June 4, 2020

American cities are inflamed once again. The tinder being the murder of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of a thuggish white police officer in Minneapolis who handcuffed him and choked him to death by placing a knee on his neck while three other police officers blandly observed. Floyd was accused of the heinous crime of passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

More than a half-million people in every Connecticut city and town rely on community nonprofits for services critical to helping them achieve a quality and healthy life.
The Alliance is the statewide association, and the voice of community nonprofits, representing 117,000 Connecticut workers in this vital field. Today, those workers are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, feeding the hungry and unemployed, supporting those with disabilities, helping the incarcerated successfully return to their communities and working to ensure continuity of mental health services, every day.

As a pastor at Faith Church and a resident of Danbury, I have seen firsthand how our city’s schools are some of the most crowded in the state. In recent years, our city’s economy has boomed and our community has flourished. Families have flocked to Danbury and we value those from every background. We welcome new residents with open arms because we know that each new neighbor opens Danbury to new horizons.

George Floyd’s death at the hands, or rather knee, of a Minnesota police officer demonstrates the difficulty in holding law enforcement accountable. Before this latest incident, the officer, Derek Chauvin, faced at least 17 misconduct complaints with the Minneapolis Police Department.

On June 1, a week after the murder of George Floyd, the city of Waterbury had a “community conversation about current events” online. On this call were federal, state, and local leaders were present. I was incredibly optimistic that change was coming as a result of the protest, but then the call continued.