Black Women Will March For “Truth And Justice”

Coalition news release:

In response to years of complicity and silence in upholding racism and corruption in the Bridgeport Police Department–most recently evidenced in the mishandling of the deaths of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls–several leading women’s rights, civil rights, and civic organizations announced a march and protest will be held this Saturday, February 19th at 1:00pm at Bridgeport City Hall.

The event–“Black Women Speak! A March for Truth & Justice“–will include women (and their allies) from across Connecticut who will march, stand with, and center Black women’s voices to demand their humanity be recognized and to demand accountability from Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and other officials.

“We invite all women from across Connecticut–and our allies–to join us this Saturday as we march to demand justice and accountability from Bridgeport’s elected officials and the Bridgeport Police Department for the inhumane treatment of Black women and Black lives,” said Nichola Hall, president of the Greater Bridgeport Ed Gomes Black Democratic Club. “We will not stand idly by while our Black daughters, sisters, mothers, neighbors, friends, and co-workers are ignored, mistreated, and killed without consequence. Enough is enough.”

Organizers of the march currently include the following organizations: Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, Bridgeport Strong, Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, CT Black Women, Greater Bridgeport Ed Gomes Black Democratic Club, Moral Monday CT, PT Partners, PowerUp CT, United States of Women, and Women’s March CT, with more to follow. Speakers will include Black elected women and leaders from Bridgeport and across the state.

“Mayor Ganim’s years of complicity and silence is a dereliction of duty and it’s finally time for him to be held accountable,” said Gemeem Davis, president of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes. “The incompetence, racism, and corruption spewing out of the Bridgeport Police Department is ultimately his responsibility–and he has failed at the job. We will not let Mayor Ganim use the death and righteous public outrage at the treatment of Lauren Smith-Fields and Brenda Lee Rawls’ families to gaslight Black people and the nation as he readies himself for a re-election campaign next year. His empty gesture to order the suspension of the officers involved in these cases is an insult to Black women. Time’s been up for Joe Ganim. He should resign.”

“The disregard for Black women’s lives that we have witnessed recently is not a new phenomenon but rather is deeply entrenched in our society, from the negative way many people in our communities talk about the worth of Black women to the way our laws, policies and practices fail to protect and uplift Black women,” said Janée Woods Weber, executive director of the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund (CWEALF). “This is not only a Bridgeport problem–this is a Connecticut problem and a United States of America problem. Black women are gathering in Bridgeport to speak our truth: we matter and we deserve justice. Bridgeport officials must be held accountable for their complicity and silence.”

Pamela Selders, founder of CT Black Women stated, “In this moment, it is imperative to boldly counter the status quo that continues to attempt to reduce and subjugate Black women and Black women voices. It cannot be underestimated the importance of us gathering in Bridgeport from across the state of Connecticut to bear witness, to call for accountability and to support each other. This is the time to take center stage and together as Black women, name our realities, share our truths and advocate for the justice we rightfully deserve.”

The specific details of the march are as follows:
— WHAT: Black Women Speak! A March for Truth & Justice
— WHEN: Saturday, February 19th, 1:00 pm
— WHERE: Bridgeport City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, Bridgeport, CT (starting point) marching to Margaret E. Morton Government Center, 999 Broad Street (end point)
— WHO: Connecticut women and their allies. (Event organizers include: Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, Bridgeport Strong, Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, CT Black Women, Greater Bridgeport Ed Gomes Black Democratic Club, Moral Monday CT, PT Partners, PowerUp CT, United States of Women, and Women’s March CT.)
— WHY: To march, stand with, and center Black women’s voices; to demand our humanity be recognized; and to hold Mayor Ganim and other officials accountable for their complicity and silence in upholding racism and corruption in the Bridgeport Police Department.

Last week, Bridgeport Generation Now Votes–one of the event organizers–released a press statement that outlined a long list of evidence pointing to the Ganim administration’s complicity and silence in upholding racism, abuses of power, and the corruption of the Bridgeport Police Department, which can be found here.