THERE CAN BE NO REMEDY WHEN THE ISSUE IS IGNORED

In America there is a long standing practice of ignoring / avoiding discussion [ no matter how elevated the language ] about racism towards blacks. “Two hundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety years of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty- five years of racist housing policy”. And still there is a resistance to honest dialogue about race. How can there be a remedy for healing in this country when American whites refuse to acknowledge the odious thing hanging in the air?

When a sentient human being looks critically at the Department of Children and Families / Connecticut Juvenile Training School ignoring racism allegations it defies comprehension. For years employees of color within DCF / CJTS have complained about white administrators dispensing disciplinary action unfairly [want to guess what group is singled out ]. In many instances DCF / CJTS administrators used every means possible to quell any uprising among the natives ( employees ), and then act as if nothing happened. At CJTS a group [  DCF Plantation 5 ] filed a lawsuit in 2010 against white administrators citing bias… racism… hostile work environment... and discrimination. Instead of addressing long standing complaints from their employees CJTS ignored the lawsuit. Recently a white female CJTS employee called male residents at that facility “ porch monkeys” but administrators never considered why she felt comfortable uttering a racial epithet. The climate within DCF plantation has been perpetuated by something called implicit bias which by definition “ refers to stereotypes or attitudes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner.”  I am sure below the level of cognition white management harbors primal angst against employees of color at the DCF plantation. However with some people there is a diabolical and methodical game plan when it comes to race relations in this country; just ask how 66% of DCF terminations focus on men of color. And inserting people of color into high profile positions recently at the plantation will not provide cover for foul discriminatory practices nor silence those voices of dissent.

While studying social work practice in college professors taught that during clinical sessions there can be no remedy when the issue is ignored [ by those participants in therapy ]. Ironically there are people running DCF / CJTS who are clinically trained but ignore that pain and suffering of their employees of color ; continuing to move about in a softly cushioned white atmosphere they believe is decent and above reproach. Mean while back at the ranch cries for justice goes up to the heavens unheard by tone deaf modern day plantation owners. Well, maybe what is accepted as normal in America is being emulated by counterparts in state run agencies.


Men will not cease to be dishonest, merely because their dishonesties have been revealed or because they have discovered their own deceptions. Wherever men hold unequal power in society, they will strive to maintain it. They will use whatever means are most convenient to that end and will seek to justify them by the most plausible arguments they are able to devise.

  Reinhold Niebuhr-- Moral Man and Immoral Society

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS

The DCF Plantation blog received information about several incidents at Connecticut Juvenile Training School that might depict favoritism or bias. These bits of information come from Youth Service Officers working at CJTS who are irate about how white management handled the issues. Let us turn attention to the strange case of Assistant Unit Leaders at CJTS demoting themselves for a better position. YSOs states that two AULs on second shift ( 2:00 pm—11: 15pm ) recently quit their positions [ self demotion ] in order to work as YSOs and be transferred to first shift [ 6am—3:15 pm ). This is indeed a strange way of doing things at CJTS; people wanting to go to another shift must put in paper work, and then wait for management approval. In this scenario however protocol was brushed aside while two AULs leapfrogged over YSOs waiting patiently for their transfer requests to be honored. A case in point is theYSO working on Unit 5D named Vann. For years Vann has waited for a transfer to first shift only to see others being allowed special treatment; is this fair? Let us not forget AUL Jamal Chambers who also requested a transfer to first shift years ago but is still on second shift. Say what?  These incidents prove once again white management at CJTS are really either clown transplants from Ringling Brothers Circus, or members of the Keystone Cops movies who always go around in circles [ never accomplishing a damn thing] . It is clear there are different strokes for different folks.

Now let us meander over to the subject of race / gender based bias at CJTS. Several months ago a white female YSO called residents of color “ porch monkeys.” She admitted making the statement but denied knowing it had negative connotations [ yeah right ] even after residents told her the remark was offensive. This white female YSO should have been transferred to another Unit while the investigation was ongoing; she remained working with people she insulted. Now juxtapose the white YSO with a black female YSO; the black YSO is being investigated because a resident claimed she made some remark he found offensive. Sources within CJTS describe her comment [ black YSO ] as less caustic than the white female’s. Yet the white management at CJTS removed the black female YSO to another Unit pending outcome of their jive investigation. Please understand readers this kind of chicanery is commonplace at the CJTS plantation on a consistent basis: dysfunctional white management making decisions based on favoritism or worse, a biased worldview that reflects Donald Sterling type thinking. There is no way on earth such decisions should be taking place when dealing with employees. Now you have other YSOs demoralized by such actions and cannot figure out how to change the biased / dysfunctional patterns of a white entrenched management that listens to no one.

LETTER CONCERNING RACISM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

May 21, 2014
Dear Residents of Wolfeboro, NH:
Recently, one of your elected Police Commissioners made some highly racist comments in public that were overheard by citizens of your town. Rather than let it go as the unimportant personal opinion of an older person who was no doubt “set in his ways and thinking”, people decided to speak out, not only against racist speech and thought but also against the circumstance of having such opinion held by persons in positions of power and influence in the town.
As you are no doubt fully aware, those words and the town meeting held in response became regional and even national news. Shock waves traveled; they reached many people, including racial justice activists here in Connecticut. We considered how to respond to such a painful insult, which was directed not only at the President of the United States but to all persons who “met the criteria” of the Police Commissioner to be a target of racist vitriol.
As we began to make plans to join with other activists in and around Wolfeboro, we learned that the community had brought enough outrage and public pressure to bear that the Commissioner had reversed his stance about resigning and had stepped down.
We are writing this letter to express our admiration of the people of Wolfeboro for your courage, speaking out both as individuals and as a community to set high moral and ethical standards for those who would serve the town, elected or otherwise. Too many times people fail to speak up; or if they do speak up, too few people step up beside them; or even if enough people step up, the system still erects obstacles to a proper resolution. Wolfeboro has demonstrated that hate speech is not “free speech”, and that if a person does not respect all individuals, he or she does not deserve a leadership position.
Thank you for your excellent examples of individual courage to do the right thing and of a strong community that acts swiftly to restore its image and make clear its values.

Sincerely,
Nancy R. Bowden and Minister Cornell Lewis
Activists in Greater Hartford, CT

MAN WHO UTTERED RACIST COMMENT RESIGNS

Comrades,
It seems as if all the public pressure finally made former Police Commissioner Robert Copeland resign over calling President Obama a "fucking nigger." I contacted State Representative Matt Ritter who agreed to put a letter together on legislative letter head about Greater Hartford residents opposing the racial remark. Then we were going to have politicians, religious leaders,  local people et al. sign the letter-- then send it to officials in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on Wednesday.

I also called the Town Clerk and left a polite message about activists coming to Wolfeboro if Copeland was still in office this week. I explained the peaceful protest outside their police station was planned to occur within a week or so; people called a posted number for the Town Clerk leaving similar messages. In any event Copeland seems to be out of office but his words hover over the heads of blacks like " the sword of Damocles."

" All thought that does not lead to action is a disease."-- Goethe

Cornell

TOWN CLERK PUT ON NOTICE

No Sellout
Just another WordPress.com weblog

« 2012 CNN Report on the Community Party’s Racial Profiling BillJane Doe Petition to Governor Malloy »

Action Alert from Cornell Lewis
Activists from Greater Hartford contacted Wolfeboro, New Hampshire Town Clerk Patricia M. Waterman today by telephone. The message left on the telephone is clear, do something about Robert Copeland or protests will begin in your town soon. If you wish to leave a message for the Town Clerk call ( 603) 569-5328 or ( 603 ) 569-8154.



Robert Copeland, President Obama racial slur controversy: Commissioner refuses to apologize

Won’t apologize for calling President the n-word

By: CNN Political Unit

Posted: 11:32 AM, May 16, 2014

CNN) — A police commissioner in a northern New England town says he won’t apologize for calling President Barack Obama the n-word.

Robert Copeland, 82, sat with his arms crossed at a packed town meeting Thursday evening while a crowd of angry residents of predominantly white Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, called for his resignation.

Copeland acknowledged in an email to his fellow police commissioners that he used the racial slur to describe Obama, according to CNN affiliate WMUR.

Jane O’Toole, who moved to Wolfeboro four months ago, said she overheard Copeland use the word at a restaurant in March.

“It’s not like I was eavesdropping. Mr. Copeland was being very loud,” O’Toole told WMUR.

She wrote to the town manager about the incident, and Copeland replied with a letter to O’Toole.

“I believe I did use the ‘N’ word in reference to the current occupant of the Whitehouse (sic),” Copeland wrote. “For this, I do not apologize — he meets and exceeds my criteria for such.”

O’Toole said “the letter really took the wind out of my sails, really.”

Copeland is one of three members of the police commission, which hires, fires and disciplines officers and sets their salaries. Two months ago he ran unopposed for re-election and secured another three-year term. The police commission plans to meet to discuss what action they should take against Copeland, but they didn’t tell the audience Thursday where or when that meeting would take place.

CNN spoke with Wolfeboro Police Chief Stuart Chase, who said that Copeland can’t be “fired” since he’s an elected official. Chase told CNN that Copeland can either resign, or the board of commissioners can move to recall his election and hold a special election to replace him.

Since there was no resolution at the gathering, some of those attending the meeting later confronted Copeland outside.

“I admitted what I did. I made no bone about it,” Copeland said to those who followed him as he walked to his car.

And he became angry when WMUR recorded the confrontation, referring to reporter Nick Spinetto as a “nosy individual,”

When Spinetto responded that he was a reporter doing his job, Copeland fired back, “I know what you are. You’re a skunk. Goodbye,”

Wolfeboro, located in the scenic Lakes Region in the central part of New Hampshire, has around 20 African-American residents among its population of 6,300. The town was often a dateline in news reports during the 2012 presidential election, with GOP nominee Mitt Romney spending time with family and campaign aides at his vacation home on Lake Winnipesaukee.

CNN’s Stephanie Gallman contributed to this report

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2014 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

WORKERS ARE ORGANIZING AND READY FOR ACTION

He who allows oppression shares the crime --- Erasmus Darwin

At various state agencies all over Connecticut workers are experiencing oppression at the hands of management. For a long time the workers stood by silently and suffered untold agonies from management in the form of terminations, extra scrutiny etc. Finally workers are standing up and organizing to fight the workplace bullying tactics of management. At Connecticut Juvenile Training School-- Youth Services Officers now attend American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees Union meetings  and voice concerns. Well, it looks as if the masses of workers in other locations feel a need to organize also.

AFSCME workers of Local 318 held a diverse meeting of various workers to discuss issues. Activist Cornell Lewis addressed this group [ in a small crowded room ] concerning workplace bullying that is often disguised in the form of policy and procedure. Lewis was introduced and gave a summary about his fight against management in Department of Children and Families plus Connecticut Juvenile Training School. “It is necessary [ said Lewis ] to understand how management in various agencies use policy and procedure to implement workplace bullying. If we organize against what is going on at least the people beating us over the head ( so to speak ) will know they are in a fight. Historically no social protest begins or ends without some sort of casualty, in the form of job loss or worse. In order to make systemic change a war has to be waged in conventional and non conventional ways.” People sat and listened attentively as Lewis spoke, their eyes showed signs of fear and hope. A silence fell over the group and then a woman spoke about being afraid of retaliation from management for being involved in any sort of praxis. Again Lewis gave the masses hope by saying it is okay to be afraid but that fear is something management uses against workers, keeping them immobilized and inactive. “ To fight back takes a certain courage that not everyone possesses, but if you cannot fight directly, then help behind the scenes by providing support in some form.” David Samuels founder of the Community Party also spoke about the work needed to pass his Workplace Bullying bill. This legislation gives oppressed workers a weapon in which to fight management who repeatedly oppress workers.

After a lively question and answer session the meeting ended and a glimmer of hope could be seen in faces of people leaving the room.

WORKERS ARE ORGANIZING AND READY FOR ACTION

COMMUNITY PARTY AND THE WHITE LEFT

David Samuels
Founder
Community Party



                                                  Racism by the White Left: My Reply to Ken Krayeske                      

This column appears in the May 15 - 22 edition of the Hartford News...
Community Update: Tuesday Black transgender teen Jane Doe was relocated to another part of York Correctional Institution in East Lyme. http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20140513/transgender-teen-relocated-within-connecticut-jail  Last week the CT Senate Democrats failed to act on a juvenile justice reform bill for the second year in a row, despite warnings from the U.S. Supreme Court to provide juveniles serving life sentences a shot at parole. http://ctmirror.org/senate-democrats-duck-sentencing-reforms-for-juveniles/  The connection between these two issues is obvious; the school-to-prison pipeline is real. The Democrats' gutless decision will mostly impact Blacks and Latinos, who are disproportionately incarcerated in this state. Intervention by the courts will now be necessary to change the law. The Department of Children and Families is now resorting to shell games in the face of public pressure. This Black child is still in jail, even though she has not been charged with a crime. Last week Democracy Now! examined the role of race in this case. http://www.democracynow.org/2014/5/8/after_abuse_under_state_supervision_transgender  Cornell and I will talk to activist Erkki KochKetola about drafting legislation that will prohibit DCF from sending one of their clients to a correctional institution. 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. Stay tuned for updates.

Check out the Community Party's No Sellout blog, http://hendu39.wordpress.com/  Cornell Lewis' DCF Plantation site, http://dcfplantation.blogspot.com/  and Northend Agent's http://www.northendagents.com/category/opinion/  for my internet response to Ken Krayeske's May 8 - 15 column, Rebuttal to David Samuels. As Jay-Z said, "Sensitive thugs, y'all all need hugs..." The truth hurts. Now let's all see how Krayeske explains to his loyal readers why he went after me, but didn't say one word about the two Hart Monitor columns by Joanna Iovino and Cornell that I referred to in my piece on racism by the white left. http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/political-roundup-penn-act-city-budget-race-for-governor-free-jane-doe/  Joanna and Cornell said the same thing as I did. Krayeske had two legitimate options; a) respond to all three columns  b) say nothing. Krayeske chose c, as in coward...  We'll share both columns in their entirety this week.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etvNHZx_Bb4  The Community Party passed a racial profiling bill in 2012. https://www.facebook.com/notes/stop-racial-profiling-obey-the-law/2012-cnn-report-on-the-community-partys-racial-profiling-bill/635113516538498   Krayeske is an attorney. He could easily do what we do, which is sit down, draft a bill (which would actually be easier for him) and do the hard work that it takes to pass the legislation. However he's not going to do that because he's too busy talking, and talking, and talking, and talking.... Big shout out to Mary Sanders, who wrote the Trayvon Martin Act bill language. Check out our Resources section for the link to Joanna's Hart Monitor Twitter page.


                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                  *****


                                                                                   Occupy this, b------!

                                                                                   Posted by the Hart Monitor

Disclaimer: I wrote this article in October, when the Occupy movement first came to Hartford. It was written for an audience that was mostly non-Hartford people, which is why some of the info in it seems kind of like Hartford 101. It was originally posted on a blog that deals with racial justice issues, and received quite a bit of feedback. The site it was on is a HUGE supporter of OWS, and so most of it was negative. However, I stand by my assessment of the movement in general. I have since visited the OH site, and have met some people who were willing to dialogue about racism and privilege, but have also come across just as many, if not more, who refuse to even consider that there is racism within their movement. I have been accused of trying to bring “special interests” into the movement, of trying to “make people feel guilty” and of being an interloper. The more I observe, the more I realize that there is no hope for the movement until people are willing to address race, and admit their own complicity in a racist system. And, damn it, if I am making people feel guilty, maybe they should!!! Fighting for justice should not always be “comfortable”!
I am so damn sick and tired of Occupy Wall Street. Every so called “progressive” I know of is riding the #OWS d--- like it is going out of style. Me? I can’t stand the s---. For the most part, I see most of the protests that have been inspired by Occupy Wall Street to be strictly the work of some spoiled little (previously) rich brats who can’t handle the fact that the college education that mommy and daddy paid for did not get them the high paid cushy job that they truly believe they deserve. I would be willing to bet that less than 1/4 of those who are running around with signs about being the 99% would not give a F--- about economic injustice if they were not directly impacted by it in the present moment. And I bet in five years, most of them will be sitting in some multinational corporation’s headquarters shaking their heads and chuckling about the days when they were a “radical”.

Can someone explain to me where the hell these little towheaded recent college graduates were for all those years when there WAS no recession and it was only Black and Brown people who were getting the booty end of the stick when it came to economic justice? Oh, yeah…. they were spending thousands of their parents dollars on a college education while spending their weekends getting drunk at the frat house and never even giving a second thought to how the folks who were not born into a upper middle class suburban white bred world were busy struggling to get by. Now all of a sudden, they want to play the victims and cry about how we are ALL the 99%….

Sorry folks, but I cannot see a protest movement that is composed of the top 10% OF the bottom 99% as having much legitimacy at all. Take for example, Hartford. I have been living here for 6 months now. Hartford is one of the poorest cities in the nation, with a poverty rate of well over 30%. Hartford is full of Black and Brown people whose resumes do not even get a second glance when they apply for jobs in their very own city. The same companies that refuse to hire Hartford residents run out to the suburbs to hire people who run as quickly as they can out of the city when their work hours are over. I see it every day. I live in a neighborhood that is 90% POC. Each evening at 5pm, I see all of the white folks from the suburbs rushing to their cars, clutching their purses and nervously glancing around them like they are expecting an ambush.

The mayor of Hartford is constantly holding these meetings where he discusses “revitalizing” the city, and attracting new people to the downtown area. Of course, in a city that is only 17% white, guess where most of those white folks live??? If you guessed downtown, you get a cookie. Every time I hear some government official talk about downtown Hartford, and of the need to attract new residents and businesses to the area, it is obvious that they are using a really weak code to say… “We want more white folks!”

Anyway, getting back to Occupy Wall Street. There is an “Occupy Hartford” movement underway. There is a tiny little park in Hartford where the Occupy Hartford people have pitched their $1000 tents and have been “occupying” the city for the past few weeks. Occasionally, the protesters will march through downtown Hartford chanting their lame little slogans. They are actually pretty funny… The protesters, who are about 90% white and hail from the suburban areas, are marching down Main Street chanting “Whose streets? Our streets!” even though they just arrived in town from the lily white surrounding towns a few hours earlier. And, oh the irony of a predominantly white crowd walking through Hartford, a majority minority city, screaming “This is what democracy looks like!” while pointing to themselves.

And I have heard it is like this in almost all of the “occupied” cities. A bunch of white folks who are no longer quite as advantaged as they are used to being claiming to speak up for the 99% while representing only the top 10%. And of course, the Occupy Wall Street protestors are very quick to put down anyone who dares to express the idea that the movement represents a very white, patriarchal agenda. Check out the experiences of Reena Walker, a Black woman who spoke about what she went through at Occupy Wall Street (see Resources). Adding to my disdain for the Occupy Wall Street movement is the fact that all of a sudden, they want to profess support for issues that have impacted Black and Latino communities for years yet garnered nary a second glance from these middle class white protesters. All of a sudden, the Occupy Wall Street protesters want to express support for a movement to stop the NYPD policy of “stopping and frisking” Black and Latino people on the streets for no reason whatsoever. Where were these people a year ago, or ten years ago? Why is it that NOW they are willing to throw their hats in the ring to “express solidarity” with Black and Latino people? Could it be that they have HEARD the criticisms of Occupy Wall Street leaving out people of color? Seems to me that this sudden show of support has more to do with recruiting some token Black and Latino faces for their movement than with actually supporting the movement against this police policy.

When I spoke with an organizer of the Occupy Hartford movement, I saw this type of thing very clearly. There have been protests against the MDC (the company that manages the water and sewage systems in the city) for about two months now. Minority contractors and Black and Latino citizens have been protesting the fact that the MDC has not been hiring enough minority workers, and is giving jobs to people from out of town and even out of state instead of hiring Hartford residents. The entire group for the earlier protests were Black and Latino. All of a sudden, when the white folks of Occupy Hartford decided to start their protest, they wanted to run down to join in the MDC protest to “show solidarity”. In truth, they were on a mission to recruit some Black and Brown faces they could put in front of the news cameras so that they could pretend to be reflective of the community of Hartford. The organizer I spoke to expressed his desire for the protests to “look like” the city of Hartford, and even tried to use an event that we were working on in the North End of Hartford (which is almost entirely Black) as a recruiting tool for Occupy Hartford. When we were attempting to plan a voter’s education forum for formerly incarcerated people in the North End of Hartford, this man had the nerve to talk endlessly about his role in Occupy Hartford and express his desire to use our event to publicize his.

Add to all of this the fact that often, the rhetoric used by protesters involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement is patently offensive and racist, and the only conclusion I can come to is that Occupy Wall Street is just as lily white and racist as the Tea Party. Except, of course, not quite as blatant. So, no, I will not be joining in the mindless adulation shown in progressive circles towards Occupy Wall Street. I have better things to do with my time than join up with some folks who are upset because a tiny percentage of their privilege is slipping away.

                                                                     

                                                                Do White Liberals Really Want to Work with Blacks?
                                                                                       
                                                                                               by Cornell Lewis

I have worked with a number of ethnic groups in the pursuit of social justice. However it is interesting to note how some white liberals cause me to wonder if working with them is worth it. I address this story to some members of the Hartford Organizing Group (H.O.G.) Recently Cassandra Donnelly and Joanna Iovino, members of H.O.G., helped organize a campaign to highlight racism within DCF and Connecticut Juvenile Training School in Middletown. These are two ladies worthy of the name activist but they are the exception; when members of H.O.G. were asked to join a protest on February 4th in Middletown, a strange silence fell over the room, no one committed to come.

One white female liberal said, "I have worked with Cornell in the past, he does good work but I do not want to be told what to do." These are code words for "if whites are not in control of the agenda, they do not want to be part of any initiative." These same white liberals turned out 35-40 strong in support of an issue concerning Latinos. These liberals were marching in West Hartford for Latinos, could it be the liberals chose this issue due to the fact that very little English was spoken by the Latinos and this gave white liberals control of the agenda? Whether Blacks want to believe it or not, some white liberals are guilty of subconscious racism; claiming to be ABOVE racism while their actions prove otherwise. Maybe the writer James Baldwin was correct in saying, "a (white) liberal is someone who thinks they know more about your problem than you do."


                                                                                                               *****

COMMUNITY PARTY REPORT

Please forward widely! Check out the Community Party No Sellout blog: http://hendu39.wordpress.com/

David Samuels
Founder
Community Party
https://twitter.com/CommunityParty1

Ken Krayeske Plays Himself

I would like to thank Ken Krayeske (that’s pronounced cry-eske) for taking the bait and exposing himself as a racist, coward and a liar with his Hartford News column, Rebuttal to David Samuels, a reply to my column the previous week on racism by the white left.  http://hendu39.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/political-roundup-penn-act-city-budget-race-for-governor-free-jane-doe/ Note that in my column I repeated that I know there are white leftists who are sincere about working for social justice, and view Blacks as equals in the struggle. The members of the all white Uhuru Solidarity Movement are the best example, in my opinion. https://twitter.com/SolidarityUhuru

 Krayeske attempted to paint me as a crazed, Malcolm X wannabe who views all whites as devils. Ken, Malcolm would read you like a comic book. I knew that Ken would not be able to resist going after me, because he can’t stand a Black person who refuses to kiss his ass. First I’ll point out an obvious omission in Ken’s tirade. Dude went after me, but he didn’t say a word about the two Hart Monitor columns by Joanna Iovino and Cornell Lewis about racism by the white left.  You can read Joanna’s scathing critique of Occupy Wall Street here http://thehartmonitor.wordpress.com/?p=70&preview=true  and Cornell’s commentary on certain white members of the Hartford Organizing Group here.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/85615537/The-Hart-Monitor-March-2012

I included those columns as a preemptive strike against anyone who would try to claim that nobody in Hartford shared my opinion of certain white leftists. Of course Krayeske didn’t mention those columns, because they didn’t fit in with his Warren Commission narrative featuring me as the lone gunman in the school book depository. I know that Ken especially doesn’t have the guts to step to Joanna, because she’s white. Ken must always be white and right. That’s just how he gets down.

Ken threw stones from a big glass house by calling me a “one man band.” Cuzzo, I’m hosting conference calls. The last time I saw you was on TV at City Hall, by yourself, where you were put in your place by a group of Black people. You were also flying solo when you made a spectacle of yourself at a 2010 North End gubernatorial candidates forum. You walked in and immediately monopolized the conversation, running up in the face of then candidate Dannel Malloy because you have a compulsion to show everyone what a bad ass you are. You showed no respect for the event protocol, which required that folks raise their hand and be acknowledged before they ask a question.  You will never understand that you came in and disrespected Black folks who were patiently waiting their turn to talk to Malloy. You’ve been whining for years about the cops locking you up for stalking former governor M. Jodi Rell, claiming that the arrest was unjust. Everyone knows what my opinion is regarding police misconduct. However when I heard the police version it sounded absolutely credible to me, fitting in with your pattern of attention seeking behavior.

I had a lot of phony white leftists to choose from when I wrote my piece, but I deliberately included Chris Hutchinson of Socialist Action. I know that your ego is so big, you would write a response and defend everybody that I dissed. That’s exactly what you did. Well, as Biggie said, I’ve got a story to tell. After the 2010 congressional race which included you and Chris, homeboy and I had a conversation about you at the Unity Plaza in North Hartford.  I was telling Chris about how I had changed my mind about working with you when you were attempting your ill-fated Green Party insurgency campaign (I had agreed to organize a Green Party North Hartford chapter). I told Chris that I was turned off by your tone deaf attitude toward Black people and the fact that you’re a jerk in general. Chris responded by telling me about attending your congressional campaign “victory” party and being blown off by you when he suggested a collaboration.

Chris’ assessment of you was the same as mine; he said that you’re all talk and won’t work with anybody unless you’re on top. It’s always got to be about you. That’s why I knew you wouldn’t be able to contain yourself after you read my column. Finally, you keep referring to my criticism as an attempt to get whites to work with me, which is your internalized white superiority talking. Ken, I had an opportunity to work with you and changed my mind, which I think is definitely a source of anger for you. You just can’t believe that a nigger wouldn’t want to follow you. I’m going in on white leftists just like Joanna and Cornell did, because the criticism is valid. I don’t care about my public enemy status in community organizing. Since my column came out, whites have reached out about working together and acknowledged that my column was on point. Check out the Activate CT Facebook page for proof. https://www.facebook.com/Activatectnow   Cornell told me that whites involved with the Free Jane Doe campaign apologized to him when I posted on their Facebook page about the absurdity of them not mentioning his DCF Plantation blog once. http://dcfplantation.blogspot.com/  I sleep well every night because I have public and private conversations with whites who say that I’m right.

Krayeske I must admit, I’ve been wanting to get at you publicly for a long time. You’re definitely #1 on my to-do list (actually 1, 2 3, 4 and 5). You act like a tough guy but you’re as soft as a piece of cake. You’re a racist, egomaniacal attention whore who is all talk, no action. My beef with you is definitely personal, but that doesn’t mean what I’m saying about you isn’t true. You and your ilk are a part of the problem in this country. Hey, at least with me you’ll know when I don’t like you.

STORIES FROM THE HAMILTON STREET PLANTATION

“Never mistake the concessions of the ruling class as benevolence. You have only their fear of us to thank for whatever they give up.”

The stories you are about to read come from three black male employees who work at the DCF Plantation office at 250 Hamilton Street in Hartford, Connecticut. This staff writer believes it is important that people understand how the inner working of certain offices [ plantations ] operate and affect workers.

The first worker is a Case Manager and provides services for DCF clients such as finding resources and transporting in state owned cars. He agreed to meet this DCF blog writer at the corners of Tower and Main Street. We refer to him as Case Manager..CM.

 The CM said that for years he has worked at DCF Hamilton Street plantation and how treatment of employees is disgusting. People in a certain economic bracket [ not upper management ] are considered expendable and men of color are targeted for harsher disciplinary measures. “Work loads for the main line employees is heavy and difficult at times to bear; in many respects that Hamilton Street office is run just like a damn plantation. I want the blog readers to know how terrible it is to work under oppressive conditions of bias / racism; something needs to be done about this.”

The second worker interviewed is a Clinical Worker and also has years of experience at the Hamilton Street plantation. He shall be referred to as CW for this story. We met in a building where a local union was holding a rally for employees.

This CW came to DCF Plantation blog with stories of overwork and racism within his Hamilton Street office. “We [ DCF workers at Hamilton Street ] are expected to carry a case load of clients that allow us a high rating. However, if you reach a 100% per cent full case load, management gives a low rating [ grade of C ]. This means in order to gain a passable grade of B or A clinical workers must work at 150% per cent, this does not leave time for a personal life away from the plantation.”  There is intense pressure for all employees to produce higher client outcomes but this is especially true for CW. This staff writer continued to notice how angry the CW became as he recounted tales of white management racism / bias toward employees of color. However his main bone of contention is how all workers in a certain economic bracket are being abused by uncaring –calloused management types. He lamented about lack of racial sensitivity by white management and the acceptance of [ white managers ] abusive treatment by employees of color.

The third worker met DCF blog staff on Park Street to discuss conditions at Hamilton Street. He works in the Investigations Unit seeking to ascertain if complaints of child abuse or neglect are valid. We refer to him as IU in this story.
“I am still working at that damn place [ Hamilton Street ] and conditions are not getting any better.” While looking at IU there seems to be a dark cloud covering his face, maybe it was anger or a sense of helplessness. “Whenever we [employees ] speak up about heavy case loads there is always a backlash of some sort. Damn managers start to examine [ closely ] our time sheets and productivity. They claim this scrutiny is all necessary and part of policy but we know better.” I noticed how IU continued looking at a wrist watch then slowly monitored people walking down the street. I asked him if there was a concern of being discovered about giving information to DCF Plantation blog. His reply to my query is typical of workers on DCF Plantations. “Listen, there are co-workers in cahoots with management over at Hamilton Street, they report anything considered to be of value. You never know who is speaking to the plantation boss.”

In conclusion this staff writer tried to capture the tenor of each conversation in order to give readers insights into struggles at Hamilton Street DCF Plantation.

THE NOBLE LIE

Administrators at Department of Children and Families plus Connecticut Juvenile Training School are masters of deception [ or in the black community it is called tricknology ]. For years when issues arose from employees about racial animus, hostile working environment, or incompetent management it was met with a yawn. In order to deflect years of criticism about being biased toward minority employees DCF / CJTS created something called the noble lie. To put it simply the noble lie is something manufactured to enhance the image of agencies, corporations, governments and racists when confronted with criticism.... public condemnation. When the Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to annex Crimea he put out a noble lie that residents of that country were historically from Russia. This narrative allowed Putin to put a sanitized face on naked aggression when incorporating Crimea into the motherland.

When state run institutions [ DCF / CJTS ] are faced with public scrutiny concerning racism or bias a beautiful story is put forth about taking care of children in the community. Ah the noble lie is offered as palatable food for the unwashed masses. What the noble lie does is allows people to get on with normal activities in their lives, then tune out negative noise [ complaints of injustice etc ]. In a universe where people need to believe in something good for deliverance of one's sanity- the noble lie is a salvation vehicle. Such a narrative proclaims that these administrators in state run plantations are inherently decent people and are not evil. Ergo, whites ruling the DCF Plantation can continue business as usual - racism / bias - by trotting out a feel good noble lie as soothing balm for public consumption. Within societal structures the noble lies allow officials to ignore cries from ordinary citizens and feel good about handling state or city business. Last time this blog checked ordinary people are the concern of officials, especially when there are allegations of injustice that crop up on a consistent basis.

Another aspect of the noble lie is how employees of color [ in state run plantations ] assist their master in quelling any hint of resistance from rank and file workers,  or reporting any signs of possible unity or protests. When there is a need for a face of color in board rooms during disciplinary hearings the master's sycophant comes running at sound of a whistle. And of course the faithful employee of color always co-signs the noble  lie. It is necessary for those people who know of the noble lie to expose it and those people supporting such verbal swill. When the lies of oppressors are held up before public scrutiny it can only help those masses laboring under master's yoke to fight back.

MANAGEMENT IS THE CAUSE OF THIS ERRATIC WEATHER

The document posted here concerns a state worker that has been featured in this blog numerous times. It seems as if administrators at Connecticut Juvenile Training School give more chances to this person than others who are guilty of lesser infractions. In 2009 this employee hit a resident and was not terminated. Excessive use of state computers  while at work etc did not warrant disciplinary action. We request readers to peruse the document below to decide if he is receiving special treatment after yet another episode on the DCF plantation. A reader sent this document to DCF Plantation blog for publication.

Click here to read the file.