REAL EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF CORNELL LEWIS ARREST

Local media did not seem to understand that the roots of the December 14, 2015 shutdown of the YardGoats stadium construction site was initiated by the Minority Contractors Council based on their experience of being shut out of the serious dollars. They sought support for organizing a protest from Moral Monday CT (MMCT), and some media reports have focused on concerns that the Moral Monday "bunch" might again snarl traffic (interesting what causes the most fear these days). There are various ways to look at the stats, but the bottom line is that stadium jobs going to minority residents of Hartford are token and lower-rung. In other words, it's business as usual for so-called "development" projects. Money will be made, but largely by outsider investors.

 

While it was indeed wonderful to have ONE courageous member of City Council put his body on the shut-down line, in fact the first arrest was the most telling about Hartford City Police tactics. As seen (but not narrated) in the WFSB news clip, Cornell Lewis was the first person arrested - taken by surprise even as he was conveying the warning the cops had asked him to that the protestors were to move or risk arrest. NOTE THAT CORNELL HIMSELF had moved from the gate area and was NOT trespassing nor planning to subject himself to arrest. In fact, he was preparing to leave the site in the hands of the other organizers to attend to another commitment. I know, because I was going to drive him back to his car in a few minutes. 

 

However, rather than carry out their stated plan to arrest those who did not move from the gate area, Hartford cops were heard to say, "Arrest Cornell first" - and they did so. Four officers marched toward him from behind, gave no warning to him, and instructed him to drop his bag (and the bullhorn they hate) and put his arms behind his back. Not one of the protesters still trespassing had yet been arrested (that would start some 10 or 15 minutes later). He asked why and they gave him no answer. He was cuffed and taken to a patrol car. Other cops on the scene could give no reason for his arrest - and Cornell himself was not told the charges until they got him to the station (essentially
creating a disturbance and excessive noise). 

 

Thus was Cornell clearly targeted and arrested while peacefully exercising his first amendment rights, complying with police directives and keeping the crowd informed of those directives AS REQUESTED BY ONE OF THE RESPONDING OFFICERS - and then kept in jail from 10 am to 8 pm. He is scheduled to appear at Community Court tomorrow (Wednesday December 16) at 9 am, and is vowing to fight this violation of his civil rights.

 

Kudos to city council member Dr. Larry Deutsch, lone among the city leaders willing to stand up against broken promises to, and missed opportunities for, the workers and residents of Hartford. But I can't help but note that WFSB clearly shows him being escorted to a patrol car upon his arrest for refusing to move from the construction site gate WITHOUT HANDCUFFS! I point this out not to take away anything from his courage to stand up (noting that he is one of few white city leaders but still to be counted on when there is a fight) but to point out the obvious discrepancy in the cops' treatment of Cornell Lewis, also one who does not shy away from standing up against injustice.

Nancy Bowden

REACTION TO THE TARGETING OF A BLACK ACTIVIST

December 14, 2015 activist Cornell Lewis was arrested by police at a rally. The words below are Debra Cohen's point of view as fellow Freedom Fighter. The protest was in front of a stadium under construction in downtown Hartford.


Two important points about this event NOT captured by WFSB: (1) the protest was initiated by the Minority Contractors Council for having received NO "piece of the pie" from a major HARTFORD "development" project, but supported by MMCT and (2) while it was indeed wonderful to have ONE courageous member of City Council put his body on the shut-down line, in fact the first arrest was the most telling about Hartford City Police tactics. Even as seen (but not narrated) in the WFSB clip below, Cornell Lewis was the first person arrested - taken by surprise even as he was conveying the warning the cops had asked him to that the protestors were to move or risk arrest. NOTE THAT CORNELL HIMSELF had moved from the gate area and was NOT trespassing nor planning to subject himself to arrest. Rather than carry out their plan to arrest those who did not move from the gate area, Hartford cops were heard to say, "Arrest Cornell first" - and they did so. Not one of the protesters still trespassing had yet been arrested. Thus was Cornell clearly targetted and arrested while peacefully exercising his first amendment rights, complying with police directives and keeping the crowd informed - and then kept in jail from 10 am to 8 pm.


posted also on Facebook.

THE FUTURE CLOSING OF THIS FACILITY IS DUE TO DYSFUNCTIONAL MANAGEMENT

In the December 8, 2015 edition of the Associated Press were words to this effect " the Connecticut lawmakers are currently adjusting the budget and this includes the future closing of Connecticut Juvenile Training School......" There is also a sentence about the closing of another training facility elsewhere in CT included in the adjusting of the future budget.

The point to be made here is that dysfunctional management by Key Stone Cops administrators at CJTS caused this future closing to finally become reality. For years under the reign of present leadership at CJTS there has been unfair distribution of overtime, rampant racism at the facility by right wing Youth Service Officers masquerading as whistleblowers, white female YSOs calling residents of color "porch monkeys", and attempts of silencing any voices of color who raise the issue of racism. All attempts to correct the dysfunctional nature of CJTS by employees was met with management using policy and procedure in attempts of harassment of so called troubled makers. It must also be noted how Freedom of Information Act documents from the Department of Children and Family describe how 66% of all terminations or disciplinary actions are directed toward males of color. This data is alarming when considered how people of color only comprise 45% of employment on the DCF Plantation. Yes CJTS is a facility run amok.. with injustice and favoritism.

There seems to be some justice in the universe after all , CJTS is going to be closed down in the future. Those management types at CJTS who fought so hard to maintain their hegemony and white privilege will final get the old boot in the arse.

MORAL MONDAY CT HELD A DEMONSTRATION BUT SOME WHITE ALLIES DID NOT APPROVE

The people that manage the Bushnell Theatre decided to host this forum on race December 3, 2015 with four nationally known panelists. While well meaning people [ mostly white ] put together an agenda they forgot one critical element, to include local activists on stage who are fighting for racial justice in Greater Connecticut. Bishop John Selders and wife Pamela Selders started Moral Monday CT over one year ago to address issues of racial injustice locally and nationally- Bushnell forum planners forgot (?) to include both Selders on the panel. In the last year MMCT held die-ins at Hartford City Hall, blockaded streets and highways to send a message, went to Ferguson, Missouri for Michael Brown's one year anniversary shooting death by police. In addition the Selders et al., received national media coverage while in Ferguson. However, none of this mattered because white managers of Bushnell Theatre did not consider the Selders or #blacklivesmatter activists in Springfield, Massachusetts to be part of the racism panel. With this thought in mind, MMCT went to the forum and held a light weight protest, stating the same facts in the previous lines above.

We entered the Bushnell armed with protest plan and megaphone. There were white allies in the vestibule and in the theatre seating; it was assumed when the "#blacklivesmatter" chanting started these white allies would at least lend their voices to the protest. In the back of the Bushnell people on an arranged signal hollered #blacklivesmatter ,while other activists went to the front and read their statement. In amazement MMCT people noticed white allies frowning with arms folded plus scowling faces while the chanting took place. After the protest ended the reason for white allies silence became crystal clear- they stated "to them the protest did not make sense." Say what ? Yeah you are reading correctly, white people that pledged allegiance to working with MMCT black leadership flaked out, because "in their esteemed opinion the Bushnell was talking about race, ergo, why disrupt the event." Let me be clear. Just because white people decide to host some sort of sanitized meeting does not mean that it is something black people must endorse. Maybe those so called white allies do not understand that it is for black people-engaged in resisting state sanctioned police terror against blacks- to determine what is proper content for such forums to take place. Those so called white allies saw nothing wrong, then or now, with the absence of local activists on that Bushnell panel. I would argue that the criticism, before and after the forum, from whites revolves around their inability to comprehend why black leadership did not approve of yet another talkathon about race. We understand that many white allies have blind spots about race due to their worldview on process and procedure in addressing America's unsolved social problem. In all honesty white privilege affords so called white allies the luxury of not having to endure the indignities of living black in America. White allies do not have to think about being hunted and shot by police, nor do white allies face humiliating racial slights daily like black people. Yet there they were after the Bushnell forum offering a damn critique that MMCT activists did not ask for.

The best part of this is how what white allies did is not unexpected; historically the narrative with white allies goes like this- they are with us until ideological or theoretical concerns from blacks do not juxtapose with white worldviews, then they become critics. When the Selders first started MMCT white liberals pledged support and allegiance to black leadership. Now it is apparent that the historical narrative of white worldviews clashing with black thought is happening again. Martin Luther King, Stokley Carmichael, Black Nationalists and Freedom Riders went through the same criticism from white allies of certain black tactics. In Connecticut white allies are showing their true colors by not chanting during the Bushnell Theatre MMCT protest ; there are deep underlying currents of paternalistic bias from so called white allies. These whites believe they know what to do in terms of strategy better than the Selders and other people associated with MMCT. Now these whites will not publicly say they have problems with the Selders black leadership but in subtle ways act these feelings out- like at the Bushnell by not chanting.. then offering some bullshit critique of MMCT.  It is time to do what is necessary and call out white liberals who are obstructionists to the black liberation movement. James Baldwin might be correct in writing " a liberal is someone who thinks they know more about your condition than you do." Well. It is now out in the open for all to see. Yes Lawd, white allies opposed to black leadership in MMCT. It is time to get rid of all flotsam that hinders MMCT and #blacklivesmatter, this includes white allies who secretly are diametrically opposed to working with black leadership. Man this road toward black liberation is hard enough without those secret haters lurking in the background. Whites believe they are doing MMCT a favor by tagging along or pledging solidarity, hey white folks read Sophocles who wrote "enemies gifts are no gifts and do no good." Are these white liberals who pledge solidarity really enemies ? Well all you have to do in order to answer that question is wonder about why they did not chant with us, "#blacklivesmatter", at the Bushnell Theatre during our protest to answer that question.

In closing many of those so called white allies are religious and attend churches. After what they did to members of MMCT at the Bushnell Theatre, it is appropriate to quote this scripture from the book of Zechariah chapter 13:6 "I was wounded in the house of my friends."