Crises and Fightback in Naugatuck Ct

What does the police killing of George Floyd and Naugatuck, Connecticut have in common? Plenty. 

 

In June of 2020, there was a March of 1,100 people in Naugatuck, Ct in solidarity with the many George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter (BLM) marches across the country. It gave birth to the peace and solidarity group, Naugatuck Peaceful Protests. https://www.facebook.com/groups/286402645741519/

 

Its focus is against systemic racist policing and for defunding. A recent internet racist and violent statement by the daughter of the local police chief and the associate principal at the local high school, have been like adding a flame thrower to an already existing smoldering fire. It was also an accelerant to ongoing community organizing and working across movements.

 

The vicious, racist words of the now high school student from a 2019 post surfaced and directly implicated her father, who was recently promoted to police chief. 

 

“My dad is now officially police chief so that means he’s more advanced in shooting black people then (sic) he just was a couple minutes ago,” the text in one message reads. https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-naugatuck-racist-messages-police-chief-daughter-20210123-qxbhhiszzzdappvxjbwq3gsk34-story.html

 

Students have demanded the removal of the parents from their respective town positions. They have also demanded that the daughter/student be expelled. https://www.facebook.com/groups/286402645741519/announcements

 

Naugatuck has a population of 31,750 with 21% people of color and other national origins (2020). The high school is just under 40% students of color. 

 

The town has a history of working class organizing. Site of one of the world’s largest rubber and chemical industries, it was organized into five unions in the 1930s and 1940s. Some of the first to sign union cards had been members of the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) and immigrant workers.  https://www.cpusa.org/?ssearch=Yannielli+Rubber+Industry&fq=any&sort=score&order=desc&submit=Submit

 

Naugatuck experienced the runaway shop/deindustrialization of the 1980s. It was left with a toxic landfill on top of Hunters Mountain. A protracted environmental struggle resulted it designated as a superfund site. It was closed in 1987.

 

Recently, Naugatuck has been on Connecticut’s list of distressed towns. It’s official unemployment rate of 8% (Dec. 2020) is probably double that figure.

 

Other environmental and labor struggles followed. In 2020, a town-wide battle emerged as the community defended one of the ecologically healthier streams, Fulling Mill Brook, on its east-side. A proposed 10,000 square foot strip plaza is seen as endangering a green, wildlife corridor and the stream’s connection to the Naugatuck River. As blasting would be required, the proposed development is also seen as a threat to neighboring wells. 

 

At the same time, workers at the local Stop and Shop, owned by a company in Brussels, Belgium, went on strike. As members of the Food and Commercial Workers Union (FCWU), their focus was saving their health insurance, an issue that would, in general, loom large in the 2020 national elections. A green leader joined their picket line.

 

These essential workers successfully maintained their union contract. In the pivotal 2020 November elections, their union organizer, Jorge Cabrera (D), wrested a state senator seat from a Trumpite Republican. Concurrently, the massive 2020 George Floyd solidarity march and 2021 school walkout/march (See photo above.) exploded on the scene.

 

On the day of the student walkout, one BLM leader said,

 

“Today, was a magnificent day. Naugatuck’s Youth made history today. They stood on the right side of history. They stood for justice. They stood for Black Lives Matter. They made headlines this week. They will continue to make headlines because they will not be pushed aside or led astray. They are not done. They will see to it that those responsible are held accountable.” 

 

A series of Naugatuck grassroots town halls emerged as these and electoral struggles unfolded. Panelists represented BLM, environment, Labor, a town commission, and electoral candidates. A reading of Martin Luther King’s famous Riverside Church Speech, initiated by a U.S. Peace Council member and BLM, was one result. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/martin-luther-king-jr-riverside-church-1961-1967

 

Town hall participants and others circulated a letter in support of the student walkout. The first demand reads, “If deemed culpable for the actions of their daughter, Steven and Johnna Hunt be removed from their respective positions.”

 

Defunding the police, and coupling with defunding the military budget, need to be moved up the movements’ agendas. Last year, Ct Congresswoman Jahana Hayes voted for a 10% cut in the military budget. Money needs to be moved to meet people’s needs like the Green New Deal. Locally, the articulation agreement, involving the Naugatuck Police Department and military supplier Northrop Grumman, needs investigating. 

 

Hate crimes more than doubled during the Trump years, and this normalization of hate seeped into every corner of the country including Naugatuck. These local grassroots struggles, given the fascistic, white supremist coup attempt on January 6^th, are crucial to our democracy.

 

– Len Yannielli is an environmental activist.