IS IT TIME TO REPLACE THE LEADERSHIP AT CJTS ??

The emails to dcfplantation@gmail.com from employees of the Department of Children and Families are curious and informative. There are veins of dissatisfaction at Connecticut Juvenile Training School about the leadership. While perusing the emails it is apparent that employees consider Superintendent William Rosenbeck , Assistant Supt. John DiPilla, and scheduler and Supervisor of Operations Staff Dr. Ron Brone as expendable. There are several areas that CJTS employees site as reasons for changing leadership (1) Youth Service Officers signed a petition that caused DCF Commissioner Joette Katz to meet with YSOs. These same YSOs kept Rosenbeck out of the meeting, (2) a resident almost escaped from the facility due to staff not monitoring cameras in the Operations Staff office, (3) The suspension of three YSOs under the guise of Neglect of Duty for watching a computer when the real issue was targeting activist Cornell Lewis -this heavy handed discipline galvanized YSOs over the unfairness of this situation ( Cornell won the arbitration case, the other two returned to work), (4) There are inconsistencies in the scheduling at CJTS, causing YSOs to work two-three shifts in a row, (5) A person with no experience is placed in a position to run the girl's facility called Pueblo House and there is no consistency in how this place is being run. Now this same person hired to run Pueblo House is helping direct organizational structures at CJTS, (6) The mishandling of a transgender youth of color named Jane Doe, plus the escape of Jane during an off grounds therapy session, (7) The targeting off a black female Supervisor by white male leadership that led to filing of hostile workplace charges and racism.

Lastly,  the hushed rumors about  peccadilloes  ( a small sin or fault ) between male leadership with a female in management,  that went on for a period of time before the female was transferred. Now given all that has been discussed in this blog- is there any wonder people want changes in leadership??

contributed by staff writer Ajamu

MARCHING TO THE WRONG PLACES ?

The recent marches in Hartford by people seeking social justice is one way to highlight the taking of lives by police officers in America. Michael Brown / Eric Garner were both killed by white cops that might have viewed these black men as "the other." Well, pip, pip, hooray for all those people taking to the streets and singing-praying or carrying signs. However there is an elephant sitting in the living room of Connecticut that for some reason is ignored by all those seekers of justice. The Department of Children and Families is a strong hold of racial animus. It has come to light -using DCF'S own data- that this organization targets black and Hispanic men for harsher / more frequent discipline than other groups employed at this agency. The last time DCF Plantation blog checked organizers of recent marches did not focus rallies at 505 Hudson Street, nor were there shouts of "black lives matter." Hell, when DCF terminates men of color this is a form of economic and employment death; but do not expect organizers of recent marches to grasp this concept, all they can do is march to the wrong places.
More on this subject in a future story.

story submitted by staff writer Ajamu

MEMBERS OF THE DCF PLANTATION 5 STILL UNDER ATTACK

The unrelenting and insidious attacks against members of the DCF Plantation 5 at Connecticut Juvenile Training School continues. These two people were part of a group that launched that class action lawsuit [ 2010 ] charging bias, racism, gender discrimination among other things against white management at CJTS / DCF. Scott Beck / Cornell Lewis no longer work at the plantation but three remaining member do. And what makes the harassment so weird is that all five members settled the case back in September of 2014. Yet management went after two remaining members and are seeking revenge. One black male named Kevin Strachen is a case in point. Kevin was involved in a hands on restraint in Unit 6B not long ago and for some reason management chose to investigate the incident. Now Kevin did not use excessive force with the male resident, but a Director of Residential Care approached Strachen with these words " let us view the incident on video. We believe the video gives you the opportunity for a teachable moment."

A black female employee ( also part of the lawsuit ) is being singled out for retaliation by white male administrative staff. The female in question has filed numerous complaints about workplace violence against her person. The white male administrator and fellow cohorts formed a cabal with intent to undermine this woman's effectiveness in performing job duties. At this juncture do not expect leaders at the plantation to admit wrong doing towards this two fighters for social freedom. No, white management just continues to perpetuate the kind of racist actions that are causing people to march in the streets all over America.
Have these people learned nothing??

DEAR WHITE PROTESTORS

 

Dear White Protestors

As I walked through the streets of Berkeley tonight listening to the overwhelmingly white crowd chant things like “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “This is what democracy looks like!” I felt uncomfortable. I passed white people holding signs that said “I can’t breathe” and I felt uncomfortable. Then, when we were instructed to sit down in the middle of the main street that runs through downtown Berkeley and were made to listen to a white person on a bullhorn declare “All lives matter!” I felt invisible. Ignored. Forgotten. 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. 

"Whose streets?" As a Black person in this country, I am well aware that the streets belong to white people. I am not empowered or made more safe by hundreds of white people chanting that the streets belong to them. The street in Ferguson where Mike Brown was murdered and lay dead for 4.5 hours should have belonged to him, but it didn’t. He’s dead. He’s not coming back. That’s because the streets belong to white people.

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. 

"This is what democracy looks like?" You’re right. Democracy has always meant that (for reasons you’re well aware of but like to pretend you don’t remember or don’t matter anymore) black people are a consistent minority in this country and thus must petition white people for our basic human rights. Democracy means voter ID laws and poll taxes. Democracy in America is a white majority dictating whose voice matters. Democracy is white liberals telling black folks to calm down and go the polls (and vote for Democrat) as if Bob McCulloch isn’t a "democrat." As if Jay Nixon isn’t a democrat. As if our president isn’t Black and it hasn’t done shit to lower the ever mounting body count of Black people gunned down in the streets by police and vigilantes. As if any Black politicians in a non-majority Black district can get elected, much less reelected, without catering to white people’s feelings. I know what democracy looks like and it hasn’t done very much for people who look like me.
 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. 

"All lives matter?" NO THEY DON’T AND THAT’S THE FUCKING POINT! Black people’s lives don’t matter, that’s why I’m out in the streets, to get people to realize that my life has worth. I have to protest to get people to even think about the possibility that if the police or some vigilante gun me down, it’s not because the genetic defects believed inherent in my blackness finally manifested and I had to be put down before I became more of a threat to white america. White america doesn’t need a reminder that "all lives matter," it needs to be made to recognize and respect that Black lives matter. 

It’s Black bodies that are bleeding and dying in the streets. It’s Black bodies that can’t breathe. It’s Black bodies that are seen and treated as threats to whiteness as we shop in Wal-Mart, play in parks outside our homes, walk home with a pack of Skittles, sleep in our beds. It’s Black bodies that have hung like strange fruit from the trees of this nation for centuries. 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. 
 

Stop whitewashing our movement. Stop pretending that “All lives matter” means anything other than “HEY ME TOO! WHAT ABOUT MY WHITE FEELINGS! DISREGARD THE ACTUAL REALITY OF BLEEDING AND DYING BLACK PEOPLE AND CATER TO THE HYPOTHETICAL AND EXTREMELY RARE POSSIBILITY THAT POLICE OR VIGILANTES WOULD BE ABLE TO EXTRAJUDICIALLY MURDER A WHITE PERSON AND FACE NO CONSEQUENCES!” Black people know our lives don’t matter because white people’s hypotheticals matter more than Black people’s reality.
 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. 

Stop cannibalizing our movements with hashtags about every other life but ours. Stop plagiarizing Black people’s actual struggles for fictionalized white pain (I’m looking at you Hunger Games, with your whitewashed protagonist. “The Hanging Tree?” For real?). Stop scrambling to stand atop the growing pile of dead Black bodies to use it as your makeshift platform to secure more privileges and status for yourself. Stop using protests that should be about Black lives to exercise your white angst, break shit under the cover of darkness, and then bask in the bright light of white privilege while Black lives are declared to be worth less than the windows you broke. 
 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. This IS about making Black Lives Matter.  

Our streets shouldn’t be burial grounds for Black people. Black people’s rights shouldn’t be put to a vote. Black people should be allowed to breathe, walk, exist, without fear.

So, if you’re actually here for making Black Lives Matter, put down your “I can’t breathe” signs (because you can, and that’s the point) and pick up one that declares Black Lives Matter (because right now they don’t, andthat’s the point). Get off the ground and stand in solidarity as Black people “die-in” (because it’s not white bodies lying dead on our nation’s streets, and that’s the point). Hand over the bullhorn to a Black person (because your voice doesn’t need a bullhorn to be heard, and that’s the point). 

And please, stop saying #AllLivesMatter…until they actually do. 

Black lives are declared to be worth less than the windows you broke. 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. This IS about making Black Lives Matter.  

Our streets shouldn’t be burial grounds for Black people. Black people’s rights shouldn’t be put to a vote. Black people should be allowed to breathe, walk, exist, without fear.

So, if you’re actually here for making Black Lives Matter, put down your “I can’t breathe” signs (because you can, and that’s the point) and pick up one that declares Black Lives Matter (because right now they don’t, andthat’s the point). Get off the ground and stand in solidarity as Black people “die-in” (because it’s not white bodies lying dead on our nation’s streets, and that’s the point). Hand over the bullhorn to a Black person (because your voice doesn’t need a bullhorn to be heard, and that’s the point). 

And please, stop saying #AllLivesMatter…until they actually do. 

EOPLE AND CATER TO THE HYPOTHETICAL AND EXTREMELY RARE POSSIBILITY THAT POLICE OR VIGILANTES WOULD BE ABLE TO EXTRAJUDICIALLY MURDER A WHITE PERSON AND FACE NO CONSEQUENCES!” Black people know our lives don’t matter because white people’s hypotheticals matter more than Black people’s reality.
 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. 

Stop cannibalizing our movements with hashtags about every other life but ours. Stop plagiarizing Black people’s actual struggles for fictionalized white pain (I’m looking at you Hunger Games, with your whitewashed protagonist. “The Hanging Tree?” For real?). Stop scrambling to stand atop the growing pile of dead Black bodies to use it as your makeshift platform to secure more privileges and status for yourself. Stop using protests that should be about Black lives to exercise your white angst, break shit under the cover of darkness, and then bask in the bright light of white privilege while Black lives are declared to be worth less than the windows you broke. 
 

Dear white protestors, this is NOT about you. This IS about making Black Lives Matter.  

Our streets shouldn’t be burial grounds for Black people. Black people’s rights shouldn’t be put to a vote. Black people should be allowed to breathe, walk, exist, without fear.

So, if you’re actually here for making Black Lives Matter, put down your “I can’t breathe” signs (because you can, and that’s the point) and pick up one that declares Black Lives Matter (because right now they don’t, and that’s the point). Get off the ground and stand in solidarity as Black people “die-in” (because it’s not white bodies lying dead on our nation’s streets, and that’s the point). Hand over the bullhorn to a Black person (because your voice doesn’t need a bullhorn to be heard, and that’s the point). 

And please, stop saying #AllLivesMatter…until they actually do.

This was posted on FaceBook by another person and published here on DCF Plantation Blog.

A CONDITION FOR WHICH THERE IS NO CURE BUT ACTION

A CONDITION FOR WHICH THERE IS NO CURE BUT ACTION

Introduction:

I want to thank Pastor A.J. Johnson for the invitation to speak today at Urban Hope Refuge Church.

  Luis Anglero -18 years old- was tasered August 19, 2014 in Hartford by Hartford Police Dept. officer Shawn Ware. Luis posed no threat –with hands down- but Ware tased him. All of this followed the incidents of Michael Brown being gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri while Eric Garner was choked to death in New York.

  People of color are faced with “a condition for which there is no cure but action.” That is why I helped organize a protest of 100 people that marched into HPD Aug. 28^th demanding justice for Anglero.

Activists read a Manifesto statement telling police what the community wanted—justice and accountability from police. Pastor A.J. Johnson helped champion the cause of Luis. Pastor Johnson knows that in America people of color are facing “a condition for which there is no cure but action.”

  And because of strong community action on Luis Anglero behalf, prosecutors Dec.10^th dropped all charges against this youth.

In conclusion let it be said that the Anglero victory is being claimed by many. However the people that initially paved the way for this victory understand better than most, the oppressed suffer from “a condition for which there is no cure but action.”

 

This speech was given by Cornell Lewis December 14,2014 at Urban Hope Refuge Church in Hartford, Connecticut... on Westland / Barbour Street. The occasion was a community celebration that all charges against Luis Anglero were dismissed.

IF THEY DON'T CARE, THEN WHY SHOULD WE ?

This speech was given by Cornell Lewis the day a Grand Jury decided Police Officer Darren Wilson was not guilty in the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Cornell spoke at the Center Church 675 Gold and Main Streets in Hartford to over 100 people. They stood and applauded when he finished.

Ladies and gentlemen, brothers...sisters, friends...comrades. I thank you for the opportunity to speak here today. The recent shooting of an unarmed black male Michael Brown left large segments of the American population bewildered and numb. Now the Police Officer that killed him has been found not guilty by a Grand Jury of nine whites and three blacks. If they  [ people in power] don't care -about loss of black life or justice- then why should we ?

If they [ power brokers ] don't care about the value of black life, why should we care about the oppressor as human beings ? If they don't care, and ignore the cries for justice [ from blacks, white and Hispanics]. Then why should we care about their protestations concerning property destruction or respecting authority ? If they don't care about trampling on the United States Constitution, expectorating on our First Amendment rights etc. Then why should we care if gun fire crackles in the night in Ferguson from people seeking liberation ?

If they don't care ...
When we march for freedom
If we cry over the bodies dead because of racism
That our prayers go up to God
That people-- black, brown, white, Hispanic, gay / straight are united in overcoming American racism.

Then why should we Care ?

Why not invoke the words of Malcolm X and demand freedom " by any means necessary" in order to gain respect.

Is it not time to "stop praying and singing and start swinging" at the oppressor ?

In conclusion the words of the Anarchist Alexander Berkman from his prison memoirs comes to mind --"all means are justified in the war of humanity against it's enemies."

Thank you.

STORY THAT MAKES YOU THINK !!

December 02, 2014

What Lessons Were Missing in Darren Wilson’s Classrooms?

by Melinda D. Anderson

It’s been a week. The news that Darren Wilson escaped indictment for the murder of Mike Brown – given a head start by a complicit prosecutor – filled me with anguish the night of the announcement. That feeling still reverberates, with a force and intensity that can overwhelm.

With the grand jury decision imminent, my mind went immediately to the studentswho would be walking into classrooms on Tuesday morning. Teachers have a professional responsibility to address situations like Mike Brown and Ferguson in their classrooms. There are necessary and critical lessons to be taught on the interrelated topics of race, bias, privilege, stereotyping, criminal justice and social justice. Thankfully, there are teachers ready to teach this way – prepared to let their classrooms be a repository for their students’ fear and pain, hope and hopelessness.

Yet you can find plenty of teachers and administrators – from the seemingly good-hearted to the horribly misguided – refusing to hold these frank discussions. Whether running from discomfort or rejecting a Black teen’s humanity, these educators refuse to see the harm they are doing to students. Our children deserve teachers willing to create learning experiences that empower and equip young people to disrupt the order of things outside the classroom. That’s the kind of critical-thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills our students need. It’s the kind of lessons I have to believe were missing in Darren Wilson’s classrooms.

How does a 28-year-old man – only about 10 years out of high school – develop such a disconnection from and disregard for Blackness? In what can only be described as a macabre case of the absurd, Wilson now wants to teach “the use of force” to other people. A killer cop wants to teach other people to fear Blackness – to see Black people as “demon” and “it” – something other than human, justified to destroy. Some lessons are better left unlearned. It makes me wonder though what lessons Darren Wilson received growing up.

How many teachers aided and abetted Darren Wilson as he passed through the public education system believing it’s acceptable to “other” – dehumanize – Blackness? And how many teachers who right now reject teaching race and racial injustice are cultivating, nurturing and fostering growth of the next Darren Wilson?

If you’re a teacher and that thought gives you chills, there are a potpourri of resources for addressing Ferguson and racial violence in the classroom. If you’re a teacher and that thought doesn’t give you chills, find new employment.


 

tinyletter

ASSISTANT UNIT LEADERS ARE AT ODDS ON THE PLANTATION

The incarcerated youth at Connecticut Juvenile Training School are housed on Units. And each Unit has a primary supervisor -Unit Leader- and secondary supervisor called Assistant Unit Leader. Each group supposedly works together in order to have good out comes for residents and staff. However with the new influx of AULs there is tension manifesting itself in the form of back biting and inflated egos. There are rumors of AULS not cooperating with one another ; criticizing work habits, not being supportive , and trying to sabotage work efforts in other Units. How can AULS do this kind of childish stuff without it affecting residents who watch every move of staff??

CJTS is operating like some kind of insane asylum with management not being in control of even the smallest details for day to day operation. Stories posted on this DCF Plantation blog describe the racism, discrimination, favoritism and incompetence running rampant under the leadership of a superintendent who says " I didn't know this was happening" to all problems at that facility. Now this latest problem threatens to undermine YSOs work on Units. For if management does not interact positively, you can damn sure bet that facility is running on osmosis.

NIGHTMARE ON SILVER STREET

Well it is rumored that something is taking place at Connecticut Juvenile Training School that can only be termed a nightmare on Silver Street ( the street CJTS is located on ). The forces of racial animus are gathering under a new cabal to oppress Youth Service Officers. Since one of the primary antagonist in middle management retired from CJTS there has been a scramble for power. Now it is reported that a Unit Leader from building # 4 and several members of middle management are in cahoots, i.e. seeking to undermine YSOs efforts at gaining justice on the plantation. Sources report that middle management, the building # 4 Unit Leader, a Unit Leader from building # 5 et al. make up the core of this unholy union. At the center of the evil plans is this ghastly person from building # 4 who has been waiting in the background for a chance to create more havoc among YSOs. It is interesting that this particular Unit Leader seeks to disrupt egalitarian rights of YSOs but no one in management will focus on the Unit Leaders spotty work record ( never at work ).
 Rumors abound that the UL from building # 4 spends more time at the Foxwoods Casinos than at CJTS.

This latest development at suppressing the aspirations of YSOs can be stopped in its tracks if YSOs stop fighting each other and focus on things other than working overtime. If YSOs survey the landscape of CJTS they will see how middle management along with nefarious Unit Leaders from buildings 4 / 5 are the new enemy.

Hey YSOs don't eat to much turkey for Thanksgiving leave room for fighting your enemies on the DCF plantation. There is a Nightmare On Silver Street.

TRANS DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANTS

MILITANT JOURNALISM

Trans Day of Remembrance: fightback, solidarity with immigrants

By Liberation Staff

Nov 20, 2014

52

On November 20, which is Transgender Day of Remembrance, two demonstrations were scheduled for the same time in New Haven, Ct. : a trans speakout and an emergency immigrant rights action. In an impromptu show of solidarity, both expressed their support for the other, and briefly united as one.

“This is the same system of incarceration that targets the transgender community and the immigrant community,” one immigrant rights demonstrator repeated in English and Spanish, “Half measures are not acceptable and we’re going to fight for full justice.”

The immigration rally was called in response to the executive order issued by the president, in which 5 million immigrants are temporarily shielded from deportation. While this action is being lauded as an important, progressive move for immigrant communities, those affected by the brutality of deportations state that it’s far from enough. In his speech, Obama bragged about the deportations he has facilitated, more than any other president. The rally demanded full amnesty and equal rights for immigrant communities, which are superexploited for their labor in the U.S. while facing inhumane treatment.

The Trans Day of Remembrance action, which was co-organized by the Justice for Jane coalition, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the Office of LGBTQ Resources at Yale, started with a community rally and speakout, where people in attendance came up in turn to share their stories. The messages ranged from ones of gratitude for the solidarity the community was showing to recollections of personal experiences and friends and loved ones lost to anti-trans hate crimes. Approximately 35 people attended the rally.

Zong Xuan, a genderqueer Yale student, spoke powerfully about the need for queer people with access to resources and education to engage in fightback. “We are not part of the problem, but if we don’t stand up and fight for our community, we might as well be.”

The rally also paid tribute to Jane Doe, a 16-year-old Latina trans girl incarcerated in a boys’ facility by the Department of Children and Families. Protestors called for freedom and justice for Jane.

Trans Day of Remembrance started with the still-unsolved murder of Black trans woman Rita Hester in Allston, Mass. on November 28, 1998. Across the world, November 20 marks a day of commemoration of all trans lives lost to hate crimes.

In New Haven, the rally turned into a march, with chants like “Trans Lives Matter!” and “Trans lives taken – shut it down! Not one more life – shut it down! The whole damn system – shut it down!” The demonstration ended at Battell Chapel, where a vigil took place, featuring music and a reading of the names of some trans people murdered this year. Maya, a young trans woman attending the vigil, spoke at the end of it, urging people to remain in the streets, fighting to prevent the taking of trans lives.

Her speech followed that of Ebele, a genderqueer attendee, who called out the names of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson, Black trans leaders of the original Stonewall Rebellion. People emerged from the event with a renewed sense of urgency to fight back against a system that destroys lives and protects bigots.

PUTTING UP A BARRIER TO PROTECT WHITE PRIVILEGE

In recent conversations with lawmakers and politicians a certain item came to the attention of this blog. Several meetings with Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz proved to be frustrating [ politicians et al. said ] because of one thing; people of color running interference for Katz. Now this comes from the political sources and this blog is simply repeating it : when issues about how DCF does not give contracts for services to agencies of color is broached a person of color is always in the room. We understand that DCF hierarchy has recently promoted blacks and Hispanics to positions of high visibility - but no real power- within the plantation system. Needless to say these sycophants  are beholding to Captain Boss for their jobs and show the proper amount of pearly white teeth when sitting in meetings at DCF ( complete with a soft shoe thrown in for good measure ). However what puzzles lawmakers et al. in discussions with Katz is why people of color seek to guide discussions away from important themes. There are several agencies of color providing clinical services in the Greater Hartford area but not one of them receives major contracts from DCF. If the clinical landscape is surveyed we find other agencies managed be whites getting large contracts worth lots of money given to them on a frequent basis. What is the reason for placing a Sammy Sunshine Negro or Hispanic in between the DCF Commissioner and lawmakers seeking answers to legitimate questions affecting communities of color ??

Oh by the way, the lawmakers also commented on the ineffectiveness of these window dressing people of color at DCF; no power or real authority on the plantation but willing to act as buffers when ol' Massa feels threatened.

HINTS OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AGAINST PEOPLE OF COLOR FROM ADMINISTRATORS ?

There are rumblings at Connecticut Juvenile Training School about workplace violence against a  certain employee of color. Well placed sources indicate a white supervisor working at CJTS has crossed the line and used power / authority to harass another employee. At this juncture the details about this latest spate of racial animus are sketchy and need to be clarified by DCF Plantation Blog. However, what is known can be summarized by stating " the issue of workplace violence was reported to DCF / CJTS hierarchy". Several people running these two agencies are supposedly investigating these claims of workplace violence, bullying and gender discrimination.

Stay tuned for more details in the future.

THEY ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE WRONG THINGS !!

The Youth Service Officers at Connecticut Juvenile Training School are indeed a strange collection of human beings. For years a Key Stone Cops type management has targeted employees of color for harsher discipline and nary a peep of dissent came from the hoi polloi ( common people ). Also management used other right wing YSOs to launch a campaign of terror at CJTS, then covered up for them when victims of color complained. Through it all the YSOs at CJTS continued to toil at their jobs like faithful plantation slaves ; grumbling about injustice but never actively putting up resistance of any kind.

That is why I find it amazing that all of a sudden the silent ..abused YSOs found a subject to discuss on the plantation. It has been reported that a group of YSOs launched a lawsuit against DCF / CJTS five years ago and recently ( October 2014 ) decided to settle the case. Now all of a sudden the plantation workers are speculating how much money - if any- the YSOs who settled the case might have gotten from the State of Connecticut. One employee at CJTS remarked " these people out here are so ignorant. They focus on what a group might have gotten due to a lawsuit settlement, and not what management is doing." The person went on to talk about how white management is up to their old tricks of different treatment for employees -- based on color. There is a situation involving two YSOs, a black female and white male who are under investigation for similar charges. However the black female is sitting at a front desk in the lobby of CJTS, unable to earn overtime. Yet the white male YSO is allowed to work on other Units plus earn overtime. This is something worthy of discussion but the ignorant masses continue to jabber like magpies about the wrong things.

Why are YSOs talking about the female supervisor that purchased an employee a cup of Dunking Doughnut coffee?? In their ignorance the people who saw the supervisor buy the coffee said " she was part of the class action lawsuit and is buying coffee, she must have gotten a big settlement from the State of CT." Give me a break !!!!

TWO ISSUES FROM BUILDING # 6 .. BLACK / WHITE

People are reporting that injustices continue to mount at Connecticut Juvenile Training School in Middletown, Connecticut. The latest episode of " as the plantation turns" is indeed hard to understand no matter how you view it. I am told that two Youth Service Officers from building # 6 were accused of inappropriate comments by incarcerated residents. The black female YSO has been placed outside of her bldg # 6 Unit until an investigation is completed ( it has been 3 months and she has not been cleared or have the allegations been validated ). CJTS management placed this black female YSO on the front desk everyday greeting peers coming to work; she cannot work on another Unit, nor earn overtime.

A white male YSO also had accusations of inappropriate comments -made against him by residents. However the story differs from the black female, CJTS management removed the male from his bldg # 6 Unit. Sources have confirmed the white male YSO is allowed to work in other Units plus earn overtime. These are two issues from building # 6 similar in nature but different in outcomes. Now someone tell me why are there different levels of process / procedure with these two people!!

KeyStone Cop DCF Plantation leaders continue treating white and black employees differently but nobody is willing to admit the raw truth. There is racial animus seething within the DCF / CJTS milieu which continues to reek of injustice.

KANE TREATED THE SAME

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.).

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.

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."

PUBLISHED 10/22/2014 BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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

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-Josiah R. Daniels

Dedicated to Rob & Ruthie Daniels

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.