Thanksgiving | Hate Crimes | DOR | Criminal Justice Public Hearing

This week we pause to commemorate three events that the dominant view of history would rather we forget:

Thanksgiving is deeply embedded in US culture as the time when the Pilgrims gave thanks to God for their survival, first harvest and freedoms in the “New World.” However, as Irene Monroe, an African-American lesbian feminist points out, “for many Native Americans, Thanksgiving is not a cause of celebration, but rather a National Day of Mourning, remembering the real significance of the first Thanksgiving in 1621 as a symbol of persecution and genocide of Native Americans and the long history of bloodshed with European settlers.”

The white supremacy of the early European settler/conquerors is alive and well 400 years later as evidenced by the brutal hate crime assault on 16-year old Nashawn Williams by racists who have a problem with African-Americans living in Jena, make that Plainfield, CT. And racism and heterosexism showed their ugliness as slurs around Yale University this week.

Around the world and in Hartford on Tuesday we will mark Connecticut’s Sixth Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance by bringing to mind the transsexual people of the Western Hemisphere who were murdered this past year because of anti-trans-hatred and trans-phobia. This year, in the spirit of Mother Jones who famously said, “Pray for the dead and fight like hell for the living,” there will be a press conference on the steps of the State Capitol to call passage of a bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.

Tuesday, November 27 will be an important day of hearings on several criminal justice reform bills at the State Capitol beginning at 1 PM in Room 2E of the Legislative Office Building. Testimony will be solicited on bills covering the following topics: Sentencing, Parole, Community Supervision, Home Invasions, Persistent Offenders, and Death Penalty Appeals.

It is important that the Judiciary Committee hear testimony calling for the protection of victim’s rights and the correction of structural injustices. Justice and Mercy must be advocated.