Farmington Valley Rallies Against Hate

Residents in the Farmington Valley towns of Avon and Granby are organizing to reject a recent rise in hate groups there.

When the extremist right-wing group Moms for Liberty announced a symposium on parental rights in Avon, the community quickly came together against “hatred, book banning and bigotry.”

Moms for Liberty is crusading nationally for book bans and has targeted Avon's public schools. Their event flier said speaker James Lindsay, is "a leading expert on Critical Race Theory, and mathematician who is anti-communist and pro-America."

Gathering outside the Avon Senior Center on October 21, local residents, elected officials, and many organizations including the NAACP and the Coalition on Diversity and Equity (CODE) stood together to say no to hate.

One participant age 92 said this was the second time he demonstrated against book banning, recalling his experience in fascist Germany in 1943.

State Rep Eleni Kavros DeGraw encouraged turnout for the peaceful protest saying, “Moms for Liberty seeks to undermine public schools, teachers and communities. Their brand of hate has no place here.”

The Avon Democrats said they “strongly denounce any organization that serves to demonize, dehumanize, and erase entire groups of people. We denounce efforts to remove books from libraries, topics from curricula, events and individuals from history lessons, and diverse voices from conversations.”

In nearby Granby, a rally to “Stop the Hate” has been called for Saturday October 28 at noon on the Town Green in response to white supremacist literature dropped in driveways around town last week.

Granby Racial Reconciliation is giving out “Hate has no place in our town” yard signs saying their organization “condemns the hate filled ideology of the Nationalist Social Club, and calls all people, and especially their recruitment target: white men, to stand against their message and stand for the acceptance of all people.”

Granby Racial Reconciliation formed in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. They said, “the Nationalist Social Club promotes itself as "a pro-white, street-oriented fraternity dedicated to raising authentic resistance to the enemies of our people in the New England area,” and that

the ideology of this group is based on a conspiracy theory called “The Great Replacement,” and at its core is white supremacist, xenophobic and anti-immigrant.”

Yale Community Calls on Administration to Reject Violence against Palestine

Voices of opposition and solidarity are being raised at Yale University in response to incidents of hate targeting Palestinian and Arab students and faculty.

A statement signed in days by over 400 members of the Yale community decries “the University’s one-sided response to the events unfolding in Palestine and on campus, predicated upon the dehumanization of Palestinians.”

Amidst thousands of lives lost due to the Israeli occupation of Palestine, large corporate donors have been pressuring universities to "Stand with Israel,” and condemn student and community groups who stand for peace.

At Yale the administration has imposed a cruel double standard, emboldening extreme right-wing rhetoric and leaving activists, Arab and Muslim students and their allies feeling alienated and threatened.

A statement from university president Peter Salovey acknowledges Israeli deaths without qualification and condemns Hamas attacks, but only briefly mentions “non-militant Palestinians.”

The administration has failed to address the endless bombings of Gazans and genocidal statements from Israeli government officials, referring to Palestinians as “human animals” and “children of darkness.”

When a Yale student displayed a hateful, violent message, “Death to Palestine,” outside their dorm room door, the administration dismissed it as simply a “political sentiment and not a personal threat.”

In addition to student harassment, an online petition calling on a Yale faculty member to resign has been promoted by national right-wing sensationalist publications, including The Daily Mail and The National Review, with minimal push back from the Yale administration.

In response, a wide coalition in the Yale community is standing up and calling on the administration to abandon its policy of “war profiteering.”

A statement signed by hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students, alumni, staff, and other affiliates, demands Yale administration take a stand against the genocide of the Palestinian people, to call on Sen. Blumenthal and Rep. DeLauro to support an immediate ceasefire, to divest from U.S. and Israel-based arms manufacturers complicit in the destruction of Gaza, and to denounce anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic hate speech on campus.

The full statement, endorsed by student Palestinian-rights organization Yalies4Palestine can be viewed here.

At Harvard, billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin pushed that university to adopt both a statement firmly in support of the Israeli regime and an additional denunciation of its own student groups, leaving students to face intimidation, harassment, and doxxing.

Amistad Awards: “it's An Enough is Enough Moment! Time to Organize!

In the midst of a national strike wave with thousands of workers standing up against income inequality, and marches for housing rights, peace and climate justice, the People's World Amistad Awards will hold its annual awards rally on the theme, “It's An Enough Is Enough Moment! Time to Organize!”

The Awards will be held Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 4:00 pm at the historic First and Summerfield United Methodist Church, 425 College St in New Haven, with keepsake greeting book. The church is the home to union organizing including Unite Here Local 34, celebrating it's 40^th anniversary

In a letter the committee announced, “People's World is honored to present the Amistad Award to three wonderful allies and working class champions. Together they represent the kind of unity, solidarity and vision needed to build the movement that can transform our country to put people, peace and planet before profits.”

The three awardees are:

Sen. Gary Winfield, a fearless defender of racial, economic and social justice, always in the forefront with groundbreaking legislation toward equity and a better life for his constituents and all working class people in our state and nation.

Stacie Harris-Byrdsong, groundbreaking president of AFSCME Council 4 whose courage and leadership is so inspiring as a passionate representative of educators and the needs of children, for equity and economic justice.

Luis Luna, Husky 4 Immigrants coalition manager whose leadership and dedication for the rights of immigrants, and as an organizer and communicator in many venues, inspires ordinary people to take collective action on their own behalf.

Performance by an Afro Reggae band led by Aklaff Pheeroan, world renowned artist and outstanding contributor to African American musical innovations and creative composition, will highlight the program, which is a family event.

The event will stand “IN SOLIDARITY” with the Recovery for All coalition and the Blake Street Tenants Union taking on corporate greed and shifting power to people's needs and dreams.

This annual event is hosted on the occasion of the 104^th anniversary of the Communist Party USA, in the spirit of building unity against racism, red baiting and all forms of bigotry and standing for workers' rights, equality, peace, democracy, and a better world.

For greeting book and ticket information write to ct-pww@pobox.com or visit the event page at  https://actionnetwork.org/ticketed_events/2023-peoples-world-amistad-awards?clear_id=true The ad deadline is November 17, 2023.

Young Activists Organize Blanket Drive for the Homeless and call for Housing as a Human Right

As temperatures cool, the risk of exposure-related injury and illness increases drastically for homeless individuals. In Connecticut, the tenth least affordable state, the homeless population has increased for the second year straight following the expiration of the pandemic-era eviction moratorium in 2021. In response, young activists are organizing a Blanket Drive for New Haven’s homeless population to be held on October 13th, beginning at 12:00PM on the New Haven Green.  The drive aims to collect essentials such as warm clothes, toiletries, non-perishable foods, and water in addition to safety items like hand warmers, blankets and first aid in anticipation of the winter months.

“I used to be homeless for 3 years: the most insane 3 years of my life,” writes Kathryn Jupiter, the lead organizer of the event and member of the Young Communist League of New Haven, who became housed in 2017.  “I would never forget what I went through and this is why me and a couple of friends are trying to raise money, so we can help the homeless and make sure they have what they need to get housed. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible!’”  Along with supplies, the drive also aims to distribute a “Know Your Rights” flyer, detailing resources related to eviction prevention, tenants unions, and Connecticut’s Fair Rent Commissions.

As of October 1st 2023, homelessness has officially been declared a public health crisis in Connecticut, where four of the largest cities have some of the highest eviction rates in the country. As corporate landlords seek drastic rent increases for profit, “Housing is a human right” remains a rallying cry for working people throughout the state.

A ten-point emergency “Housing is a Human Right” program issued by the CT Communist Party includes: declare a state of emergency to protect against evictions and foreclosures; a 2.5% annual rent cap; enforcement of anti-discrimination laws on large landlords and lenders; fair rent commissions with standing for tenant unions; increase real estate conveyance taxes and fees on large investors; tax the rich and invest in housing; reallocate funds from the excessive military budget to our communities and green jobs. 

Individuals wishing to donate to the drive should contact Kathryn Jupe at 845-793-4239