouth because we are afraid that we might be homosexual; and we want to hit the women or shut her up because we are afraid that she might castrate us, or take the nuts that we might not have to start with.
We must gain security in ourselves and therefore have respect and feelings for all oppressed people. We must not use the racist attitude that the White racists use against our people because they are Black and poor. Many times the poorest White person is the most racist because he is afraid that he might lose something, or discover something that he does not have. So you’re some kind of a threat to him. This kind of psychology is in operation when we view oppressed people and we are angry with them because of their particular kind of behavior, or their particular kind of deviation from the established norm.
Remember, we have not established a revolutionary value system; we are only in the process of establishing it. I do not remember our ever constituting any value that said that a revolutionary must say offensive things towards homosexuals, or that a revolutionary should make sure that women do not speak out about their own particular kind of oppression. As a matter of fact, it is just the opposite: we say that we recognize the women’s right to be free. We have not said much about the homosexual at all, but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it is a real thing. And I know through reading, and through my life experience and observations that homosexuals are not given freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. They might be the most oppresed people in the society.
And what made them homosexual? Perhaps it’s a phenomenon that I don’t understand entirely. Some people say that it is the decadence of capitalism. I don’t know if that is the case; I rather doubt it. But whatever the case is, we know that homosexuality is a fact that exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: that is, a
person should have the freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants.
That is not endorsing things in homosexuality that we wouldn’t view as revolutionary. But there is nothing to say that a homosexual cannot also be a revolutionary. And maybe I’m now injecting some of my prejudice by saying that “even a homosexual can be a revolutionary.” Quite the contrary, maybe a homosexual could be the most revolutionary.
When we have revolutionary conferences, rallies, and demonstrations, there should be full participation of the gay liberation movement and the women’s liberation movement. Some groups might be more revolutionary than others. We should not use the actions of a few to say that they are all reactionary or counterrevolutionary, because they are not.
We should deal with the factions just as we deal with any other group or party that claims to be revolutionary. We should try to judge, somehow, whether they are operating in a sincere revolutionary fashion and from a really oppressed situation. (And we will grant that if they are women they are probably oppressed.) If they do things that are counterrevolutionary or counterrevolutionary, then criticize that action. If we feel that the group in spirit means to be revolutionary in practice, but they make mistakes in interpretation of the revolutionary philosophy, or they do not understand the dialectics of the social forces in operation, we should criticize that and not criticize them because they are women trying to be free. And the same is true for homosexuals. We should never say a whole movement is dishonest when in fact they are trying to be honest. They are just making honest mistakes. Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women’s liberation front and gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies,
and we need as many allies as possible.
We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have about homosexuality. When I say “insecurities,” I mean the fear that they are some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this fear. Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity in the American male, homosexuality might produce certain hang-ups in us. I have hang-ups myself about male homosexuality. But on the other hand, I have no hang-up about female homosexuality. And that is a phenomenon in itself. I think it is probably because male homosexuality is a threat to me and female homosexuality is not.
We should be careful about using those terms that might turn our friends off. The terms “faggot” and “punk” should be deleted from our vocabulary, and especially we should not attach names normally designed for homosexuals to men who are enemies of the people, such as Nixon or Mitchell. Homosexuals are not enemies of the people.
We should try to form a working coalition with the gay liberation and women’s liberation groups. We must always handle social forces in the most appropriate manner.
Many of us in the gay liberation movement remarked Thank You Huey. It was really the first time in the revolutionary struggle that I as a young queer truly felt a part of something and that something was revolutionary solidarity among the oppressed. We no longer were living in a one issue world of fighting for only “gay” rights but for the rights of all people and all people for us. This I believe was a real turning point in our battle as the old left and many homophobes on the new left after Huey P. Newton’s statement, had to move out from under their heavy hand over and on our people and into a new way of thinking and into the new day that we were all seeking and helping to dawn. In simple terms they could no longer consider themselves to be a part of the revolutionary solidarity as long as they clinged to out modded ideas on “gays”. (we use the term gay here as that was the term used as an umbrella term for the LGBT community at this time.)
Sunday, September 14, 2014
MORE TROUBLE AT THE CJTS PLANTATION
Restraints Drive Child Advocate To Report Suspected Abuse Against DCF Treatment Facility
By JOSH KOVNER,
jkovner@courant.com
2:25 p.m. EDT, September 13, 2014
Staff members at a locked treatment unit for teenage girls in Middletown used excessive force in a series of physical restraints, the state child advocate says, prompting her office to take the unusual step of reporting four of the cases as suspected child abuse.
Child Advocate Sarah Eagan called for an independent investigation into the Pueblo treatment unit. Eagan and her investigators are mandated reporters of child abuse, like doctors and teachers and police. Pueblo is operated by the Department of Children and Families.
The four complaints were phoned into DCF's abuse hotline after the advocate's office viewed dozens of hours of videotapes of restraints at Pueblo. The investigators noted instances of prone restraints being applied against girls who were disobeying directions but not being physically threatening at that moment. Prone restraints occur when one or more staff members take a youth to the floor, face down, and hold the youth there, however briefly.
Prone restraints are prohibited in some states, and are not allowed to be used in privately managed group homes and other facilities that contract with DCF, according to Associate Child Advocate Miriam "Mickey" Kramer. The state Department of Developmental Services also does not permit prone restraints to be used in private group homes and other locations that serve intellectually disabled people, Eagan said.
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Eagan said some of the restraints depicted on the Pueblo videotapes were unwarranted and excessive, and rose to the level of possible abuse. She said that her office considers the inappropriate use of prone restraints to constitute an emergency.
In addition, one male staff member was involved in a least three physical altercations with girls at the Pueblo treatment unit, but was not let go from DCF until after the third incident, Eagan said, She questioned the department's handling of that employee.
A supervisor at Pueblo -- an assistant unit leader who ordered one of the restraints that was called in as possible abuse -- has been replaced, Eagan said.
DCF officials said all four cases are under internal investigation by the unit that handles the most complex inquiries. If the department substantiates abuse in any one of the four cases, it would have consequences for staff and supervisors at Pueblo, and for policies and protocols in the unit.
During a conference call with The Courant this week, the department's chief lawyer, Barbara Claire, said tapes of the four cases were viewed by other DCF officials and, from their perspective, the restraints weren't considered excessive and did not rise to the level of child abuse.
"That's why we need an independent review," Eagan said.
It was DCF's position during the conference call that restraints at Pueblo and at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys, also in Middletown, are not used to gain compliance from a youth who is only disobeying directions and is not being physically threatening. Restraints are a last resort and are used only when the safety of the youths or the staff are at stake, the DCF officials said during the call.
"We don't use non-compliance to put our hands on young women," said DCF's William Rosenbeck, superintendent of the juvenile training school in Middletown. The nearby Pueblo unit is considered part of CJTS for management purposes
However, all four of the suspected-abuse incidents at Pueblo involved restraints initiated by staff members, called youth service officers, for non-compliance by the girls before any of them had became physical, Eagan said.
She said that at least one of the girls had asthma, and that the prone position in which she was placed during the restraint was specifically prohibited in her treatment plan.
In response to Eagan's charges, Rosenbeck said staff members are trained in "non weight-bearing restraints" that are safe for even those youths with medical alerts.
Eagan and two of her investigators who viewed the tapes and the incident reports said it was very hard to tell whether staff members were putting pressure on the girls' chests or backs. But Eagan noted that at least one of the girls who was restrained said at one point that she was having difficulty breathing.
Asked again if prone restraints were ever used to gain compliance from a disobedient youth, Rosenbeck said, "It's not supposed to be used that way at all. Sometimes it's not easy to frame it that way …"
In all four instances of suspected abuse, handcuffs were used during the heat of a restraint; in one instance, a girl was in handcuffs within four minutes and remained in the cuffs for more than 25 minutes until she was escorted to her room, according to the child advocate's office.
DCF officials said this week that their policy is that handcuffs are used only "to safely transport" a youth.
Rosenbeck said that out of the 22 girls who have been in and out of Pueblo since March, four accounted for 77 percent of the restraints and assaults, and that Pueblo is otherwise stable and accomplishing its treatment goals.
Copyright © 2014, The Hartford Courant
By JOSH KOVNER,
jkovner@courant.com
2:25 p.m. EDT, September 13, 2014
Staff members at a locked treatment unit for teenage girls in Middletown used excessive force in a series of physical restraints, the state child advocate says, prompting her office to take the unusual step of reporting four of the cases as suspected child abuse.
Child Advocate Sarah Eagan called for an independent investigation into the Pueblo treatment unit. Eagan and her investigators are mandated reporters of child abuse, like doctors and teachers and police. Pueblo is operated by the Department of Children and Families.
The four complaints were phoned into DCF's abuse hotline after the advocate's office viewed dozens of hours of videotapes of restraints at Pueblo. The investigators noted instances of prone restraints being applied against girls who were disobeying directions but not being physically threatening at that moment. Prone restraints occur when one or more staff members take a youth to the floor, face down, and hold the youth there, however briefly.
Prone restraints are prohibited in some states, and are not allowed to be used in privately managed group homes and other facilities that contract with DCF, according to Associate Child Advocate Miriam "Mickey" Kramer. The state Department of Developmental Services also does not permit prone restraints to be used in private group homes and other locations that serve intellectually disabled people, Eagan said.
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Eagan said some of the restraints depicted on the Pueblo videotapes were unwarranted and excessive, and rose to the level of possible abuse. She said that her office considers the inappropriate use of prone restraints to constitute an emergency.
In addition, one male staff member was involved in a least three physical altercations with girls at the Pueblo treatment unit, but was not let go from DCF until after the third incident, Eagan said, She questioned the department's handling of that employee.
A supervisor at Pueblo -- an assistant unit leader who ordered one of the restraints that was called in as possible abuse -- has been replaced, Eagan said.
DCF officials said all four cases are under internal investigation by the unit that handles the most complex inquiries. If the department substantiates abuse in any one of the four cases, it would have consequences for staff and supervisors at Pueblo, and for policies and protocols in the unit.
During a conference call with The Courant this week, the department's chief lawyer, Barbara Claire, said tapes of the four cases were viewed by other DCF officials and, from their perspective, the restraints weren't considered excessive and did not rise to the level of child abuse.
"That's why we need an independent review," Eagan said.
It was DCF's position during the conference call that restraints at Pueblo and at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys, also in Middletown, are not used to gain compliance from a youth who is only disobeying directions and is not being physically threatening. Restraints are a last resort and are used only when the safety of the youths or the staff are at stake, the DCF officials said during the call.
"We don't use non-compliance to put our hands on young women," said DCF's William Rosenbeck, superintendent of the juvenile training school in Middletown. The nearby Pueblo unit is considered part of CJTS for management purposes
However, all four of the suspected-abuse incidents at Pueblo involved restraints initiated by staff members, called youth service officers, for non-compliance by the girls before any of them had became physical, Eagan said.
She said that at least one of the girls had asthma, and that the prone position in which she was placed during the restraint was specifically prohibited in her treatment plan.
In response to Eagan's charges, Rosenbeck said staff members are trained in "non weight-bearing restraints" that are safe for even those youths with medical alerts.
Eagan and two of her investigators who viewed the tapes and the incident reports said it was very hard to tell whether staff members were putting pressure on the girls' chests or backs. But Eagan noted that at least one of the girls who was restrained said at one point that she was having difficulty breathing.
Asked again if prone restraints were ever used to gain compliance from a disobedient youth, Rosenbeck said, "It's not supposed to be used that way at all. Sometimes it's not easy to frame it that way …"
In all four instances of suspected abuse, handcuffs were used during the heat of a restraint; in one instance, a girl was in handcuffs within four minutes and remained in the cuffs for more than 25 minutes until she was escorted to her room, according to the child advocate's office.
DCF officials said this week that their policy is that handcuffs are used only "to safely transport" a youth.
Rosenbeck said that out of the 22 girls who have been in and out of Pueblo since March, four accounted for 77 percent of the restraints and assaults, and that Pueblo is otherwise stable and accomplishing its treatment goals.
Copyright © 2014, The Hartford Courant
Saturday, September 13, 2014
UNIT LEADER PAID FOR NOT WORKING
The salary for Unit Leaders at Connecticut Juvenile Training School is between $55,000- $70,000 sources report. The CJTS facility is for incarcerated male residents and Unit Leaders have responsibilities of caring for Youth Service Officers and youth in their care. That is why the e-mail received by DCF Plantation Blog ( if true) is somewhat puzzling and troubling. In building # 6 sources report how a Unit Leader is allowing a YSO to complete all paper work necessary for the efficient running of that particular Pod ( as Units are called ). No the YSO is not doing this because the Unit Leader has cognitive issues; there is a quid quo pro involved in the paper work scenario. In return for doing all the Unit Leader’s paper work this YSO is not disciplined or reprimanded in any fashion or form. Other YSOs employed at CJTS say this is why the paperwork doing YSO is allowed to verbally berate a resident for periods of time and not be disciplined.
To make matters worse the YSO doing the verbal chastisement is out in the open with it because of this tight relationship with the Unit Leader who avoids doing paper work with a passion. If we scrutinize the situation from another vantage point [ parallax view ] what is said to be occurring is some type of fraud upon the State of Connecticut and tax paying citizens. At a time when Governor of Connecticut Dannel Malloy is trying to cut three billion dollars from his budget, someone is getting paid for nothing. In fairness to readers, all of this being reported is from second hand talk of other employees at CJTS. But in the past their information has been reliable and accurate (to a point ) ergo, it is safe to assume this data has a modicum of truth to it. The Unit Leader in building # 6 is not some novice to the service of this kind of work; reports indicate the person has years of work experience with this particular agency. So if there is significant work history why does this person get paid while another person does their paper work? Stories of injustice, racism, bias, doling out of overtime to friends and gross incompetence continues to cascade out of CJTS Plantation.
Now we have the Unit Leader in building # 6 who is paid for not working.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
TOXIC ENVIRONMENT
The consensus from people about Connecticut Juvenile Training School is that working there is hazardous to your health. I know there are incarcerated male residents at CJTS; assaults from these youth might cause injury. However the thrust of this story focuses not on assaultive youth but a toxic milieu created by bias, racism and unsupervised middle management. At CJTS a new employee enters into the work environment without realizing it is dysfunctional. Several types of bias exist at the facility ( favoritism towards liked employees, giving out milder forms of disciplinary action toward disliked employees ) and causes unbalance relations in that environment. It only takes a short time for new employees to understand that to exist at CJTS and get paid; something of value must be given up. This usually means not caring about injustices you see or hear about. As long as you get a pay check bi-weekly that is all employees need to care about.
Therefore, it is now clear the toxic milieu causes ethical people to shy away from being activists or pointing out minor issues to make the facility safer. At one point an employee sent an email to the facility Superintendent of CJTS and was told by others “ we do not send emails or write letters here.” The comment came as a shock because in other state facilities or corporations sending emails about issues is standard practice; not at CJTS plantation is this practiced. When anyone steps out of the prescribed boundaries laid down by management that employee is targeted for reprisals. Needless to say this kind of vindictive behavior by management will cause the ethical or moral employee to shrink back into the underbrush of denial or cowardice. The dominant culture at CJTS (management, school teachers, clinicians and middle management) consists of Caucasians. This being said, the white culture imposes their worldview on the facility. There is very little sensitivity by white management at CJTS for the concerns of employees of color. In order for all employees at CJTS to endure such treatment there must be a trade off: more time off work for physical and emotional problems, less production during work time and less cooperation with peers. All of what is being discussed today leads to a toxic environment; under such working conditions nothing thrives, workers suffer burnout and white management become more repressive if they perceive employees threaten facility power structures.
Then there is the issue of upper management using middle management as instruments of daily oppression toward rank and file employees. CJTS facility Key Stone Cops leaders allow middle management to conduct business like they are feudal Japanese or Chinese warlords. By this I mean arbitrary decisions are made by middle management about who gets investigated, verbally or formally written up, and in some instances that gets terminated from the job. When such problems are brought before upper management the only response is to circle the wagons to keep out unwanted news. Only by the grace of some divine power has CJTS not become involved in more controversy than it has already. Yet white management continues to promote, encourage and maintain a toxic environment.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
IS THERE A COVER UP AT THE DCF PLANTATION?
This story is written for DCF Plantation by a staff writer on loan from another blog.
The background ----
The following story is the result of multiple sources and employees at Connecticut Juvenile Training School. People describe a situation in which preferential treatment towards a female Youth Services Officer might have occurred. For some weeks on Unit 6 Delta a male resident has physically / verbally assaulted certain staff. In particular one female YSO certainly drew the ire of this resident and has been verbally abused. Sources report for some reason the Unit Leader has not deemed it necessary to nip such things like verbal abuse in the bud, therefore giving hatred fertile soil in which to fester. And so reports maintain the situation continued like this, resident being assaultive until it reached a curious point of no return.
On August 31, 2014 residents from 6 Delta were escorted to the cafeteria during first shift; while eating, the same resident mentioned previously began to make snide / inappropriate comments to the female YSO mentioned in this story. Other YSOs report that several supervisors were present in this cafeteria as the female YSO said things to the mouthy resident that could have escalated the situation. DCF Plantation readers have to understand that the cafeteria is filled with other residents from different Units; any agitation might cause a riot like situation. Why did the supervisors remain silent?
Cover up # 1---
Youth Service Officers sitting in the cafeteria at the time this YSO chided the resident are angry about what took place. These YSO’s claim supervisors should discipline the female employee. Now in fairness to our readers it must be stated that the YSOs doing the complaining said nothing to management about the incident. These eyewitnesses did not want to be seen as “snitching.” Wait, hold on a minute now. YSOs contact DCF Plantation Blog about the incident crying “she is treated differently because management likes her.” Yet these same employees invoke the street culture phraseology about not snitching, and then remain silent?
Cover up # 2---
The person in charge of Unit 6 Delta has experience as an administrator during employment at CJTS. Why did this particular Unit Leader allow such volatile situations like verbal or physical assault to reach crisis proportions and escalate from Unit to a crowded cafeteria? Next what must be examined is how supervisors sat around and condoned- through their silence- a female verbally chastising a resident of CJTS in front of peers and others. Now if you want male youth to react like an Atomic Bomb just call them out in front of peers; you certainly then have a recipe for that resident acting out to save face. However the issue at hand is the turning a blind eye toward the female YSO, (who according to those YSOs witnessing the incident) should receive discipline for her comments. In closing rumors are management tends to favor certain employees over others. And some YSOs wonder why management disciplines certain staff harsher than others [especially if the YSO is of color].
Well as this story ends it appears as if a question is lingering in the putrid cultural atmosphere at CJTS. Is there a cover up at the CJTS plantation?
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
SEEKING JUSTICE FOR LUIS !!
Please share
Call in Days Tuesday Sept. 2 – Wed Sept.3
Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero Jr. Now!
18 year old Hartford resident Luis Anglero Jr. was tased by Hartford police on Aug. 19. While in the hospital he was charged with "breach of peace" and "interfering with police". Video and eyewitness reports show Luis is clearly innocent of any crime. Instead it was Officer Shawn Ware that acted in an aggressive and violent manner. We are demanding that the charges against Luis be dropped immediately. Furthermore we are demanding that Officer Shawn Ware be placed under arrest.
What can you do to make sure there is justice for Luis Anglero, Jr. and an end to the use of excessive force by Hartford Police?
Hartford area residents, activists, and community organizers are asking that on Tuesday Sept. 2 Call the Mayor, State’s Attorney, and the Hartford Police Department and demand that the charges against Luis be dropped immediately!
1. Call the Mayor’s office (860) 757-9500
2. Call the Hartford Police Department (860) 757-9800
3. Call State’s Attorney Gail P. Hardy, 860-566-3190
Wednesday Sept. 3 8am Rally at Luis’s Court hearing
Community Court of Hartford, 80 Washington St, Hartford CT
Need more info? Contact Chris 860-593-6392
Call in Days Tuesday Sept. 2 – Wed Sept.3
Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero Jr. Now!
18 year old Hartford resident Luis Anglero Jr. was tased by Hartford police on Aug. 19. While in the hospital he was charged with "breach of peace" and "interfering with police". Video and eyewitness reports show Luis is clearly innocent of any crime. Instead it was Officer Shawn Ware that acted in an aggressive and violent manner. We are demanding that the charges against Luis be dropped immediately. Furthermore we are demanding that Officer Shawn Ware be placed under arrest.
What can you do to make sure there is justice for Luis Anglero, Jr. and an end to the use of excessive force by Hartford Police?
Hartford area residents, activists, and community organizers are asking that on Tuesday Sept. 2 Call the Mayor, State’s Attorney, and the Hartford Police Department and demand that the charges against Luis be dropped immediately!
1. Call the Mayor’s office (860) 757-9500
2. Call the Hartford Police Department (860) 757-9800
3. Call State’s Attorney Gail P. Hardy, 860-566-3190
Wednesday Sept. 3 8am Rally at Luis’s Court hearing
Community Court of Hartford, 80 Washington St, Hartford CT
Need more info? Contact Chris 860-593-6392
Friday, August 29, 2014
THE PEOPLE PREPARE TO BE HEARD
Drop all Charges Against Luis Anglero, Jr.!
End police brutality from Hartford to Ferguson
What: March and Rally to Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero, Jr.
When: Wed. Aug. 27 6PM
Where: The corner of Albany Ave and Main St. (Just North passed Capitol Prep 1304 Main St.) Hartford, CT
From Hartford to Ferguson to L.A. people are mobilizing and demanding an end to police violence in their communities. Less than 2 weeks after the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. Hartford, CT police officer Shawn Ware tased 18 year Luis Anglero, Jr. sending him to the pavement, were he hit his head and and had a violent seizure. Video and eyewitness reports clearly show there is no justification for the officers action. Luis is innocent of any crime yet he has been charged with "breach of the peace in the second" and "interfering with police".
Cornell Lewis and Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director of Charter Oak Cultural Center called a meeting Monday to organize a response. Attendees included labor organizer Steve Thornton, Rev. Damaris Whittaker, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford and representatives from Occupy Hartford, the University of Hartford, the Unitarian Society, and Mobilizing to Defend Our Rights. A representative from Luis Anglero Jr.’s family was also in attendance and thanked the group for their support.
We invite you to gather Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Albany and Main streets in Hartford to demand:
- All charges against Luis Anglero, Jr. be dropped immediately.
- Place officer Shawn Ware under arrest for assaulting Luis
- Open the books on all protocol for using lethal and less lethal weapons, include a list of all weaponry used by the HPD
- Public hearings and community speak outs in every neighborhood to better understand the full scope of police brutality in Hartford.
End police brutality from Hartford to Ferguson
What: March and Rally to Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero, Jr.
When: Wed. Aug. 27 6PM
Where: The corner of Albany Ave and Main St. (Just North passed Capitol Prep 1304 Main St.) Hartford, CT
From Hartford to Ferguson to L.A. people are mobilizing and demanding an end to police violence in their communities. Less than 2 weeks after the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. Hartford, CT police officer Shawn Ware tased 18 year Luis Anglero, Jr. sending him to the pavement, were he hit his head and and had a violent seizure. Video and eyewitness reports clearly show there is no justification for the officers action. Luis is innocent of any crime yet he has been charged with "breach of the peace in the second" and "interfering with police".
Cornell Lewis and Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director of Charter Oak Cultural Center called a meeting Monday to organize a response. Attendees included labor organizer Steve Thornton, Rev. Damaris Whittaker, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford and representatives from Occupy Hartford, the University of Hartford, the Unitarian Society, and Mobilizing to Defend Our Rights. A representative from Luis Anglero Jr.’s family was also in attendance and thanked the group for their support.
We invite you to gather Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Albany and Main streets in Hartford to demand:
- All charges against Luis Anglero, Jr. be dropped immediately.
- Place officer Shawn Ware under arrest for assaulting Luis
- Open the books on all protocol for using lethal and less lethal weapons, include a list of all weaponry used by the HPD
- Public hearings and community speak outs in every neighborhood to better understand the full scope of police brutality in Hartford.
ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE SPEAK WITH SINGLE VOICE
On August 27, 2014 100 people marched to the Hartford Police Department in protest against the tasering of Luis Anglero. The statement below was read inside HPD by Cornell Lewis, Rabbi Donna Berman, Rev. Damaris D.Whittaker.
Manifesto for the Hartford Police Department
We, the people, citizens of Hartford, demand that the Hartford Police Department serve the community with care, respect and sensitivity to our needs, and without aggression and violence.
We, the people, demand that all charges against Luis Anglero are dismissed, immediately.
We, the people, demand that charges be brought against Detective Shawn Ware for using excessive force.
We, the people, demand full accountability and transparency from the Hartford Police Department, including:
• A comprehensive list of all weapons (lethal and less lethal, e.g. tasers, sound cannons, stun and flash grenades, rubber bullets, etc.) in police arsenal
• A comprehensive list of protocols in place for use of these weapons
• A comprehensive list of incidences of tasering in the past year, including extent of force and demographics of those tasered
• An independent investigation into the tasering of Luis Anglero.
We, the people, demand that the police attend a public forum, put together by the Hartford community, to discuss issues of strained relations with the community.
We, the people, will not tolerate any needless imposition of suffering or loss of life at the hands of the police, as in the case of Eric Gardner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri.
Manifesto for the Hartford Police Department
We, the people, citizens of Hartford, demand that the Hartford Police Department serve the community with care, respect and sensitivity to our needs, and without aggression and violence.
We, the people, demand that all charges against Luis Anglero are dismissed, immediately.
We, the people, demand that charges be brought against Detective Shawn Ware for using excessive force.
We, the people, demand full accountability and transparency from the Hartford Police Department, including:
• A comprehensive list of all weapons (lethal and less lethal, e.g. tasers, sound cannons, stun and flash grenades, rubber bullets, etc.) in police arsenal
• A comprehensive list of protocols in place for use of these weapons
• A comprehensive list of incidences of tasering in the past year, including extent of force and demographics of those tasered
• An independent investigation into the tasering of Luis Anglero.
We, the people, demand that the police attend a public forum, put together by the Hartford community, to discuss issues of strained relations with the community.
We, the people, will not tolerate any needless imposition of suffering or loss of life at the hands of the police, as in the case of Eric Gardner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
WHY ATTACKS ON THE TWO MEN?
The drama at Connecticut Juvenile Training School continues in high gear. For whatever reason it seems as if unity among workers is decreasing. Just a while ago Youth Service Officers were signing petitions and forcing Joette Katz Commissioner of Department of Children and Families to meet with them. The glow of that meeting is over obviously; we now have attacks by employees on one another like the Hatfields & McCoys epic battles. Sources report how one YSO is being accused of challenging directives given by a superior. Kevin Strachen [ the source claims ] is being singled out for punishment and his peers cannot figure out why. We must consider that Strachen is a member of the hostile work environment lawsuit launched four years ago with four other people [ DCF Plantation 5 ]. Since the lawsuit was filed management has tried all manner of trickery to discipline Strachen. He has been investigated every time he had to physically restrain a resident at CJTS. Now there are rumors that management is once again filing complaints in various forms against Strachen.
The next incident concerns Ray Monteiro a dedicated YSO at CJTS. For years white management has been quietly trying to erode Ray's influence with incarcerated youth. Ray started a program called icy dreams which is designed to let residents sell flavored snow cones under supervision of employees. This business endeavor teaches youth how to manage money and interact with customers. Icy dreams was targeted by management to be shut down several times. Ray's son Barray has been and still is being targeted by management for minor infractions [ this is in order to get to Ray ]. Now all of a sudden white management is using YSOs to go after Ray. It is reported that a fellow employee recently walked up to Ray and voiced disapproval about certain things. Well why in the world is a fellow employee doing this? The same person that confronted Ray is usually "quiet as a church mouse" people claim. Now he is confronting Ray for no good reason? Hold on readers, there are reasons this is happening now to Ray. We need look no further than white management using YSOs as attack dogs. By doing it in this manner management can claim to have clean hands. Yeah right.
The next incident concerns Ray Monteiro a dedicated YSO at CJTS. For years white management has been quietly trying to erode Ray's influence with incarcerated youth. Ray started a program called icy dreams which is designed to let residents sell flavored snow cones under supervision of employees. This business endeavor teaches youth how to manage money and interact with customers. Icy dreams was targeted by management to be shut down several times. Ray's son Barray has been and still is being targeted by management for minor infractions [ this is in order to get to Ray ]. Now all of a sudden white management is using YSOs to go after Ray. It is reported that a fellow employee recently walked up to Ray and voiced disapproval about certain things. Well why in the world is a fellow employee doing this? The same person that confronted Ray is usually "quiet as a church mouse" people claim. Now he is confronting Ray for no good reason? Hold on readers, there are reasons this is happening now to Ray. We need look no further than white management using YSOs as attack dogs. By doing it in this manner management can claim to have clean hands. Yeah right.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
RALLY TO ADDRESS EXCESSIVE POLICE FORCE
March and Rally To Drop the Charges Against Luis Anglero Jr.
Posted: August 26, 2014 in Call to Action, Fight Back, Solidarity
What: March and Rally to Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero, Jr.
When: Wed. Aug. 27 6PM
Where: The corner of Albany Ave and Main St. (Just North passed Capitol Prep 1304 Main St.) Hartford, CT
From Hartford to Ferguson to L.A. people are mobilizing and demanding an end to police violence in their communities. Less than 2 weeks after the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. Hartford, CT police officer Shawn Ware tasered 18 year Luis Anglero, Jr. sending him to the pavement, were he hit his head and and had a violent seizure. Video and eyewitness reports clearly show there is no justification for the officers action. Luis is innocent of any crime yet he has been charged with “breach of the peace in the second” and “interfering with police”.
Cornell Lewis and Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director of Charter Oak Cultural Center called a meeting Monday to organize a response. Attendees included labor organizer Steve Thornton, Rev. Damaris Whittaker, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford and representatives from Occupy Hartford, Mobilizing to Defend Our Rights and members of the Unitarian Society. A representative from Luis Anglero Jr.’s family was also in attendance and thanked the group for their support.
We invite you to gather Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Albany and Main streets in Hartford to demand:
- All charges against Luis Anglero, Jr. be dropped immediately.
– Place officer Shawn Ware under arrest for assaulting Luis
– Open the books on all protocol for using lethal and less lethal weapons, include a list of all weaponry used by the HPD
– Public hearings and community speak outs in every neighborhood to better understand the full scope of police brutality in Hartford
Contact Chris H. 860-593-6392 or Christopher.hutch@gmail.com
Facebook event page.
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Hartford Police Stun Teen With Taser
In "Call to Action"
Response To Ferguson and Police Brutality Planning Meeting and March Hartford Ct.
In "Call to Action"
Stand With Ferguson. (Hartford Rally 8/16/2014)
In "For your information"
Leave a Reply
Quote of the week
Posted: August 26, 2014 in Call to Action, Fight Back, Solidarity
What: March and Rally to Drop the Charges against Luis Anglero, Jr.
When: Wed. Aug. 27 6PM
Where: The corner of Albany Ave and Main St. (Just North passed Capitol Prep 1304 Main St.) Hartford, CT
From Hartford to Ferguson to L.A. people are mobilizing and demanding an end to police violence in their communities. Less than 2 weeks after the murder of Michael Brown by police in Ferguson, MO. Hartford, CT police officer Shawn Ware tasered 18 year Luis Anglero, Jr. sending him to the pavement, were he hit his head and and had a violent seizure. Video and eyewitness reports clearly show there is no justification for the officers action. Luis is innocent of any crime yet he has been charged with “breach of the peace in the second” and “interfering with police”.
Cornell Lewis and Rabbi Donna Berman, executive director of Charter Oak Cultural Center called a meeting Monday to organize a response. Attendees included labor organizer Steve Thornton, Rev. Damaris Whittaker, pastor of the First Church of Christ in Hartford and representatives from Occupy Hartford, Mobilizing to Defend Our Rights and members of the Unitarian Society. A representative from Luis Anglero Jr.’s family was also in attendance and thanked the group for their support.
We invite you to gather Wednesday, Aug. 27, at Albany and Main streets in Hartford to demand:
- All charges against Luis Anglero, Jr. be dropped immediately.
– Place officer Shawn Ware under arrest for assaulting Luis
– Open the books on all protocol for using lethal and less lethal weapons, include a list of all weaponry used by the HPD
– Public hearings and community speak outs in every neighborhood to better understand the full scope of police brutality in Hartford
Contact Chris H. 860-593-6392 or Christopher.hutch@gmail.com
Facebook event page.
Share this:
Twitter1Facebook2
Related
Hartford Police Stun Teen With Taser
In "Call to Action"
Response To Ferguson and Police Brutality Planning Meeting and March Hartford Ct.
In "Call to Action"
Stand With Ferguson. (Hartford Rally 8/16/2014)
In "For your information"
Leave a Reply
Quote of the week
Sunday, August 24, 2014
WILL THEY EVER LEARN ANYTHING?
While in Hartford recently a lawyer stopped me and inquired about my ongoing battle for racial justice as it relates to Department of Children and Families / Connecticut Juvenile Training School. I responded by saying that an arbitrator ruled against DCF's termination of me and to restore job, benefits etc. The lawyer said to me " Cornell DCF et al. do not give a damn about going to court and fighting these lawsuits or arbitration. It is public money they use therefore it does not matter to them.Those people in charge of state run agencies are only interested in winning, in the final analysis this kind of thing [ claims of racial injustice by employees of color ] continues to occur. What is really sad is that these white people running DCF / CJTS do not learn anything nor is change made."
Those words from a legal mind struck home as I reflected on all the effort that went into pointing out CJTS blatant discrimination against employees of color. All DCF publicity person did was deny all charges and claim I had no valid basis for making such allegations. Even when Freedom of Information documents from DCF proved beyond doubt that white management disciplined employees of color more severely and with greater frequency-- talking heads within the DCF Plantation stayed on message i.e. "there is nothing wrong."
Well clearly something is " rotten in Denmark" and just because the white overseers at DCF do not acknowledge wrondoing does not mean it is not valid.
Is that lawyer telling the truth will they [ DCF ] ever learn anything?
Those words from a legal mind struck home as I reflected on all the effort that went into pointing out CJTS blatant discrimination against employees of color. All DCF publicity person did was deny all charges and claim I had no valid basis for making such allegations. Even when Freedom of Information documents from DCF proved beyond doubt that white management disciplined employees of color more severely and with greater frequency-- talking heads within the DCF Plantation stayed on message i.e. "there is nothing wrong."
Well clearly something is " rotten in Denmark" and just because the white overseers at DCF do not acknowledge wrondoing does not mean it is not valid.
Is that lawyer telling the truth will they [ DCF ] ever learn anything?
Saturday, August 23, 2014
IN SUPPORT OF COMRADES FACING POLICE BRUTALITY
Dear Comrades,
Rabbi Donna Berman and I are concerned about police brutality across America. Black men in New York and Ferguson, Mo have died due to police brutality. We are meeting Monday August 25th at 3pm Charter Oak Cultural Center to plan a stronger response to police brutality. We plan a march to the HPD with reading of a manifesto statement about police brutality. The event will take place Wednesday August 27th at 6pm.
There have been several rallies in support of Ferguson, Mo in Hartford. We do not want to tire folks out. This will be different in a variety of ways, no sugar coating ... straight ahead dialogue.
More details to follow. If you wish to be part of this event come to Charter Oak Cultural Center August 25th at 3pm.
Cornell Lewis
Rabbi Donna Berman and I are concerned about police brutality across America. Black men in New York and Ferguson, Mo have died due to police brutality. We are meeting Monday August 25th at 3pm Charter Oak Cultural Center to plan a stronger response to police brutality. We plan a march to the HPD with reading of a manifesto statement about police brutality. The event will take place Wednesday August 27th at 6pm.
There have been several rallies in support of Ferguson, Mo in Hartford. We do not want to tire folks out. This will be different in a variety of ways, no sugar coating ... straight ahead dialogue.
More details to follow. If you wish to be part of this event come to Charter Oak Cultural Center August 25th at 3pm.
Cornell Lewis
Thursday, August 21, 2014
LOOKING OUT FOR THEIR OWN
The DCF Plantation blog recently received several reports about how white management at Connecticut Juvenile Training School treats non- people of color differently than the natives. This blog staff writer heard from reliable sources the following story. A white female was hired a year ago to work 2nd shift as Youth Services Officer at CJTS. From all accounts the young white female did not relate well with incarcerated residents and appeared weak in area of disciplinary measures. Then one day this same female ended up teaching Safe Crisis Management techniques to CJTS staff. Now SCM is designed to teach YSOs how to use proper restraint techniques on residents when situations arise for it. In other cases when YSOs do not workout as employees the management staff ends employment (usually this means folk of color terminated). However when a white person is employed and has difficulty working with residents other measures are found in keeping them on the job. Now let me be clear in saying that these words written above come from YSOs of color who feel slighted about this white female getting preferential treatment (or so it seems). There is a pattern YSOs claim of white employees getting different treatment than people of color.
In order to make their point YSOs brought the following story to my attention. Several years ago the State of Connecticut was making budget cut backs and this extended to CJTS letting go administrative staff. Well a black male and white male were slated for possibly losing their job. White administrators at CJTS tried to keep the white management person on the job while terminating the black male. The black male then sited his years in military service as reason for staying at CJTS. Clearly the white manager had less time of being employed; the CJTS hierarchy kept the black manager but created a job description for their white male buddy. In other words whites looked out for their own in this scenario and with the SCM trainer too.
It is clear that not only are white management types treating YSOs with harsher disciplinary measures but other forms of hocus pocus go on daily. In the final analysis people of color are treated differently while whites are looking out for their own.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
DEMONIZING THE PERSON AND IGNORING CRITICAL ISSUES
The Department of Children and Families plus Connecticut Juvenile Training School is besieged with problems of employee racism, bias and dysfunctional leadership. Yet for several years both agencies chose to ignore these volatile and ugly issues, while focusing on activists trying to achieve justice. One person in particular seemed to be the focal point of DCF / CJTS ill will- former CJTS employee Cornell Lewis. After working at CJTS for six years Lewis was terminated July 17, 2013 on charges that can only be described as something out of the Twilight Zone. White management charged Lewis with Neglect of Duty, kept him employed for one month then placed him on paid administrative leave for one year. After all that maneuvering, then the stage was set for white management to fire him.
However before DCF / CJTS terminated Lewis they demonized aspects of his character in order to give cover to their nefarious plans. Lewis was described as trouble maker for having the nerve to point out bias or discrimination. There were several investigations launched against him that culminated in no disciplinary actions. When Lewis walked around CJTS property conducting job duties white management observed him closely: disinformation was put out about Lewis’s community activities in Greater Hartford. All of these things were done in order to lay ground work for white management to try and convince people Lewis should not be working with incarcerated CJTS males and this is why he needed to be terminated. Historically character assassination is a favorite trick of oppressors trying to stay in power: demonizing the person and ignoring critical issues confuses people and allows those in power to legitimize their claims on legal or moral grounds. In order to make such demonizing imagery authentic the white management team even brought in Negro female / male state employees to sit in at Lewis’s legal hearings ( more on this subject in another story). These smiling Negroes are well paid by their masters and do white management’s bidding without hesitation.
After spending almost two years of trying to place the onus of any disciplinary actions on Cornell Lewis an arbitrator ruled July 11, 2014 that DCF /CJTS did not have sufficient evidence to terminate Lewis, and ordered him back to work. Now other workers on the DCF Plantation are rising up to protest injustice or bias. Will management seek also to sully these employees character?
Saturday, August 16, 2014
CORNELL'S FIRING WAS A NECESSITY OR NECESSARY EVIL
The scenario is well known by now to most employees of Connecticut Juvenile Training School. Youth Services Officer Cornell Lewis was fired from CJTS on July 17, 2013 supposedly for Neglect of Duty. This staff writer found out that CJTS management led the charge to get rid of Lewis for organizing workers to resist injustice at that facility. The official version by Department of Children and Families for Lewis dismissal claims Neglect of Duty [not seeing two residents fight]. For the charge of Neglect of Duty there is usually a written reprimand or several day suspension ( three days at the most). However DCF / CJTS decided to fire Cornell plus two additional workers under the guise of protecting children. The real reason for the three terminations was to get Lewis off CJTS property. For years Lewis exposed the unequal disciplinary actions white management aimed at black / Latino men through terminations or harsher disciplines. Because Lewis dared expose these things a vindictive white privileged management decided “ Cornell’s firing was a necessity or necessary evil.”
In order to maintain their aura of invincibility and apartheid type rule, white management decided to strike at a man they not only detested but feared.
White management detested Cornell for several reasons, he as a black man stood before them unafraid and proclaimed the truth. Also Cornell wrote for three black owned newspapers in Hartford and consistently indicted the DCF and CJTS hierarchy in these publications. Lastly, when being investigated by management on some phony charge, Lewis used historical, classical Greek literature, black history and Shakespearean quotes to defend himself. This did not sit well with CJTS white management many of whom cannot conjugate a verb properly. It is not strange for whites in power to try and eliminate threats to their power base within DCF/ CJTS especially if the person during the proclaiming of injustice is a black male. History records show America destroyed Paul Robeson, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Noble Drew Ali, W.E.B. Dubois, Ruben Hurricane Carter, Medgar Evers and the list goes on. All of these men mentioned plus others history has ignored or forgotten are victims of systematic pernicious racism. In other words America eliminated the so called black male threat. Ergo, CJTS followed in that old grand American tradition when they got rid of Cornell.
However on July 11, 2014 a female arbitrator wrote in a decision that Lewis was unjustly terminated from the job at CJTS. The same arbitrator ordered DCF /CJTS to reinstate Lewis with all benefits, back pay, vacation pay due to him. Well that attempt by white management to silence Lewis failed; now the man management loves to hate is given his job back. In the final analysis no matter how this scene plays out remember one thing please; Cornell’s firing was a necessity or necessary evil.
United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
COMMUNITY PARTY NEWS REPORT
Please forward widely! Pick up the Hartford News at these locations. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/hartford-news-locations/ Check out the archive of Community Party Hartford News columns at our No Sellout blog. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/
David Samuels
Founder
Community Party
Political Roundup: Bridgeport Cop Indicted for Civil Rights Violation / Corporatism & Tom Foley’s Fusion Paperboard Debacle
This column appears in the August 14 – 21 edition of the Hartford News… Check out our No Sellout blog for an important message from Connecticut Justice Party State Coordinator Carlos Camacho. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/message-from-carlos-camacho/
Trayvon Martin Act Update
Bridgeport Police Officer Clive Higgins Indicted for Civil Rights Violation
Report from News 12 Connecticut http://connecticut.news12.com/
A third Bridgeport police officer has been indicted for his role in a case where the officers beat a man in custody.
Prosecutors charged Clive Higgins with violating the civil rights of Orlando Lopez-Soto.
The two other officers involved have already pleaded guilty in the case.
Elson Morales and Joe Lawlor will be sentenced in September. They face up to a year in PRISON and could be forced to resign.
Watch video of the beating here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AO_7YGma-I
The 2013 conviction of East Haven police officers Dennis Spaulding and David Cari on FEDERAL CHARGES of racially profiling Latinos is irrefutable evidence that biased policing is happening in Connecticut. Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration has gone to great lengths to protect the police, who wield considerable political influence at the State Capitol. Office of Policy and Management Under Secretary Mike Lawlor and the so-called Racial Profiling Prohibition Project have focused on an esoteric data collection process, while ignoring the conviction of the EHPD officers. Let’s see if they also try to sweep the Bridgeport case under the rug. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/trayvon-martin-act-report-connecticut-racial-profiling-prohibition-project/ Contrary to Lawlor’s assertion that biased policing is a “perceived problem”, police containment of Black and Latino neighborhoods by racial profiling, intimidation and violence is a real issue. Right next door in New York, a medical examiner ruled that the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the NYPD was a homicide. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/5/new_york_police_killing_of_eric Check out our Resources section for the Community Party’s Trayvon Martin Act bill language, testimony by Mary Sanders (who wrote CP’s Trayvon Act) and Adam Osmond at a forum on racial profiling and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement report on the extrajudicial killing of Black people by the police, SECURITY GUARDS and vigilantes.
It seemed like a good idea at the time… Last month Tom Foley, who easily defeated Sen. John McKinney in the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, traveled to the town of Sprague to hold a press conference in front of Fusion Paperboard, a paper mill that is being closed in September by OpenGate Capital, a private INVESTMENT FIRM. Foley’s plan was to use Fusion as a prop while he bashed Malloy’s economic policies. Foley ended up being embarrassed by Fusion employees and Democratic Party Sen. Cathy Osten, who is also the town’s first selectwoman. Foley was berated by Osten and the Fusion employees for exploiting the paper mill’s closure and being clueless about the factors which actually led to the company’s demise. Foley wanted to use Fusion to spread his gospel of business deregulation. His attempt flopped miserably. As Fusion workers read him the Riot Act, Foley looked like an out of touch rich guy, which is exactly what he is. Foley admitted to Osten that he never set foot in Sprague prior to July 29th, the date that Foley arrived in town to dance on Fusion Paperboard’s grave. This was a calculated ploy by a politician to use the plight of the working class for his own PERSONAL gain. To the delight of Malloy and McKinney, Foley’s slimy move blew up in his face. It would have been nice if Sen. Osten displayed the same passion on behalf of public employees. While Osten was the co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, she refused to meet with CP to discuss our Safe Work Environment Act. Based on our experience with Osten, it appears that her confrontation with Foley was at least partially motivated by the gubernatorial election. Current committee co-chair Sen. Gary Holder Winfield will introduce our workplace bullying bill in 2015. http://senatedems.ct.gov/Holder-Winfield.php
Proof that the election is a false choice was on display during the August 3 Fox CT Capitol Report program. Working Families Party executive director Lindsay Farrell, who a couple of days earlier announced that WFP was again cross-endorsing Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, placing them on two ballot lines in the November election, and Jodi Latina, a campaign staffer for McKinney, both gloated over Foley’s debacle in Sprague. Farrell did not challenge Latina on McKinney’s plan if he is elected, which is to threaten state workers with layoffs if they don’t agree to concessions; employees have already done so twice since 2009 (I’m a state worker). WFP’s endorsement of Malloy reinforces their image as a satellite of the Democratic Party. When state workers rejected the concessions deal between union “leaders” and Malloy, he responded by issuing thousands of layoff notices. Malloy smacked teachers in the face with an anti-teacher bill that was mostly dismantled by the legislature. Malloy knew that he could count on WFP to avoid holding him accountable, no matter what he did. Malloy, Foley and McKinney are all union busters, the only difference is a matter of DEGREE.
The inconvenient fact for liberals and conservatives is that Malloy, Foley and McKinney are all corporatists. Malloy has thrown millions at big business through his First Five initiative. He attempted to give over $100 million to Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. Malloy, Foley and McKinney are privatizers: Malloy is a rabid proponent of the privatization of education. Foley and McKinney both support privatizing state services. Because Malloy is a Democrat, he will throw workers a bone in the form of a watered down paid sick days bill or an inadequate minimum wage boost to $10.10, so he can cite these policy positions as an example of his support of labor. Malloy would not get behind a minimum wage increase until it became an election year issue. He refused to support a minimum wage boost in 2012, even after the bill had been gutted to a measly 25 cent increase with no index for inflation. Malloy’s outright bullying of state workers and public school teachers is a true indication of his attitude toward the working class. The Democrats and Republicans both give lip service to supporting the workers, while their actual policy decisions reflect their subservience to Wall Street.
“Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.” ~ The 14 Defining Principles of Fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt
David G. Mills’ Information Clearing House article, It’s the Corporate State, Stupid, is a must read. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7260.htm Mills discusses the definition of corporatism by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who said, “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power”. One of the objectives of the corporate state in this country is to roll back workers’ gains in wages and benefits. Unlike Malloy and Foley, McKinney does not attempt to downplay the fact that he’s a corporatist. Connecticut Mirror health reporter Arielle Levin Becker interviewed the gubernatorial candidates about their health care policy positions. McKinney laid out his plan of attack against state workers. McKinney described their health care package as a “platinum plan”; he wanted the state employee unions to return to the negotiating table yet again to surrender more of their wages and benefits.
While McKinney demonized state workers he said nothing about closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations, who are stacking more cash than state workers could ever dream of. Matthew Santacroce made recommendations as to how the state could rake in huge sums of much needed revenue in his Connecticut Voices for Children report, Reality Check: Who Pays Taxes in Connecticut. http://www.ctvoices.org/publications/reality-check-who-pays-taxes-connecticut The report found that the state’s working class and poor residents pay more in taxes than the rich. “Raise marginal income tax rates on our state’s wealthiest residents to align with those in New York State. Raising Connecticut’s rates just on income over $1 million could generate over $400 million annually. Close corporate tax loopholes that reward companies that ship profits and jobs out of state. Instituting mandatory combined reporting and the throwback rule would increase state revenues by over $100 million next year, while leveling the playing field for the small businesses that are vital to Connecticut’s economy. Report regularly on how much people at different income levels and businesses of different sizes pay in state and local taxes (tax incidence analysis), which will provide policymakers with a clear picture of taxes in Connecticut, and will help to inform complicated tax policy debates in an objective, data-driven fashion.” Like Malloy and Foley, McKinney’s economic policies are dictated by his Wall Street masters. McKinney’s populist rhetoric about standing up for the working class is directly contradicted by his ideological opposition to the recommendations in the Connecticut Voices for Children report. The Fusion Paperboard press conference was great theater but the truth is that neither Malloy, Foley or McKinney support the interests of the workers.
Malloy vs. Foley II is now an official sequel. McKinney, who spent the past several weeks explaining in vivid detail why Foley sucks, immediately vowed to do anything that Foley asks of him to make Malloy a one-term governor. Foley said, “Change is on the way!” Yeah, right… Within the next couple of weeks, we will find out if third-party candidates Jonathan Pelto and Joe Visconti will get an opportunity to steal the show.
Follow CP on Twitter for state, national and global headlines and updates on the status of our Trayvon Martin and Safe Work Environment Acts. https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1 Check out CP’s No Sellout blog for the archive of our Hartford News columns. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/ Listen to WQTQ 89.9 FM for CP’s public service announcements on our racial justice initiatives. https://www.facebook.com/wqtqfm Contact us at 860-206-8879 or info.community.party@gmail.com.
Resources
Community Party Trayvon Martin Act bill language:
David Samuels
Founder
Community Party
Political Roundup: Bridgeport Cop Indicted for Civil Rights Violation / Corporatism & Tom Foley’s Fusion Paperboard Debacle
This column appears in the August 14 – 21 edition of the Hartford News… Check out our No Sellout blog for an important message from Connecticut Justice Party State Coordinator Carlos Camacho. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/message-from-carlos-camacho/
Trayvon Martin Act Update
Bridgeport Police Officer Clive Higgins Indicted for Civil Rights Violation
Report from News 12 Connecticut http://connecticut.news12.com/
A third Bridgeport police officer has been indicted for his role in a case where the officers beat a man in custody.
Prosecutors charged Clive Higgins with violating the civil rights of Orlando Lopez-Soto.
The two other officers involved have already pleaded guilty in the case.
Elson Morales and Joe Lawlor will be sentenced in September. They face up to a year in PRISON and could be forced to resign.
Watch video of the beating here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AO_7YGma-I
The 2013 conviction of East Haven police officers Dennis Spaulding and David Cari on FEDERAL CHARGES of racially profiling Latinos is irrefutable evidence that biased policing is happening in Connecticut. Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration has gone to great lengths to protect the police, who wield considerable political influence at the State Capitol. Office of Policy and Management Under Secretary Mike Lawlor and the so-called Racial Profiling Prohibition Project have focused on an esoteric data collection process, while ignoring the conviction of the EHPD officers. Let’s see if they also try to sweep the Bridgeport case under the rug. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/trayvon-martin-act-report-connecticut-racial-profiling-prohibition-project/ Contrary to Lawlor’s assertion that biased policing is a “perceived problem”, police containment of Black and Latino neighborhoods by racial profiling, intimidation and violence is a real issue. Right next door in New York, a medical examiner ruled that the death of Eric Garner at the hands of the NYPD was a homicide. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/5/new_york_police_killing_of_eric Check out our Resources section for the Community Party’s Trayvon Martin Act bill language, testimony by Mary Sanders (who wrote CP’s Trayvon Act) and Adam Osmond at a forum on racial profiling and the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement report on the extrajudicial killing of Black people by the police, SECURITY GUARDS and vigilantes.
It seemed like a good idea at the time… Last month Tom Foley, who easily defeated Sen. John McKinney in the Republican gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, traveled to the town of Sprague to hold a press conference in front of Fusion Paperboard, a paper mill that is being closed in September by OpenGate Capital, a private INVESTMENT FIRM. Foley’s plan was to use Fusion as a prop while he bashed Malloy’s economic policies. Foley ended up being embarrassed by Fusion employees and Democratic Party Sen. Cathy Osten, who is also the town’s first selectwoman. Foley was berated by Osten and the Fusion employees for exploiting the paper mill’s closure and being clueless about the factors which actually led to the company’s demise. Foley wanted to use Fusion to spread his gospel of business deregulation. His attempt flopped miserably. As Fusion workers read him the Riot Act, Foley looked like an out of touch rich guy, which is exactly what he is. Foley admitted to Osten that he never set foot in Sprague prior to July 29th, the date that Foley arrived in town to dance on Fusion Paperboard’s grave. This was a calculated ploy by a politician to use the plight of the working class for his own PERSONAL gain. To the delight of Malloy and McKinney, Foley’s slimy move blew up in his face. It would have been nice if Sen. Osten displayed the same passion on behalf of public employees. While Osten was the co-chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee, she refused to meet with CP to discuss our Safe Work Environment Act. Based on our experience with Osten, it appears that her confrontation with Foley was at least partially motivated by the gubernatorial election. Current committee co-chair Sen. Gary Holder Winfield will introduce our workplace bullying bill in 2015. http://senatedems.ct.gov/Holder-Winfield.php
Proof that the election is a false choice was on display during the August 3 Fox CT Capitol Report program. Working Families Party executive director Lindsay Farrell, who a couple of days earlier announced that WFP was again cross-endorsing Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, placing them on two ballot lines in the November election, and Jodi Latina, a campaign staffer for McKinney, both gloated over Foley’s debacle in Sprague. Farrell did not challenge Latina on McKinney’s plan if he is elected, which is to threaten state workers with layoffs if they don’t agree to concessions; employees have already done so twice since 2009 (I’m a state worker). WFP’s endorsement of Malloy reinforces their image as a satellite of the Democratic Party. When state workers rejected the concessions deal between union “leaders” and Malloy, he responded by issuing thousands of layoff notices. Malloy smacked teachers in the face with an anti-teacher bill that was mostly dismantled by the legislature. Malloy knew that he could count on WFP to avoid holding him accountable, no matter what he did. Malloy, Foley and McKinney are all union busters, the only difference is a matter of DEGREE.
The inconvenient fact for liberals and conservatives is that Malloy, Foley and McKinney are all corporatists. Malloy has thrown millions at big business through his First Five initiative. He attempted to give over $100 million to Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. Malloy, Foley and McKinney are privatizers: Malloy is a rabid proponent of the privatization of education. Foley and McKinney both support privatizing state services. Because Malloy is a Democrat, he will throw workers a bone in the form of a watered down paid sick days bill or an inadequate minimum wage boost to $10.10, so he can cite these policy positions as an example of his support of labor. Malloy would not get behind a minimum wage increase until it became an election year issue. He refused to support a minimum wage boost in 2012, even after the bill had been gutted to a measly 25 cent increase with no index for inflation. Malloy’s outright bullying of state workers and public school teachers is a true indication of his attitude toward the working class. The Democrats and Republicans both give lip service to supporting the workers, while their actual policy decisions reflect their subservience to Wall Street.
“Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.” ~ The 14 Defining Principles of Fascism by Dr. Lawrence Britt
David G. Mills’ Information Clearing House article, It’s the Corporate State, Stupid, is a must read. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7260.htm Mills discusses the definition of corporatism by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who said, “Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power”. One of the objectives of the corporate state in this country is to roll back workers’ gains in wages and benefits. Unlike Malloy and Foley, McKinney does not attempt to downplay the fact that he’s a corporatist. Connecticut Mirror health reporter Arielle Levin Becker interviewed the gubernatorial candidates about their health care policy positions. McKinney laid out his plan of attack against state workers. McKinney described their health care package as a “platinum plan”; he wanted the state employee unions to return to the negotiating table yet again to surrender more of their wages and benefits.
While McKinney demonized state workers he said nothing about closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and corporations, who are stacking more cash than state workers could ever dream of. Matthew Santacroce made recommendations as to how the state could rake in huge sums of much needed revenue in his Connecticut Voices for Children report, Reality Check: Who Pays Taxes in Connecticut. http://www.ctvoices.org/publications/reality-check-who-pays-taxes-connecticut The report found that the state’s working class and poor residents pay more in taxes than the rich. “Raise marginal income tax rates on our state’s wealthiest residents to align with those in New York State. Raising Connecticut’s rates just on income over $1 million could generate over $400 million annually. Close corporate tax loopholes that reward companies that ship profits and jobs out of state. Instituting mandatory combined reporting and the throwback rule would increase state revenues by over $100 million next year, while leveling the playing field for the small businesses that are vital to Connecticut’s economy. Report regularly on how much people at different income levels and businesses of different sizes pay in state and local taxes (tax incidence analysis), which will provide policymakers with a clear picture of taxes in Connecticut, and will help to inform complicated tax policy debates in an objective, data-driven fashion.” Like Malloy and Foley, McKinney’s economic policies are dictated by his Wall Street masters. McKinney’s populist rhetoric about standing up for the working class is directly contradicted by his ideological opposition to the recommendations in the Connecticut Voices for Children report. The Fusion Paperboard press conference was great theater but the truth is that neither Malloy, Foley or McKinney support the interests of the workers.
Malloy vs. Foley II is now an official sequel. McKinney, who spent the past several weeks explaining in vivid detail why Foley sucks, immediately vowed to do anything that Foley asks of him to make Malloy a one-term governor. Foley said, “Change is on the way!” Yeah, right… Within the next couple of weeks, we will find out if third-party candidates Jonathan Pelto and Joe Visconti will get an opportunity to steal the show.
Follow CP on Twitter for state, national and global headlines and updates on the status of our Trayvon Martin and Safe Work Environment Acts. https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1 Check out CP’s No Sellout blog for the archive of our Hartford News columns. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/ Listen to WQTQ 89.9 FM for CP’s public service announcements on our racial justice initiatives. https://www.facebook.com/wqtqfm Contact us at 860-206-8879 or info.community.party@gmail.com.
Resources
Community Party Trayvon Martin Act bill language:
Saturday, August 9, 2014
QUEEN OF THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT
There are persistent rumors coming out of Connecticut Juvenile Training School about worker abuse of Family and Medical Leave Act ( FMLA). Youth Service Officers at CJTS are held to a high standard when it comes to reporting for work, being on time, using medical leave correctly and not abusing it. If YSOs are made to adhere to a strict code then should this not apply to administrators also. Take for instance the Unit Supervisor that has used FMLA to the point of excess.
Sources within CJTS report a female Unit Leader is never at work : this absence causes her workers on the Unit to go unsupervised. In addition there are 20 residents on the supervisor's Unit in need of her guidance but she is not to be found ( except on FMLA ). Staff reporters for this blog have written about this Unit Leader before i.e. describing how her time sheets clearly highlight excessive amounts of sick time leave. Hell, a few watchdog advocates even sent letters to Governor Danel Malloy and State Comptroller Kevin Lembo about possible fraud by this Unit Leader and still she continues using FMLA.
In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s stories appeared in major newspapers about black women abusing welfare payments. At this time whites were pushing to overhaul the welfare system and used the " black welfare queen" as symbols. A national outcry arose to " fix welfare." Now in the year 2014 we might have a FMLA queen at CJTS but there is no public outcry from CJTS management or state officials. Now it is true the Unit Leader has not been charged with FMLA abuse, but damn, it does seem strange she is always out on medical leave.
In conclusion let me state she might be queen of the Family and Medical leave Act.
Learn About Family and Medical Leave Act
Family and Medical Leave: Overview
The FMLA allows workers to take time off from work to care for sick family members and it has been vital to the success of working families. This overview article has all the basic information you need to get started.
Rights and Responsibilities Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
Although the FMLA has been a boon to many employees, a worker cannot just skip work whenever he feels like it. Read on to learn about what an employee must do to get FMLA leave.
FMLA Eligibility
FMLA leave is not just for any employee who needs time off for any illness. This article explains who is eligible for leave and who is not in easy to understand language.
Qualifying Reasons for FMLA Leave
Most people access FMLA leave to welcome a new child into the house, but there are other reasons to access leave. This article explains what kinds of health conditions will trigger FMLA leave.
- See more at: http://employment.findlaw.com/family-medical-leave/family-and-medical-leave-act.html?DCMP=GOO-EMP_FMLABroadModifier-Gen&HBX_PK=medical+leave+act#sthash.SwwuxAPN.dpuf
Thursday, August 7, 2014
MESSAGE TO THE OPPRESSOR DURING A LEGAL LYNCHING
This is a statement delivered by Cornell Lewis on July 1, 2013 to members of management at Connecticut Juvenile Training School and Department of Children and Families. On this day management decided to terminate Cornell Lewis on certain dubious charges in order to silence his activism. After being on paid administrative leave for one year the leaders decided to strike. Cornell gave this speech after being fired in opposition to the farce he had just witnessed. This is the speech as it was presented, no attempts were made by this blog to correct it in any form.
STATEMENT TO DCF PRE-DISCIPLINARY HEARING
505 HUDSON STREET HARTFORD, CT – JULY 1, 2013, 1:30PM
8TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM
I WANT TO THANK THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES [AFSCME] UNION FOR BEING HERE TO REPRESENT ME. “A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED.”
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ASKED ME TO COME HERE TODAY FOR A REASON. THE STATED REASON IS TO ADDRESS NEGLECT OF DUTY CHARGES AGAINST THREE YOUTH SERVICE OFFICERS FOR NOT SEEING TWO RESIDENTS GET INTO A FIGHT.
FAIR ENOUGH.
I THINK HOWEVER THE REAL MOTIVE FOR ME BEING HERE IS OLD AS AMERICA AND BITTER AS WORMWOOD.
DCF/CJTS WANT TO SILENCE A BLACK MAN FOR HAVING THE UNMITIGATED GALL TO POINT OUT PERCEIVED BIASES OR INJUSTICES TOWARDS EMPLOYEES OF COLOR. DCF DATA DESCRIBES 66% OF ALL DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS ARE AIMED AT EMPLOYEES OF COLOR; WHILE PEOPLE OF COLOR MAKE UP 45-47 % OF THE WORKFORCE.
WHAT CANNOT BE FATHOMED IS HOW DCF/CJTS ARE POISED TO USE POWER TO CRUSH THE LIVELY HOOD AND FAMILIES OF TWO INNOCENT EMPLOYEES, AND THEN FINALLY GET RID OF THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE- THE BAD NEGRO. THIS PROCEEDING IS NOTHING MORE THAN A LEGAL LYNCHING OF A BLACK MAN. AND LYNCHING OF PROBLEMATIC BLACK MEN –USING POLICY AND PROCEDURE IS SOMETHING DCF HAS CRAFTED INTO A FINE ART FORM.
IN CLOSING PLEASE DO NOT THINK THIS STATEMENT IS OUT OF ANGER TOWARDS YOU. I UNDERSTAND THAT DCF/CJTS HIERARCHY REPRESENTS A TYPE OF UNBRIDLED POWER THAT IS ABLE / WILLING TO HANDLE PROBLEMATIC BLACK MEN IN THAT TIME HONORED TRADITION – SILENCE THEM.
I DO NOT UTTER THESE WORDS HATEFULLY.
MY INTENTION IS TO PENETRATE, ILLUMINATE, AND LACERATE THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF SOME, WHO PREVARICATE FROM THE TRUTH.
STATEMENT TO DCF PRE-DISCIPLINARY HEARING
505 HUDSON STREET HARTFORD, CT – JULY 1, 2013, 1:30PM
8TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM
I WANT TO THANK THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES [AFSCME] UNION FOR BEING HERE TO REPRESENT ME. “A FRIEND IN NEED IS A FRIEND INDEED.”
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ASKED ME TO COME HERE TODAY FOR A REASON. THE STATED REASON IS TO ADDRESS NEGLECT OF DUTY CHARGES AGAINST THREE YOUTH SERVICE OFFICERS FOR NOT SEEING TWO RESIDENTS GET INTO A FIGHT.
FAIR ENOUGH.
I THINK HOWEVER THE REAL MOTIVE FOR ME BEING HERE IS OLD AS AMERICA AND BITTER AS WORMWOOD.
DCF/CJTS WANT TO SILENCE A BLACK MAN FOR HAVING THE UNMITIGATED GALL TO POINT OUT PERCEIVED BIASES OR INJUSTICES TOWARDS EMPLOYEES OF COLOR. DCF DATA DESCRIBES 66% OF ALL DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS ARE AIMED AT EMPLOYEES OF COLOR; WHILE PEOPLE OF COLOR MAKE UP 45-47 % OF THE WORKFORCE.
WHAT CANNOT BE FATHOMED IS HOW DCF/CJTS ARE POISED TO USE POWER TO CRUSH THE LIVELY HOOD AND FAMILIES OF TWO INNOCENT EMPLOYEES, AND THEN FINALLY GET RID OF THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE- THE BAD NEGRO. THIS PROCEEDING IS NOTHING MORE THAN A LEGAL LYNCHING OF A BLACK MAN. AND LYNCHING OF PROBLEMATIC BLACK MEN –USING POLICY AND PROCEDURE IS SOMETHING DCF HAS CRAFTED INTO A FINE ART FORM.
IN CLOSING PLEASE DO NOT THINK THIS STATEMENT IS OUT OF ANGER TOWARDS YOU. I UNDERSTAND THAT DCF/CJTS HIERARCHY REPRESENTS A TYPE OF UNBRIDLED POWER THAT IS ABLE / WILLING TO HANDLE PROBLEMATIC BLACK MEN IN THAT TIME HONORED TRADITION – SILENCE THEM.
I DO NOT UTTER THESE WORDS HATEFULLY.
MY INTENTION IS TO PENETRATE, ILLUMINATE, AND LACERATE THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF SOME, WHO PREVARICATE FROM THE TRUTH.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
JANE DOE ACT 2015
NO SELL OUT PRESS
Just Another Word Press.com
Free Jane Doe, Inc.Political Roundup: Jane Doe Act / John Dankosky / Cornell Lewis / Global Fast Food Strike »
Coming in 2015 : Jane Doe Act
16-year-old Black transgender teen Jane Doe has been incarcerated at York Correctional Institution in Niantic since April 8, by order of Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz. Jane Doe faces no criminal charges; DCF imprisoned this Black child in an adult prison for allegedly assaulting DCF staff members. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/8/after_abuse_under_state_supervision_transgender
Cornell Lewis and I are collaborating on the Jane Doe Act, which is legislation that would prohibit DCF from sending one of their clients to a correctional institution. The statute which allows DCF to incarcerate their clients has only been used twice, counting Jane Doe. CT Gen. Stat. 17a-12: “When, in the opinion of the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, a person fourteen years of age or older is dangerous to himself or herself or others or cannot be safely held at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, if a male, or at any other facility within the state available to the Commissioner of Children and Families, the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, may request an immediate hearing before the Superior Court on the docket for juvenile matters where such person was originally committed to determine whether such person shall be transferred to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, if a male, or the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Niantic, if a female.”
If DCF has a client whom they feel they can’t handle, that youth should be sent to a treatment facility, where their behavior issues can be addressed clinically. We’re also discussing an outreach campaign to raise awareness about Jane Doe and the criminalization of Black and Latino youths. Stay tuned for updates. Check out Cornell’s DCF Plantation blog. http://dcfplantation.blogspot.com/
David Samuels
Founder
Community Party
https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1
Related
Just Another Word Press.com
Free Jane Doe, Inc.Political Roundup: Jane Doe Act / John Dankosky / Cornell Lewis / Global Fast Food Strike »
Coming in 2015 : Jane Doe Act
16-year-old Black transgender teen Jane Doe has been incarcerated at York Correctional Institution in Niantic since April 8, by order of Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz. Jane Doe faces no criminal charges; DCF imprisoned this Black child in an adult prison for allegedly assaulting DCF staff members. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/8/after_abuse_under_state_supervision_transgender
Cornell Lewis and I are collaborating on the Jane Doe Act, which is legislation that would prohibit DCF from sending one of their clients to a correctional institution. The statute which allows DCF to incarcerate their clients has only been used twice, counting Jane Doe. CT Gen. Stat. 17a-12: “When, in the opinion of the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, a person fourteen years of age or older is dangerous to himself or herself or others or cannot be safely held at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, if a male, or at any other facility within the state available to the Commissioner of Children and Families, the commissioner, or the commissioner’s designee, may request an immediate hearing before the Superior Court on the docket for juvenile matters where such person was originally committed to determine whether such person shall be transferred to the John R. Manson Youth Institution, Cheshire, if a male, or the Connecticut Correctional Institution, Niantic, if a female.”
If DCF has a client whom they feel they can’t handle, that youth should be sent to a treatment facility, where their behavior issues can be addressed clinically. We’re also discussing an outreach campaign to raise awareness about Jane Doe and the criminalization of Black and Latino youths. Stay tuned for updates. Check out Cornell’s DCF Plantation blog. http://dcfplantation.blogspot.com/
David Samuels
Founder
Community Party
https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1
Related
Saturday, August 2, 2014
ONCE AGAIN HE IS IN THE POSITION OF VICTIMIZATION
The definition of victim is “ one who suffers from an action or event” and all over the DCF Plantation people suffer from injustice daily. This staff writer received information from reliable sources about another incident involving Barray Monteiro at CJTS. For readers who don’t know Barray is a Youth Services Officer at Connecticut Juvenile Training School and recently beat an investigation that seemed specifically aimed at him [ read the earlier stories posted on this blog ].
On August 1, 2014 Barray came to CJTS for an overtime position on Unit 2B around 5:30am. He consulted with other YSOs on the Unit 2B then took members of the football team up for practice on the field. He did not think anything was wrong and continued doing what coaches do when instructing young men in the art of football i.e. block, tackle, and finish the play. It is reported that while on the field Barray was paged over the radio YSOs carry but did not hear the summons due to youth hollering, whistles blowing and noise in general. At this point something strange occurred and needs explanation. Barray supposedly received verbal chastisement from management for not being on his Unit 2B; management informed Barray that there were call outs from the job and someone [ Barray ] had to fill in the vacant position. Since Barray worked overtime the alternative was to place him in the unfilled position. Then sources report the language implied maybe Barray committed insubordination by not being at Unit 2B. Well as the story unfolds other higher management types looked into the situation and found ( are you surprised?) there was no need to cover a vacant position- lo and behold a mistake had been made. Black holes may exist in the vastness of space but at CJTS no scheduling hole could be found.
Barray did not have to leave the football field, someone made a mistake. Now this staff writer does not want to engage in conspiracy theories: two weeks or so after Barray’s Spanish Inquisition is called off without discipline another incident materializes. For years employees at CJTS talked about Workplace Bullying; management using policy or procedure to intimidate, harass, discipline or terminate people. What do we call this latest escapade involving Barray.
In conclusion someone has to look at what is going on at CJTS and conclude it ain’t right
HEY, HEY, STILL AFTER BARRAY
The DCF Plantation staff received emails that read Barray Monteiro is under scrutiny again at Connecticut Juvenile Training School. At this juncture all the facts are not known about this latest ordeal from management toward Barray. If you remember there were several articles posted on this blog about Barray and how CJTS management might have investigated him in order to really strike at his father Ray.
Well Barray beat the last investigation without receiving any discipline, but now it is rumored management again is seeking possibly to investigate Barray. All we can say is what the hell is going on??
Well Barray beat the last investigation without receiving any discipline, but now it is rumored management again is seeking possibly to investigate Barray. All we can say is what the hell is going on??
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