Politics & Government
Protesters Call For Resignation of Ellington First Selectman
A 2-hour rally at Arbor Park Friday drew about 125 supporters, many of whom shared their stories of racism in Ellington.
ELLINGTON, CT — An estimated crowd of about 125 people gathered for nearly two full hours at the gazebo in Arbor Park Friday at a rally supporting the Black Lives matter movement, with many people speaking about racism they've encountered right in Ellington.
A pair of Ellington High School graduates - Lay, 20, and Kay, 19 - organized the event in about a week. They set up an Instagram page, ellington4blacklives, where residents could anonymously share their stories.
"Racism does happen in Ellington, we don't live in a perfect little bubble like many people believe," Kay said.
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Lay added, "We want to show that just because it's not happening to you doesn't mean it's not happening to other people in this town."
About five minutes into the rally, speakers began calling for the resignation of First Selectman Lori Spielman, who encountered considerable heat over a meme she posted on her personal Facebook page which many people construed as being racist.
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"Lori, your views are outdated, and your term is outdated," said one of the organizers. Following the reading of names of a number of Black people killed at the hands of law enforcement, a moment of silence was observed. About a dozen supporters then stood and voiced their thoughts, sharing their experiences with the mainly peaceful crowd.
View this post on InstagramFULL STORY: “I have moved 4 times and have lived in 3 different states and I have never seen so much racism and discrimination towards minorities in one town in my life. The worst experience by far though was probably my first experience with racism in Ellington. I was at the age of 10 and was with my closest friend at the time in my mom’s car. I forgot what the conversation was about but my friend starting saying, “Kids from Hartford and immigrants are tainting our schools. They should go back to where they came from.” It was just so jarring that such harsh words were spewing from a 10 year olds mouth. How can a child so young and with little life experiences have so much hatred in her heart? This also struck a nerve in me because my mother is an immigrant from South America escaping poverty in her country and rebuilding a new life to start a family. Since then, there have been so many other forms of racism I’ve seen... such hurtful slurs being hurled at minorities, teachers mixing up students of the same ethnicities name, administration turning a blind eye to racism, etc. I am a white-passing Latina and I get scared to share my culture with my class because I know I might get harassed. And when I do decide to share I get students always asking me how to say a variety of words in my language and a lot of students asking to be my partner in Spanish class even though I don’t even speak Spanish! I hope in the future Ellington wakes up and eliminates racism from our schools. How are students of color expected to learn when school is such a toxic and uncomfortable environment?!” • • • • • • • • If you have any stories you would like to share involving racial injustices or concerns within the community, please email or DM us.
A post shared by All Black Lives Matter (@ellington4blacklives) on Jul 9, 2020 at 10:20am PDT
View this post on InstagramFULL STORY: “I am a typical city woman. It was a cultural shock for me when I first moved here…I grew up in a diverse environment and got along with all races. But, when I moved to Ellington, I was very surprised. When I moved into my neighborhood, my neighbor thought I was a maid. Strike one. I became acquainted with some ladies in my neighborhood and we would text back and forth on a daily basis. She invited me to a Zumba class that was held at Center School. Low and behold, she wouldn’t acknowledge me at the class and walked away with the other white women in the Zumba class. Strike two. Lastly, I have dealt with my daughter who had many negative experiences with race and tried very hard to fit in this predominantly white town from the time she was in elementary school to high school. Strike three. I have come to the conclusion that this town does not like successful black families who live in predominantly white neighborhoods. I hated coming home from work into my neighborhood because I felt the racial tensions. I didn’t feel welcome. After many years of living in Ellington, I found that not all white people are prejudiced, fake, and/or phony, but it took a long time to see who is and who is not.” • • • • • • • • If you attended Ellington Public Schools and would like to say something or have a parent that would like to speak out against injustice, please DM or email us.
A post shared by All Black Lives Matter (@ellington4blacklives) on Jul 8, 2020 at 8:03pm PDT
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