#KeithLamontScott #TerrenceCrutcher #SayTheirNames

Hundreds of people of faith and conscience protested at the corner of Albany and Main Streets in Hartford. Protestors came from Hartford, Norwalk, Waterbury, New Haven, Bristol, Springfield, MA, New Britain, Bloomfield, West Hartford, Manchester, Glastonbury and other communities.  Activists took to the streets in deep frustration and grief, called to  witness and name injustice in the public square.

“The moment is now.  The killings are now.  The injustice is now.  This must stop, NOW!” Proclaimed Bishop John Selders, Founder of Moral Monday CT.

Moral Monday CT was joined and supported by Showing Up for Racial Justice CT (SURJ CT and SURJ Hartford), who’s members conducted a “die-in” to name, honor and remember those slain by police in recent months. 

“The revolution is happening; and it is beautiful!” said Jason Fredlund of SURJ CT and Hartford as he challenged the police, “we demand that as members of law enforcement, you break your code of silence and publicly condemn anti-black police violence.  Police brutality is a by-product of white supremacy.”

At least 791 people have been killed by police so far in 2016, and urban police forces are increasingly militarized.   Connecticut is not immune from the legacy of white supremacy.  Moral Monday CT has demanded that police departments in Connecticut disclose their arsenals.  Other demands include:

Re-training the police in non-violent communication, anti-oppression, trauma-informed practices;

Meeting the needs of those with physical and behavioral challenges; and

Strengthen community policing.

See also news coverage of the event.