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BLACK HISTORY MONTH: listening & learning
Black history can’t be confined to one month. It’s a case of the more you learn the more you realize how much more there is to discover. This is a rich and complex topic. Our goal with today’s special coverage of Black History Month is to highlight a few of the many stories that comprise local Black history — the people and events that have contributed to the vibrant and diverse life of our communities. We also want to provide resources that can help expand our understanding of racism, our historic and ongoing struggles with racial equality and how that impacts our country today. Here at the Record-Journal, we are proud of our long history of providing the local news to our communities. Over the past year, we reassessed and reinvigorated our commitment to serve our communities and add to the diversity of our publications as well as our workplace. As a company, we have formed a Diversity & Inclusion Committee whose members created the mission to “take actions that will create and support a workplace and products that are inclusive, diverse and representative of the communities we serve.” To this end, the Record-Journal is taking steps to ensure that our content, community outreach, and hiring practices remain equitable and representative of our community. One approach to our outreach is listening. This is done through a program called Voices — Community Powered Journalism, a chance for us to hear questions from local community members and answer them through our reporting. Soon, we also plan to launch a Latino Communities Reporting Lab, another opportunity for us to incorporate community listening into our reporting. By listening to our community, we can better provide our readers with focused content to keep you informed and engaged. We’re also supporting local students by offering minority internships and scholarships, and we’re developing new ways to attract and retain diverse and representative talent. We celebrate the diversity of our communities and will continue to explore the many cultures in the towns we cover. We will to listen to the wide variety of voices that contribute to that diversity and welcome their stories to our pages. Today we put the focus on Black History Month and we hope that you’ll enjoy this special edition of the Record-Journal. RJ Diversity & Inclusion Committee
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WALLINGFORD’S FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTERS Commentary by Lorraine S. Connelly
Norwyn Campbell
Meet our Black History Month guest editor Norwyn Campbell is a Digital Advertising Sales professional at RJ Media Group, based in Meriden. He holds an MBA (marketing) and has more than 26 years of sales and management experience in insurance and media/ advertising sales, with another eight years in banking services. Norwyn is proud of his Caribbean roots, being born in Jamaica, birth place of Reggae icon Bob Marley and Usain Bolt — the greatest sprinter of all time. Also the same roots as former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Vice President Kamala Harris. Having settled with his wife and two sons in Connecticut, he has since become involved in serving his community. He is a board member of the Meriden Rotary Club and a planning committee member of Journey Found Inc; a nonprofit organization that helps with the housing of individu-
als with intellectual disabilities in Connecticut. Norwyn hopes that his contributions will make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate. Words that he lives by: “The Constant Dripping of Water Wears Away the Stone”. In his spare time and when the weather permits, he likes being outdoors playing football/ soccer. Being invited to be the guest editor on the Black History Month project at RJ Media is a special honor and privilege, as this gives him the opportunity to, even in a small way, positively influence the perception of his race as a Black man in America. Norwyn expresses that he never really knew what it meant to be “Black”, until he came to the U.S. to live permanently. He applauds companies and individuals who make the effort to treat everyone fairly and has very optimistic hopes that “we can all get along”.
table of contents wallingford’s first african american voters.......................................... 3 dr. woodson’s vision for black history................................................. 5 nzinga’s daughters bring a message with their songs............................. 5 a wide range of reading options to explore black history...................... 7 violet’s story....................................................................................... 7 cemetery association disputes claim about black burial site.................. 9
resources are available to fight racism............................................... 10 black golfer recalls breaking into the game. ...................................... 13 notables in black history.................................................................... 13 local naacp chapter perseveres during pandemic................................. 14 local woman first vegan chef featured by bon appétit magazine. .......... 16 black-owned businesses take hold and bring new vitality to the city... 17 a leader for change............................................................................ 18
more stories on myrecordjournal.com/bhm
We look to history to tell us about the past, but how can history inform the present and offer guideposts for the future? This year, the theme of Black History Month is “Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity.” It explores the African diaspora and the spread of Black families across the United States.
Royce House (538 N. Main St., Wallingford), one of two properties owned by the Trust.
In Colonial Wallingford, the enslaved and the enslaver were caught in what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., while protesting the injustices of the segregated South some 200 years later, described as “an inescapable network The Black Stories Matter History Project, an of mutuality.” initiative of the Wallingford Historic Preser- By the second half of the 18th century, New vation Trust upon the occasion of Walling- London, a bustling seaport on Connectiford’s 350th Jubilee, is uncut’s coast, led the state earthing some interesting in both the number of enfacts about Black Colonial slaved Africans and Black life in Wallingford. residents, with a white Jerry Farrell Jr., president population of 5,366 and a Powder horn owned by of the Wallingford Historic Black population of 522. Dick Freedom. Freedom, Preservation Trust, says, New Haven had a white from Wallingford, was one “The American narrative population of 5,224 and a of approximately 300 Black is missing some key chapBlack population of 160. enslaved or freemen from ters, and the project is our According to the 1762 Connecticut who fought for attempt not to rewrite, but census, Wallingford with the Continental Army. He to add some very critical a population of just under chapters about a signifi- served in the all-Black Second 4,000, had a population Company of the Fourth cant Black population in of 182 Blacks. Merchants, Connecticut Regiment. Colonial Wallingford — ministers, politicians, millives that should be cele- Photo Courtesy of Wallingford itary officers, physicians, Historic Preservation Trust brated for their many conlawyers, and farmers tributions as well as their owned enslaved people. courage, sacrifice, and resolve.” As Menapace has also discovered, “Every Along with Nathan Hale, the martyred soldier of the American Revolution, and Lyman Hall, born in Wallingford and later a signatory of the Declaration of Independence as governor of Georgia, who are other notable local figures “tied in a single garment of destiny”? Slavery scholar Chris Menapace is combing through census, military, and probate records of enslaved and free Black residents of Colonial Wallingford, collecting data points and stories for an exhibit the Trust will have on permanent display at the Nehemiah
prominent family in Wallingford — the Atwaters, Cookes, Halls, Stanleys, Royces and Yales — were all enslavers.” Know their names There is the story of Chatham Freeman, whose headstone lies in the Broad Street Cemetery in Meriden. Freeman, born in Africa in 1750, was enslaved by Wallingford’s Noah Yale. During the Revolutionary War, Yale sent Freeman to fight in his son’s stead Continued on next page
Chatham Freeman headstone. Broad Street Cemetery. Photo by Lorraine Connelly
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with the promise of freedom in exchange for his service. From Freeman’s pension records, it is learned that he served under the command of Captain Eli Leavenworth in the 6th Connecticut Regiment of the Continental Army (1777-1780). Freeman and his wife, Rhea, and son, Jube, were set free in 1782, two years after his return from the war. The Freemans also had a daughter named Kate. Another descendant, Robert Prim, was a popular violinist in Wallingford in the late 19th century. Research has also uncovered the stories of Jack John and Toby Birdseye, who had gained emancipation and then registered to vote in Wallingford, in 1799 and 1803, respectively. The freeman (voter) statute, under early state constitutions, stipulated the qualifications for voting: One had to be 21 years of age, male, and having met a residency requirement, be a taxpayer and/or property owner. John’s land holdings equaled 26 acres, and his estate upon his death in 1816 was valued at $2,800. Birdseye owned three-quarters of an acre of land and a portion of a sawmill.
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While voting records do not exist, it’s likely that both men voted in Wallingford. Birdseye’s registration was not without controversy, according to authors Ramin Ganeshram and Elizabeth Normen in “Constitution of 1818 & Black Suffrage: Rights For All?”
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In 1803, Federalist Party members accused Birdseye of a moral disqualification, alleging he had attempted to rape a white woman. No criminal record was ever found to substantiate the claim. Ganeshram and Normen further explain that the Connecticut legislature, in 1814, reversed Black enfranchisement by inserting the word “white” into the freeman (voter) statute. By 1818, a new state constitution was adopted, outlining a white-race requirement for voters, thereby depriving African Americans of equal representation in the state’s electoral process. The authors state, “As it had in matters of slavery, abolition, and enfranchisement, Connecticut continued to take a more southern approach, protesting any federal efforts to delineate the nature of voting rights.”
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Although, the North is often considered the cradle of the anti-slavery and abolitionist movements, its participation in slavery and “the network of mutuality” cannot be denied. Wallingford should, however, take pride in two African Americans, Jack John and Toby Birdseye, who were the earliest proponents of voting rights for Black Americans in Connecticut. We should know their names. The issue of Black enfranchisement is still relevant today. Black voters, in certain parts of our nation, are still more likely to have their legitimate votes challenged. Dr. King’s “garment of destiny,” like the Shroud of Turin, is an iconic symbol — if only we could touch the hem of its garment, our Beloved Community could be made whole by its lessons. Stay current on The Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust’s Black Stories Matter History Project https://www. wallingfordcthistory.org/visit Lorraine S. Connelly is a writer, a Wallingford resident and member of the steering committee for the Black Stories Matter History Project.
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NZINGA’S DAUGHTERS BRING A MESSAGE WITH THEIR SONGS By Nadya Korytnikova Record-Journal staff
Carter G. Woodson
DR. WOODSON’S VISION FOR BLACK HISTORY The basic idea that underlies Black History Month has been around in one form or another for more than 100 years. Here are a few highlights outlining how this special month-long designation unfolded through the decades.
tory from Harvard University in 1912, only the second African American to earn a doctorate. More about his life and groundbreaking accomplishments can be found at www.asalh.org.
According to ASALH, Woodson felt that The concept of setting time aside to ac- the American Historical Association had knowledge the struggles and celebrate the no interest in Black history. A dues-paying accomplishments of peomember of the AHA, he ple in the Black communiwas not allowed to attend ty took hold in the summer AHA conferences. ASALH of 1915 when Illinois sponexplains that to be able to sored a national celebrawork as a Black historian tion of the 50th anniversary would require creating an of emancipation. institutional structure that would make it possible for Carter G. Woodson, a UniBlack scholars to study hisversity of Chicago alumtory — so Woodson set out nus, traveled from Washto find the funds to make ington, D.C. to participate this happen. in the event — along with thousands of other Black Americans from around the U.S. While inspired by what he saw, Woodson also knew the accomplishments of Black Americans were scarcely recognized. In 1915, he founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now called the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). He, along with other like-minded intellectuals in the Black community, worked to expand the knowledge of Black history and was involved in numerous publications and other efforts to that end.
In 1926, Woodson initiated the celebration of Negro History Week, which corresponded with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. In 1976, ASALH expanded the celebration to include the entire month of February, and “today Black History Month garners support throughout the country as people of all ethnic and social backgrounds discuss the Black experience,” states ASALH. The organization views the promotion of Black History Month as one of the most important components of advancing Woodson’s legacy of “pioneering Woodson, born of illiterate parents who leadership.” were former slaves, earned a PhD in hisContinued on next page
PLAINVILLE — For over 26 years Nzinga’s Daughters, a vibrant five-woman performance ensemble, has been sharing their gift of songs and storytelling to educate the public about the history and cultural achievements of Africa and the African Diaspora.
the route North. Some songs gave directions about when, where, and how to escape while others warned of danger along the way.
“Everybody came to listen to the music but not everybody knew where it came from, so that’s what encouraged me to start the band and tell people all about its history,” Williams said.
a way to warn runaway slaves to get off the trail and into the water to hide their scent from dogs.
Nzinga’s Daughters are best known for their interactive “Underground Railroad” performances which invite the audience to experience the creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance employed by African American slaves in their efforts to escape slavery.
slaves were not intimidated by us singing and dancing, they didn’t catch any message in that.”
“If I were picking cotton and somebody was walking down the street singing ‘Steal Away to Jesus,’ I’d know that means The ensemble features Dayna the time for my sister and Snell, Alison Johnson, Taffie brothers to escape is coming,” Bentley, and the band founder, said Dayna Snell. “I am going Gail Williams. While perform- to conduct my business as ing at the Newport Jazz Festiusual but when the sun goes val in 1994, Williams noticed down and the master goes to that the audience was presleep, I am going to that secret dominantly white. While the spot.” listeners enjoyed her music, One of the songs of the UnderWilliams wondered whether ground Railroad was “Wade in they knew the songs’ origins. the Water.” It had been used as
Another song, “Follow The Drinking Gourd” contained essential directions for fugitive Ever since, Nzinga’s Daughters slaves. The verses mention have been deepening pubdrinking gourd, which refers to lic understanding of Afrithe Big Dipper constellation. can-American history through By following the line of the music and entertainment constellation to the North Star, while also running three protravelers had a guide in the grams for children and youth: night sky that pointed them Nzinga’s Watoto, Girls Empow- toward freedom. erment program PRIDE, and “Slave owners were not smartthe Male Mentor Program. All er than the slaves,” Snell said. three promote positive youth “We had to figure out how to development among chilget out and how to survive and dren of all races and abilities how to rebuild our lives with throughout Connecticut. nothing. Those who owned
Since slaves were prohibited from learning to read or write, they developed an elaborate system of communication. They sang songs coded to convey secret information about
Historically, music has been used to help overcome difficult times, Snell believes. The social and political climate of any era is reflected through art, with music being a powerful inspirational expression of ideas. “The history of the Civil War is Continued on next page
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NZINGA’S DAUGHTERS
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Nzinga’s Daughters are best known for their “Underground Railroad” performance. They perform both adult and youth adapted versions. The program invites the audience to experience the creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance employed by African-American slaves in their efforts to shepherd runaway slaves to safety. Photo Courtesy of Nzinga’s Daughters
embedded in music. Similarly, when COVID hit Italy, people would come out on their balconies, sing and play instruments,” Snell said. “Music always seems to be helpful in both good and bad times. It helps bring joy and relaxation.”
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WOODSON from page 5
Cheshire Adult Education
In 1976, Black History Month, also known as African American History Month, was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford, who issued the first Message on the Observance of Black History Month. He urged the nation to “recognize the important contribution made to our nation’s life and culture” by Black Americans.
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This proclamation stated further that this month was a time “to celebrate the many achievements of African Americans in every field from science and the arts to politics and religion.”
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Black History Month also is celebrated in Canada during February, while in Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom it’s observed in October. In honor of all the work that Woodson did to promote the study of African American History, an ornament of Woodson hangs on the White House’s Christmas tree each year. R238314
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A decade later, Congress passed the observance into law as “National Black (Afro-American) History Month.” According to the Library of Congress, “National African American History Month in February celebrates the contributions that African Americans have made to American history in their struggles for freedom and equality and deepens our understanding of our Nation’s history.”
This story is compiled with information from the Library of Congress, Wikipedia and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
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A WIDE RANGE OF READING OPTIONS TO EXPLORE BLACK HISTORY Want to learn more about the people and events that have shaped Black history and culture? There’s a wide variety of literature available in every genre and for every age group and interest. Below you’ll find just a few examples of these engaging stories gleaned from local library offerings to Black run web and news services. But first, we’ll start with suggestions from guest editor Norwyn Campbell, the Record-Journal’s digital advertising sales manager at Homebase Digital.
Norwyn Campbell recommends The Hate U Give is a young adult novel by Angie Thomas. This debut novel is based on her reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant. The book is narrated by Starr Carter, a 16-year-old black girl from a poor neighborhood who attends an elite, private school in a predominantly white, affluent part of the city. Starr becomes entangled in a national news story after she witnesses a white police officer shoot and kill her childhood friend, Khalil. The novel was made into a movie in 2018. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film an approval rating of 97%. The film was nominated for and won numerous accolades. Lead actor Amandla Stenberg won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture.
Meriden Public Library recommends Reading for children and young adults: Meriden Public Library offers two extensive sections of books for children and young adults that relate to Black history. Check out: Conversations about Race as well as the Juneteenth and Slavery sections at meridenlibrary.org. Here are a few samples of those selections by notable Black writers and illustrators:
Discovering Black America, From the Age of Exploration to the Twenty-First Century, by Linda Tarrant-Reid “An unprecedented account of more than 400 years of African American history set against a background of American and global events. The book begins with a black sailor aboard the Niña with Christopher Columbus and continues through the colonial period, slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, and civil rights. Includes first-person narratives from diaries and journals, interviews, and archival images. Discovering Black America will give readers an intimate understanding of this extensive history.” — Publisher’s synopsis The Bell Rang, written and illustrated by James E. Ransome A slave family is distressed when they find their young son has run away. A compelling story made even more so by Ransome’s art. He has illustrated over 60 picture books, and has illustrated greetings cards and magazines. Commissioned murals include three for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. —– Publisher’s synopsis, Wikipedia Gordon Parks, How the Photographer Captured Black and White America, by Carole Boston Weatherford
“Gordon Parks is most famous for being the first black director in Hollywood. But before he made movies and wrote books, he was a poor African American looking for work. When he bought a camera, his life changed forever. He taught himself how to take pictures and before long, people noticed. His success as a fashion photographer landed him a job working for the government. In Washington DC, Gordon went looking for a subject, but what he found was segregation.” — Publisher’s synopsis
Black Enterprise recommends (Black Enterprise is a Black-owned multimedia company with digital, print and television divisions.) Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison. Morrison’s Nobel Prize-winning book traces the history of a Black family and “shows the nuance and complexity of black community rarely highlighted in mainstream literature.” — Black Enterprise How to Succeed in Business Without Being White: Straight Talk on Making It in America, by Earl G. Graves Sr., Black Enterprise founder and publisher. “What it takes to be a great, Black entrepreneur in a white world is just the prescription the black business world needs.” — Black Enterprise
VIOLET’S STORY: SOLD, AGE 3 FREED, AGE 51 By Glenn Richter On April 20, 1750, it was decided that a little girl named Violet would be moving from Haddam to Meriden; that is, to a farm on Misery Road in Wallingford (gee, I wonder why they changed that name), which is now Paddock Avenue in Meriden. Violet was three years old. I say “it was decided” for good reason; more about that later. The way we know about this stuff is from a document in “A Century of Meriden,” written a century ago; more about that document, too. Anyway, that’s pretty much all we know about little Violet. Obviously she had parents, but we know nothing about them. Siblings? We don’t know. Did she eventually marry and have children? The record is silent. Did she even survive to adulthood? So many children didn’t in those days, when people had huge families in part because they knew that many of their babies wouldn’t make it. (They had nothing we’d recognize as medical treatment, which is why, decades later, all the doctors could do for no less a personage than George Washington was to bleed him, several times, and apply “cataplasms of wheat bran.” It didn’t work.)
Mules and Men, Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston depicts the culture of her native Florida, and New Orleans, and “brings forth the beauty
As I say, we know very little about Violet, but there’s quite a bit we can surmise. Because this was still pretty much a howling wilderness in 1750, with wolves and cougars and other hungry things skulking around; and people had to work from dawn to dusk just to put food on the table; and you had only the spring and summer to coax enough grub out of this rocky soil to last through the fall and the long, dark, cold winter, and the following spring. And if you didn’t manage to do that, there was no backup plan; there was no Stop & Spend, no Pastry Palace with a drive-up window and, of course, no government to turn to. And even if you did everything right, you could consider yourself lucky to go to your rest in your mid 50s, as the old tombstones attest.
Continued on page 11
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The Marrow of Tradition by Charles W. Chesnutt. A fictional account of the rise of the white supremacist movement, this story portrays the many classes and races in the postbellum southern United States, and depicts the Wilmington insurrection of 1898.
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VIOLET from page 7
And there were no labor-saving devices to speak of — not in the fields and not in the kitchen. So little Violet, as a woman, would have faced a future that consisted mainly of drudgery. And little Violet would have been burdened with another misery, one that we don’t usually think much about when we think of Colonial times in this part of the country. You see, the document about Violet in the history book is not a birth certificate, nor a baptismal record, nor any of the other kinds of papers people accumulate in the course of their lives. It is a bill of sale. So when I say “it was decided,” what I mean is that it was decided by farmer Joseph Shailer of Haddam to sell “one negro girl aged about three years” — little Violet — to farmer Benjamin Roys of Meriden, to be his slave for life, her ownership then to pass on to his heirs; or, for that matter, to anyone to whom farmer Roys might later decide to sell her. Farmer Shailer made this transaction “avouching my self to be the proper and sole owner of the said negro girl and have a right to dispose of the said negro girl during the term of her natural life.”
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Is there a moral here? Sure: By all means, let’s celebrate the accomplishments of our forebears — while asking how on God’s green Earth these people, who supposedly were so pious, could think it was perfectly OK to buy and sell other people’s children. End of story? Maybe not. Although slavery was not outlawed here until 1848 (which would have made Violet a free woman at age 101, if she lived that long), later in the book we find this entry: “Dec. 17, 1798 Abner Rice emancipated negro woman Violet.” If that’s our little Violet, she would have been 51 by then, and free at last — if only because she was past child-bearing age.
The Midstate Chamber of Commerce takes a proactive leadership role in moving, improving and positively changing the communities we serve. Through our daily participation, we cause results and create a roadmap for our future. No projects ever get done by themselves. They require vision and action through leadership; that is where the Midstate Chamber of Commerce makes a difference. We inform and engage our staff and membership in the economic development, workforce development and business development projects in the towns we serve and in the region.
Originally published in the Record-Journal in 2006, in a special section commemorating Meriden’s 200th anniversary.
We are proud to support Black History Month and any effort to improve education on diversity and community growth.
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more stories on myrecordjournal.com/bhm Artist couple navigated race issues each in their own way 21 Artists speak of race, color and creating a new culture 21 Changing the course of events through philanthropy 23 Hayes’ historic role representing the 5th District 23 Plainville Historical Society celebrates local Black history 25 Local resident active in anti-slavery movement 26 Cape Verde families who migrated to the area focus of discussion 27 Plainville’s rich legacy of African American musicians 28
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CEMETERY ASSOCIATION DISPUTES CLAIM ABOUT BLACK BURIAL SITE By Mariah Melendez Cheshire Herald staff
CHESHIRE — Hillside Cemetery is chock-full of the histories and mysteries of the town and its former residents.
are already buried there,” Pittsley said. “They cannot be doing this.” Pittsley’s research is extensive, and lists names of people — specifically members of the Freeman family — who she believes were buried in that location and have been disturbed by the Hillside Cemetery Association.
But one current resident claims that her research has uncovered some controversial information about activities that have gone on within the cemetery’s gates. Christine Pittsley, a historian who works for the Connecticut State Library, published a blog post on Oct. 20 presenting her research regarding the northeast corner of Hillside Cemetery, where she claims African Americans, including some former slaves, had been buried over decades. “In the northeast corner of the old section of Hillside Cemetery is a roughly quarter-acre area that was used as the African burying place until at least 1935,” she explained. “Most are in unmarked graves, some have stones with their names on them, but a majority of them have no (identification) whatsoever.”
The issue, according to Pittsley, is that the Hillside Cemetery Association had been performing burials on these grounds until 2011, despite knowing, Pittsley claims, that individuals had already been buried there, and having offered no notifi-
cation to the state or the families of those involved.
“In the 1980s, the Hillside Cemetery Association decided that this area was empty and began to sell plots,” she wrote in her post. “Never mind that in the center of this section were four stones that belonged to Prince Freeman and his wife Lucy (d. 1831 & 1833); Prince’s son Henry Peter Freeman (d. 1882); Henry’s second wife Flora (d. 1880); and Henry’s grandson Lewis Freeman (d. 1935). Clearly, there were already some people there.”
Pittsley states that she presented her findings to the cemetery association “Thirty years ago, the Association 10 years ago with the hopes of stopstarted selling those plots as if no one ping the continued burials, but was was buried there. They (were) digmet with resistance. In her blog post, ging graves for modern burials and Pittsley describes the meeting as disturbing the African remains that
Claims about an old African burial ground in the northeast portion of Hillside Cemetery have become a source of controversy. Photo: Tracey Harrington, Cheshire Herald
Continued on page 11
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Sojourner Truth
RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO
FIGHT RACISM BRAIN FOG SHORTNESS OF BREATH PHYSICAL WEAKNESS STAMINA ISSUES
Difficult issues related to race and racism have been interwoven with our nation’s history since the beginning and recent events show that much more needs to be done when it comes to equality for all. Black History Month provides another opportunity to put the focus on this topic and there are many resources available for those who’d like to deepen their understanding. We’ve highlighted a few below. Meriden-Wallingford NAACP, 74 Cambridge St., Meriden. Telephone, 203-237-6907. From its website http:// www.mwnaacp.org, the organization states its purpose: “The NAACP ensures the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority groups and citizens; achieves equality of rights and eliminates race prejudice among citizens of the United States.”
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Connecticut Health Foundation at Cthealth.org states: “Our vision is that Connecticut’s next generation will be free from racial and ethnic health disparities.”
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The organization offers anti-racism resources that “aim to deepen our understanding of racism and how to fight it.”
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Check out the Cthealth.org website for information on racial justice efforts in the areas of housing, health, education, criminal justice and more. Among the many topics are: a TED talk on “How Racism is Making US Sick”, asking the question: why does race matter so profoundly for health?; and from The Smithsonian’s partnership with the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, “Talking About Race.” The topic “although hard, is necessary. We are here to provide tools and guidance to empower your journey and inspire conversation.”
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Desegregate Connecticut at www.desegregatect.org promotes “inclusive growth by design”. The organizaContinued on next page
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RESOURCES
CEMETERY
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tion states: “Most people in Connecticut support equity, inclusive growth, and a clean environment. Now is the time to align our laws with our vision. Our century-old land use laws need to be refreshed.”
often aren’t heard, especially women.” Before she died, in February 2018, she was honored with the “Washington Women in Public Relations” award.
Among the notable speakers on the “29 Speeches” list “Uncomfortable Conversaare: Sojourner Truth, Ida B. tions with a Black Man” the Wells, Josephine Baker, Myrlie series can be found on YouEvers-Williams (Medgar Evers Tube, hosted by Emmanuel widow at President Obama’s Chinedum Acho. second inauguration), Coretta The former NFL linebacker sits Scott King, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (introducdown with celebrities, police, ing the Equal Rights Amendfamilies, sports figures and others to engage in thoughtful ment), Fannie Lou Hamer, Barbara Jordan, Anita Hill, and revealing discussions Rep. Gwen Moore, Edwidge about race and racism. Danticat, Viola Davis, Lupita At denisegraveline.org check Nyong’o, Kerry Washington, out a Black History Month Gabourey Sidibe, Maya Angehighlight: “29 Speeches by lou, Michelle Obama, Shirley Black Women”. Chilsom, and Barbara Jordan. Also included is Rashema The late Denise Graveline Melson’s 2014 high school was an expert in communivaledictory speech that made cations and held a degree headlines because the speakin that field as well as in journalism. During her career er overcame homelessness to graduate at the top of her she coached over 100 TED class and get into Georgetown Talk speakers. She was born University. "A short, fierce, and raised in New Britain fantastic speech." and dedicated her life to “giving voice to those who
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS from page 7
of common folk; their voice, their diction, their living, their way.” — Black Enterprise Learn more at www.blackenterprise.com/best-blackbooks-black-history-month
Urban Faith recommends
Selected Poems of Langston Hughes, by Langston Hughes. An extensive collection of poems hand-picked by Hughes. “They offer a breathtaking look at being Black in America that is contemplative, celebratory, gut-wrenching and praiseworthy.” – UrbanFaith
Malcolm X: A Life of Rein(Urban Faith is a media/ news company with an online vention, by Manning Marable. Marable “provides new magazine of diverse Chrisperspectives and information tian voices sharing news and on the controversial leader. commentary on faith and Marable connects Malcolm’s culture.) life with other leaders, faith, Here’s a sample from 11 Must and Black Nationalism in a Read Books for Black History masterful, historical context Month compiled by Urban and call for social change.” — Faith; check out more sugges- UrbanFaith tions at urbanfaith.com.
respectful, but states that some cemetery association members were aggressive in disputing her presentation. Pittsley told The Herald that the reaction went beyond just questioning her research. “Some of the members began attacking my credibility, me personally, which is just disappointing and sad,” she stated. The Hillside Cemetery Association disputes Pittsley’s claims, stating that they had no records of grave sites in the north end of the cemetery when burials were taking place there and that, after 2011, when the state told them to halt all such activity, no new burials took place. “… We have no idea where she is getting her proof,” said Phyllis Perry, the Hillside Cemetery Association’s secretary and treasurer, of Pittsley’s accusations that the group knowingly disturbed existing graves. “We have erected monuments (In the northeast corner) recently, and maybe that is what she is referencing. There was an incident where a family member, who had purchased a burial plot in that location with their other family members, needed to be buried in that area. We tried to call the state and let them know what was happening, but we never got a call back, so we proceeded with the burial with no issue.” In Pittsley’s blog post, she references stakes in the ground that served as grave markers on the site in question, some of which even had the names of those buried etched on the side. However, Perry, whose family has taken care of the cemetery for multiple generations, rebuts Pittsley’s claim that there are stakes in the ground at the northeast location. “She says that there are stakes in the ground there, but we have no clue what she is talking about,” Perry added. “Even our groundskeeper, who knows the land well, has no idea where (on the property) she is referencing or what stakes she is talking about.” Perry, however, does acknowledge the meeting with Pittsley a decade ago, insisting that she was unaware of the African American grave sites until that time. “A lot of the old cemetery documents I have are not very detailed. They didn’t keep good track of who was being buried where back then, so it can get very confusing,” Perry said. Regarding the stakes, Pittsley acknowledged that they were likely removed or had decayed before the HCA became
involved with the cemetery. However, she questions how the HCA would not have known about the burial site, given the available information. “In larger cemeteries, like Hillside, the surveyors split the cemetery into sections to divide the work. These records were then compiled, printed, and made available to the public. Every library and historical society in the state has a copy and I am sure many cemeteries around the state have them as well,” she explained. “I pointed to this research when I addressed the HCA more than 10 years ago, so they were aware. But if the HCA maintains that they were unaware of these records, it would show a serious lack of interest or concern with their own history.” Another assertion made by Pittsley in her post is that a member of the HCA admitted to her that human remains had been uncovered during more modern burials, but that burials continued and neither the state nor families of individuals buried in the area were notified. Pittsley, in her post, does not name the individual who allegedly divulged this information. Perry, when asked about this accusation, strongly denied the claim that any bones or remains were uncovered while performing any modern burials at that location. “There have been no bones dug up during any of our modern burials or in the process of preparing a grave for a burial,” Perry said. “We would have to notify the state if that happened.” After Pittsley published her findings on her blog, the post began attracting all kinds of attention. “The response has actually been very positive,” she said. “A lot of people are horrified to find out this information. My goal is to hopefully start a (general) discussion about racism and how Cheshire has a complicated history with that.” Two local groups — Rams Against Racism and the Cheshire Coalition for Change — approached Pittsley and invited her to present her research findings via a Zoom meeting last month. “I know the descendants of the people who were buried there, and they are disgusted. I want to bring light to this issue so we can deal with this as a town and, hopefully, come to grips with this uncomfortable history,” she explained.
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NOTABLES IN BLACK HISTORY: INVENTORS, INTELLECTUALS, INFLUENCERS & MORE By Nadya Korytnikova and Jessica Simms American history resonates with the names of great African American men and women. Here are 14 men and women who made their mark on history — in many cases as the first Black Americans to succeed in their chosen fields.
Frank Eaton
Gwen Reed
BLACK GOLFER RECALLS BREAKING INTO THE GAME By Sean Krofssik Record-Journal staff MERIDEN — Meriden’s Frank Eaton is 78 and is playing some of the best golf of his life.
municipal course in Stamford, which is now E. Gaynor Brennan golf course, he recorded a hole in one still wearing a neck and back brace. The first of nine in his career.
Eaton, an African American, first picked up the game as a 9- or 10-year-old in his native North Carolina in the 1950s. During a time before golf carts, the caddies at that time were mainly Black children, according to Eaton. That was how he discovered the game. He caddied for a tobacco tycoon, Harold Beasley, and also picked up some pointers along the way. “I lived a mile or two from the golf course and I would make 50 cents for being a caddie,” Eaton said. “Fifty cents was a lot of money back then. I could go to a movie, get popcorn, soda and a hot dog and still have money left over” In addition to getting paid, Eaton also learned how to hold a club and properly hit a golf ball. He made his own “golf sticks,” as he called them, put a tin cup in two areas near his home and hit a ball back and forth.
Eaton fully recovered and was back shooting under par again.
him to go to the driving range and courses. In his later teens he moved to Stamford, acquired his first set of golf clubs and played his first round of 18 holes. “My first ever round I shot a 97,” Eaton recalled. “No one believed I had never played before. By the next year I was shooting in the high 80s, the following year I was in the low 80s. Three or four years later I was in the 70s.” When he was 22 years old, he finally shot even par. “The next day I broke my neck in a car accident,” Eaton said. “I was temporarily paralyzed on my left side and I was in the hospital for three months.”
A few years later, he moved to Long Island with his sister. Her During his first round three neighbor was a semi-pro golfmonths after the accident, in er and Eaton latched on with 1964 at Hubbard Heights
“I was so good but I had no money,” Eaton said. “I came along at the wrong time. No Blacks were playing on Tour and you can’t play on Tour if you have no money.” Eaton did find some inspiration at Hubbard Heights. He crossed paths with the man who broke the Major League Baseball color barrier, Jackie Robinson. Robinson, who lived in North Stamford, played at the municipal course after not being allowed to be a member at the High Ridge Country Club, a course he played many times as a guest.
Hartford History Project, Hartford Public Library
The actress who played Aunt Jemima was a Hartford native From 1946 to 1964, Gwen Reed, an actress, an advocate for childhood literacy and a theater director, played the role of Aunt Jemima, the face of the Quaker Oats Company products. Reed traveled to promote the brand at pancake festivals, state fairs, school assemblies and grocery stores, but her real name was never revealed. While playing the role of Aunt Jemima (in 1951), Reed became the director of the Hartford Community Players. She directed “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Rain” and “Purlie Victorious.” — CT Post Connecticut freedman wrote one of the first examples of African American literature In his autobiography that was published in 1798 in New London, Venture Smith, a captured slave, documented his life. He shared how he overcame slavery, became a businessman, freed his family and acquired more than 130 acres of land in Connecticut. This was one of the earliest examples of African-American literature. Smith, a child of a Guinean prince, ended up marrying another slave, Meg, in 1753, and together they had three children. — CT Post Inspiration of modern home security systems Mary Van Brittan Brown, an African American nurse from Queens, New York, developed a home security system that has since inspired modern home security systems that are used today. She created this invention as a result of the risks her home faced due to the crime rates in her neighborhood. Her security system allowed her to know who came to her home and gave her the opportunity to contact the authorities quickly. — History.com
“I played with Jackie after he retired from baseball...” Eaton said. “He lived about a half mile from the course. They didn’t let him play as a member at the Country Club, so he had to play public courses.
Landmark technology inventions at IBM were developed with the help of Mark Dean As a part of a team of 12 that worked at IBM, Mark Dean, a Black inventor and engineer, helped create the first IBM PC in 1981. Later on, Dean also helped develop the color monitor and led his team in the invention of the first gigahertz processor. This chip was built in 1999 and allowed for PCs to have faster and higher processing rates. Not only that, this piece of technology allowed for
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the PC to do a billion calculations a second. — History.com
Jackie was good,” Eaton added. “He could play and shoot even par.” Eaton turned pro in 1967 and was playing regularly in Black golf tournaments along the East Coast in the United Golfers Association. He would total more than 150 career tournament wins. But it wasn’t easy at first.
Marian Anderson Library of Congress
A singer who lived in Danbury was the first African American to sing at the Met On Jan. 7, 1955, Marian Anderson, who lived on a farm in Danbury, became the first African American to sing as a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Anderson then became a goodwill ambassador for the United States and a delegate to the United Nations in September 1958. As a result, President Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963 and she received many other honorary honors, such as the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1991. — CT Post and NPR America’s first Black diplomat was from Derby In 1869, 36-year-old Ebenezer Bassett was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, becoming the country’s first African American diplomat. Bassett was also the first black man to graduate from Connecticut Normal School — now known as Central Connecticut State University. After receiving his diploma, he taught at Whiting School in New Haven, befriending the legendary abolitionist Frederic Douglass. Later, Bassett became the principal of Philadelphia’s Institute for Colored Youth. — Connecticuthistory.org Yale’s first Black alumnus In 1874, Edward Alexander Bouchet became the first African American to graduate of Yale University. Just two years later, Continued on next page
Meriden/Wallingford NAACP President Kim Fisher speaks at a Black Lives Matter protest in Meriden on June 7, 2020. Photo: Devin Leith-Yessian/Record-Journal
LOCAL NAACP CHAPTER PERSEVERES DURING PANDEMIC By Jessica Simms Special to the Record-Journal As a way to continue to have important conversations, the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP chapter has been meeting online during the pandemic. “We are all Zooming,” said chapter president Kim Fisher. “Everything is through Zoom. We had our state conference through Zoom, we do all of our conference calls through Zoom, we have meetings once a month, those are all through Zoom. We stay in touch.” Fisher said that it has been important for the organization to stay active during the year despite the pandemic. “We did a lot of the rallies even though it was in the midst of the pandemic,” Fisher said. “We took our precautions, wore our masks, but we felt that it was very important for us to be visual and be out there and be seen, so we did that.”
involved with the organization is because she has two Black children. “Seeing the way things are in this world and how I feel like there is a difference between whether you’re white or whether you’re Black or brown, I felt like it was important for me to have a say and get out there and talk and be seen and be heard,” Fisher said. “I want my kids to have the same as any other kids just like any other mother wants for their child to have the same as any other. We should all be treated the same. None of us should be treated differently and I felt like it was important for me to get out there and speak on that.” Before the pandemic, the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP’s youth council used to work out of Maloney High School. Many of the youth involved have since graduated.
“We were meeting once a week at the school before everything hit with coronavirus...so what we’re looking to do now, we’re looking to revamp things,” said NicKimmy Hayes, second vice president and head of the “We talk about some of the issues that education committee for the Merare going on, how we can talk to the iden-Wallingford NAACP. Hayes also kids in the schools about these is- has worked with the youth council. sues,” Fisher said. Hayes said two high school teachers One of the reasons Fisher became Fisher is on many different NAACP committees to help facilitate conversations. One is the Wallingford Diversity, Equality and Inclusion committee.
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“The first year I turned pro I played in six or seven tournaments and played well until the last three holes and I didn’t make a quarter,” Eaton said. “I was nervous about making money and my wife said we couldn’t afford me playing.” The next year he went back on the tour and won the first tournament that year in Springfield, Mass. “I made $300 and that was more than I was making in 40 hours of work in a week,” Eaton said. “That was like a million dollars for me. The next week I played at Keney Park in Hartford and won it with a 65 and won $600. After that I never looked back.” Meanwhile, Eaton was working in the computer center for Union Trust Bank. He lived in Stamford, New Haven and Middletown before settling in Meriden. Eaton became a fixture in tournaments around the state and New England for the next few decades. One of his crowning achievements on the course was claiming Connecticut Section PGA Senior Open championships in 1995 and 1996. He also had stops on the New England Circuit and played all of the big open tournaments. He also played in the Florida Mini-Tour. His best round ever was Sept. 10, 1989. He carded a course record 11-under-par 61 at Stamford’s Red Course at Fairchild Wheeler. He also holds course records at Hubbard Heights (Stamford), Keney Park (Hartford), Sterling Farms (Stamford), Alling Memorial (New Haven), Banner Lodge (Moodus) and Fairchild Wheeler (Bridgeport) Continued on nrxt page
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FRANK EATON
NOTABLES
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Eaton said there were as many as 150 Black golfers during his heyday. “Now there only a couple of Black pro golfers,” Eaton said. The main reason for fewer Black golfers compared to back then, Eaton said, is because of the lack of caddies. “Years ago all caddies were Black,” Eaton said. “That’s how they got into golf. But when carts started coming in, caddies were shut down.” In addition to playing, Eaton has given back at youth programs. “Anywhere I do a youth program, 98 percent of the kids are white and maybe there are three Black kids,” Eaton said. “When I ask Black kids about golf, they say it’s too expensive and they would rather play football or basketball.” Eaton feels his race was a big reason he never made it to the highest level. “If I had been white, they would have put me on the Tour and you know damn well I could make money,” Eaton said. Eaton said he never felt outright racism at tournaments. “Many tournaments I’m with about 130 other guys and I was the only one that wasn’t white,” Eaton said. “I was by myself. I knew people used to look at me. They didn’t say anything, but when I walked in, everyone stopped eating and looked. I would tell myself, ‘They can’t rattle me.’ I didn’t let it get to me.” Eaton is married to his second wife, Juanita. He has four children: Frankie Jr., Dean, Jere and Kim.
Eaton said he’s playing great golf now. He plays three or four times a week and said he’s gotten better with age. He said he’s shot under his age every year since he turned 66. He’s a 2 handicap now. “If I shot a 78 now, I would be mad as hell,” Eaton said. Eaton travels every Thursday throughout Connecticut and Massachusetts with a group of 24 guys in the Players Club.
Bouchet completed his dissertation, becoming the first African American in the nation to earn a Ph.D. as well as the sixth American of any race to earn a Ph.D. in physics. Despite his excellent credentials and extraordinary gifts, Bouchet was never offered a faculty position and spent most of his career teaching science to high school students. — Connecticuthistory.org
James E. West Photo: Blackpast.org
“I wish I was 25 years younger the way I’m playing right now,” Eaton said. “It’s unbelievable. I guess I’m blessed.” Eaton is also a member of the New Haven-based Knickerbocker Golf Club. He was honored by the club in the 75th anniversary ceremony in 2019. “That was one of my big moments,” Eaton said. “I help the best I can with the club. I teach for free. I never charge.” The Knickerbocker Club, a predominantly African-American group, was formed in 1944. The Knickerbockers are the second-oldest African-American golf club in the country, behind Wake Robin Golf Club in Washington, DC, a female club started in 1937. The Knickerbockers currently has 43 members. Knickerbockers past president Willie Holmes said Eaton is “one of the greatest golfers to come out of Connecticut.” Holmes is 92 and still plays regularly. “I’ve known him for a number of years. He’s a great golfer, father and gentleman. He’s been instrumental as far as promoting golf to the younger generation.”
Frank Eaton of Meriden, at Hunters Memorial Golf Course in Meriden on Jan. 19, 2021. Photos: Aaron Flaum, Record-Journal
The invention of the foil electret microphone Dr. James E. West, an African American inventor, helped develop a more sensitive and compact microphone at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey in the 1960s. He worked with his colleague Gerhard Sessler on this invention. This foil electret microphone was less expensive to make than other condenser microphones and was licensed in 1964. By 1968, the microphone was universally produced and used in devices such as telephones, baby monitors, hearing aids and tape recorders. Now, about 90% of the microphones are based on this invention. — History.com A New Haven developer of the modern ironing board In the 1890s, an African American dressmaker was awarded a patent for her improved ironing board with collapsible legs. Her name was Sarah Boone. She was born into slavery in North Carolina but migrated to New Haven using a network closely linked to the Underground Railroad. In her design, Boone expanded upon the original ironing board, which was essentially a horizontal wooden block. With Boone’s additions, the improved board featured a narrower and curved design, making it easier to iron garments, particularly women’s clothing. — CTexplored.org Bridgeport inventor of the longer-lasting light bulb While Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, a black member of his research team, Lewis Latimer, improved Edison’s original design. Latimer increased the life span and practicality of light bulbs, which had previously died after just a few days. Latimer also worked closely with telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell. In 1880, after relocating to Bridgeport, Latimer was hired to work in the U.S. Electric Lighting Co., which was owned by Edison’s competitor, Hiram Maxim. — History.com Inventor of the automatic elevator doors African American inventor Alexander Miles was born in 1838 in Minnesota and is best known for being awarded a patent for an automatically opening and closing elevator door design. Before Miles’ invention in 1887, people had to manually shut both the shaft and elevator doors before riding. Forgetting to do so led to multiple accidents as people fell down elevator shafts. — History.com Inventor of the three-position traffic signal Garrett Morgan was one of the country’s most successful African American inventors. In 1923 he came up with the device that led to the modern three-way traffic lights. He saw that existing mechanical stop-and-go signals were dangerous since they had no caution signal to buffer traffic flow. So, he patented a three-armed signal. Morgan also invented a revamped sewing machine, a hair-straightContinued on page 17
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We always have, and always will serve all races, creeds and religions.
Chrissy Tracey
LOCAL WOMAN FIRST VEGAN CHEF FEATURED BY BON APPÉTIT MAGAZINE By Mariah Melendez Cheshire Herald staff CHESHIRE — Cooking has proven to be one of the most popular pandemic pastimes for many as they look for ways to spend their time while in quarantine. For some, however, it didn’t take COVID-19 to spark their interest in what happens in the kitchen. The passion for making and serving food has always been there. … Just ask one of Cheshire’s own. Chrissy Tracey, a 2012 graduate of Cheshire High School, has been cooking up special dishes for several years now, and was just recognized for her skills by the popular Bon Appétit magazine. Tracey is the magazine’s first featured vegan chef, but for Tracey, who comes from a large Jamaican family, the recognition goes beyond her love of cuisine. “Let me just start by saying that the power of your voice and the power of social media and connecting is larger than you’d ever imagine,” she said. “When George Floyd was killed in May, riots began, and attention started to turn toward companies and individuals — forcing them to think about their behaviors when it came to inclusion, racism, etc. As a result, many companies would get on Instagram and share their faults within the realms of racism and be vulnerable to their followers. Typically it would be followed up with an action plan of sorts on how they plan to move forward. Bon Appétit did that.”
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Tracey first reached out to the magazine during the May riots, and commented on a post of theirs highlighting how she, as a Black vegan chef, would love to work with a brand like Bon Appétit, and they answered. “My comment sort of went viral from a ‘likes’ perspective,” she recalled. “Next thing I knew, I had an email Continued on page 18
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ening product, and a gas mask. — History.com
Constance Motley Photo: Library of Congress
A New Haven-born warrior for justice Constance Baker Motley was a longtime Connecticut resident and a trailblazer for women of color. In 1946, she became the first Black woman to graduate from Columbia University School of Law. She also was the first African American to serve as a New York state senator and the first African American woman to serve as a federal judge. — Connecticuthistory.org
Deja Durant, owner of Mind, Body & Soul Food, right, and brother Drew Durant, left, reflect on the success of the business at 511 W. Main St., Meriden, Wed., Jan. 13, 2021. Photo: Dave Zajac, Record-Journal
BLACK-OWNED BUSINESSES TAKE HOLD AND BRING NEW VITALITY TO THE CITY By Faith Williams Record-Journal staff MERIDEN – In recent years, Meriden has seen a rise of Black-owned businesses in various industries and some are saying that Black Lives Matter has helped encourage the increase. City Economic Development Director Joseph Feest said that although there is no record, he has noticed an increase of Black-owned businesses in Meriden.
police officer, on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck while he lay on the ground and pleaded for more than eight minutes, “I can’t breathe.” Floyd’s death led to a summer of protests and marches calling for justice.
On a national level, Yelp reported a huge increase in searches for Black-owned businesses during that same Additionally, last summer, NBC timeframe — more than a 7,000% increase, with more News Connecticut reported than 2,500,000 searches for that Black-owned businesses around the state were seeing a Black-owned businesses comspike in sales and gave numer- pared to approximately 35,000 ous examples of increased traf- over the same time period the fic for both start-ups and estab- year before. lished businesses. This wave of Here are some of the local new engagement came as the Black-owned businesses: Black Lives Matter movement American Soul Kitchen, gained greater recognition and 164 Scott St. support coinciding with the Meriden native Richard PenGeorge Floyd protests. nyman opened American Soul Floyd, a Black man, was killed Kitchen and Bar in late 2019 by Derek Chauvin, a white just before the COVID pan-
demic. Although in a struggling industry, the restaurant has been able to maintain steady business. Pennyman said it was essential to bring a new experience to Meriden and be able to share his culture and passion with the community he grew up in. “It was important to me to want to have soul food showcased in a setting where if you want to be at a table, booth or bar, you can do that,” the owner said. “Growing up, the soul food restaurants that were here in Connecticut were mostly takeout.” Mind, Body & Soulfood, 511 W. Main St. On the other side of Meriden, Deja Durant, co-owner of Mind, Body & Soulfood, spoke of the significance of being a Black man with a business in his hometown. “Growing up, my friends’ Continued on page 19
Revolutionizer of refrigeration industry Frederick McKinley Jones was a self-taught, African American engineer. He also was an inventor, entrepreneur, winner of the National Medal of Technology, and an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Jones patented more than 60 inventions in his lifetime. While more than 40 of those patents were in the field of refrigeration, Jones is most famous for inventing an automatic refrigeration system that’s used to refrigerate goods on trucks and railroad cars. — History.com nkorytnikova@record-journal.com jsimms@record-journal.com
NAACP from page 14
have since joined the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP and can offer support to the youth council. “We’re looking to cultivate through them to start back up and get students from Platt and Maloney,” Hayes said. “We have a good program to really help to cultivate leaders and help them with leadership skills and everything.” jsimms@record-journal.com
Meriden-Wallingford NAACP Board of Directors Photo courtesy of Kim Fisher
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CHEF TRACY from page 16
from a talent manager from Condé Nast (owner of Bon Appétit), and then interviews happened very quickly after that.” In one of the three videos she has with the magazine, Tracey is challenged to create a vegan banh mi (Vietnamese baguette) sandwich faster than take-out can deliver; which, for the video, meant in under 30 minutes.
Dr. Aleesha Grier-Rogers, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Cheshire Academy. Photo: Michael Torelli, Cheshire Academy
A LEADER FOR CHANGE: CHESHIRE ACADEMY’S DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION By Joy VanderLek Special to the Record-Journal CHESHIRE – Dr. Aleesha Grier-Rogers, director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, at Cheshire Academy oversees a wide range of diversity initiatives for the campus. She’s also a member of the school’s class of 1990. “In my work, I always focus on the individual and all of the experiences that the individual is bringing to the table,” Grier-Rogers said. “So, from that perspective, you cannot ignore the different experiences that a person of color has versus someone who is white. It’s just different. So, yes, someone of color would be impacted differently by different experiences because they have these experiences of discrimination and disparity and bias that are also a part of their lives.” As a Black woman, Grier-Rogers said it’s important for her to serve as a mentor to other women of color, just as she herself received encouragement from women in academia. “You cannot separate gender from race,” she said. “When I think about my intersecting identities as a person of color and as a woman, the obstacles I have encountered — I have overcome them through the support of my family, my friends and the phenomenal women
who have mentored me along the way.” Her mentors include Katurah Bryant, who she met at Yale. Bryant is a marriage and family therapist, registered nurse and detox specialist. Bryant gave the keynote address, “Updates on the Dream”, at the academy’s recent Martin Luther King Jr. Day event. Another mentor was Dr. Tami Sullivan from Yale School of Medicine, who taught Grier-Rogers to push herself in Yale’s competitive environment. Kathy McCloskey was Grier-Rogers’ mentor in graduate school at the University of Hartford’s Department of Psychology. McCloskey focuses on diversity issues in psychology. “She was the first person to get me to think more about multiculturalism and the impact of diversity in individual backgrounds of a client’s mental health and wellness,” Grier-Rogers said. Grier-Rogers is a licensed clinical psychologist who worked with underserved populations in community healthcare before coming full circle to return to her hometown and her alma mater at Cheshire Academy. She was promoted to director this year, Continued on next page
“I chose to do a banh mi sandwich because it is one of my favorites,” she explained. “I was introduced to a little holein-the-wall (restaurant) called Pho Saigon in West Hartford that made the best vegan banh mi sandwich, and I wanted to showcase the delicious food that Vietnamese culture brings to the table and highlight a dish people might not know about, because those sandwiches are truly delicious!” Tracey’s talents don’t just stop at Bon Appétit videos. She also runs a vegan meal delivery and meal prep service. “My hobbies have always been food and art, and my life is currently a conglomerate of all of that.” she said. “I spent many years in technology working for Apple, but realized I would only be happy doing things I was passionate about. (So) in 2020, I took a chance and made food and art my focus. I am a freelance web developer and graphic designer, and I run a vegan meal delivery company called Vegan Vibes Meal Prep, which is a subsidiary of my business, Chrissy’s” Tracey is also conscious of the current economic climate, and aims to use her passions to help others “When I can, my team donates meals to food-insecure families in New Haven” she added. “I always believed that if you have a gift, you should use it to help others, so I do just that.” Tracey credits her entrepreneurial beginnings to a few
teachers she had at Cheshire High School, who helped spark her ideas and guide her talents. “I do want to shout out two of my high school teachers, Michael Earley and Leslie Paier, for inspiring my artistic and entrepreneurial journeys,” she said. “Those were two teachers who always truly encouraged me and embraced my thoughts and ideas while I was in high school. “Ms. Paier is the reason I pursued entrepreneurship — I’ve had this idea to run a vegetarian/vegan meal company since I was in high school, and now I am living that dream and still creating a lot of art, “ she continued. “I am so thankful for them and wouldn’t be here without their endless encouragement and inspiration.” While 2020 was an exceptional year for Tracey, she has her eyes set on 2021 and all that is in store for the future. “I hope that in 2021 I can continue my mission of fighting food insecurity, as well as continuing to highlight how delicious plant-based food can be and bringing it to the masses,” she said. “Everything my company brings to the table is fresh, organic, and made from scratch. Many people question why the pricing is low for my business — and the truth is, I know I can charge more, but that defeats my purpose of making plant-based meals accessible to the masses. One thing I can say is, we never compromise on quality and I hope people are encouraged to try the meals that I create with so much love.” But what is Tracey’s biggest dream? To own and operate her very own vegan food truck. Visit www.veganvibesmealprep.com to learn more about Tracey’s business. Her Bon Appétit videos are available at www.bonappetit.com/ search/chrissy%20tracey.
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The Lab, 34 High St.
parents that owned businesses were usually Caucasian,” Durant said. “I didn’t really see any Black-owned businesses. “
The Lab: A Creative Space for the Arts is still working on gaining traction as it has only been open for a little over a year.
Durant and his brother Drew Durant opened the restaurant in the midst of the pandemic, knowing the community would support them. The brothers said they appreciated the awareness that the Black Lives Matter movement brought to social injustices past and present. “As a Black man, I’ve always known what’s been going on,” Durant said. “But, I like that more people are more aware and calling things out.” B.L.A.C.K. apparel Parrish Holloman, NAACP youth president for Middlesex County and a self-proclaimed activist, organized a march in Meriden this past summer in remembrance of George Floyd. However, his activism didn’t begin in 2020. “My mother was the president of the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP when I was younger so I’ve been involved with this my whole life,” he said. Holloman said his goals include mentoring youth and increasing diversity in all aspects of the community, including schools and jobs. A new apparel line he created — B.L.A.C.K. — is set to release next month. The acronym stands for “Building Leaders And Cultivating Knowledge.” “I just want to be the voice of the youth,” Holloman said. “I want to be the person in the middle that can bridge that gap, that’s kind of what my brand is saying.” Derell’s Andre Collins created Derell’s to be an outlet for people to express with colors in a way they wouldn’t have before. The brand specializes in using
“Being a Black-owned business, it is something to be proud of,” owner Gerald Lovelace said. “I noticed there isn’t a lot in Meriden which led to me doing what I am doing now: being a Black man with my own business.”
stepping up from her position as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion coordinator the previous year. Earning her pre-doctoral and postdoctoral degrees at Yale School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Addictions, Grier-Rogers serves as a clinical faculty member at Yale. She also has taught at Southern Connecticut State University for more than a decade. Grier-Rogers is on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion task force which works on issues such as updating policies and procedures, and looking at hiring and retention.
Since he was a teenager, he has been interested in photography, videography and dance. Dance classes are often recorded and posted to the studio’s Instagram account.
Niche.com ranks Cheshire Academy, located at 10 Main St., as number seven on its list of most diverse private high schools in Connecticut, out of more than 70 schools, and gives it an A-plus rating on this count. According to usaschoolinfo.com, the academy’s student body includes five ethnicities. The largest ethnic group of the approximately 365 students is white, 63.9 %, followed by: Asian, 27.3 %; Hispanic, 5.2 %; Black, 3 %; and Indian, .6 %.
The Lab is not a typical studio where a class has one dance instructor for a year. Students can come to classes when they like, with rotating instructors teaching various genres of dance.
Grier-Rogers’ work at the academy includes program and event planning that often is developed with student input. “We have speakers who come to talk about diversity issues during the course of the year,” Grier-Rogers said. This year’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration is one such event Grier-Rogers helped plan with academy students. Another program Grier-Rogers helped students get involved with was The Students Diversity Leadership Conference, the youth portion of the annual People of Color Conference was held in late November, early December. Four students from the academy attended the virtual conference as a delegation of affinity students.
“2020 was the year where people had the courage to actually act on things and speak up,” the stylist said.
“It’s a great opportunity for others who look like me and people who don’t look like me to see me with this skin color and say, ‘He’s able to do it and the possibilities are endless,’” Lovelace said. “After George Floyd, I changed our logo to a fist with Black Lives Matter under it. Yeah, we are a business and we are diverse, but at the end of the day this is a Black-owned business and Black Lives Matter.”
Because he is a new business and designs, sews and markets his brand entirely himself, Collins has experienced the hardships of being a business owner.
The city also has several other Black-owned businesses listed on shopBlackct.com including Brosily Bath and Body, Legendz Barbershop and Bentley’s Little Jamaican Cuisine.
“Working to promote awareness of social justice on campus is also a huge part of my job,” said Grier-Rogers.
“I do think I have to work harder, being that I am a gay, Black male trying to start up a business,” Collins said, comparing to larger brands with white people behind them. “Being a Black-owned business, the more you believe in your business, the more attraction and customers you’ll gain.”
“Meriden has always seen various races and cultures opening new businesses and the ever-growing trend of Black-owned businesses is great and we wish them the best,” Economic Development Director Feest said.
Andre Collins created “Derell’s” to be an outlet for people to express with colors in a way they wouldn’t have before.The brand specializes in using rare fabrics to create one-of-a-kind custom pieces. Photo courtesy of Andre Collins
rare fabrics to create one-ofa-kind custom pieces. More about Derell’s can be found at https://fashionmingle.net/ The former Meriden resident said the Black Lives Matter movement helped open his eyes to his own history. He also appreciates that more people are aware of social injustice.
fwilliams@record-journal.com 203-317-2373 Twitter: @faith_williams2
“They learned so much and said it was one of the most amazing experiences they ever had,” said Grier-Rogers. Helping the academy’s student affinity groups is still another way Grier-Rogers supports students with diversity, equity and inclusion issues, often referred to as DEI.
Serving as a faculty advisor for a couple of the groups on campus is another dimension of her work she enjoys. The Black Student Union is dedicated to promoting awareness on campus, she said. The Student Equity Team, new this year, is an affinity and leadership group which allows students to learn about social justice and DEI concepts and “we teach them to be allies and advocates for other students in the community,” said Grier-Rogers. Additionally, she is part of the academy’s leadership team. “I get to collaborate with all of the departments on campus and have the opportunity to look at things through the DEI lens,” she said.
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“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.” – Anonymous
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Recognizing the trailblazers and history-makers in the field of medicine.
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L’Merchie Frazier, an artist and the director of education and interpretation for the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket Photo: Museum of African American History
ARTISTS SPEAK OF RACE, COLOR AND CREATING A NEW CULTURE By Jessica Simms Special to the Record-Journal Jocelyn & Titus Pannell
ARTIST COUPLE NAVIGATED RACE ISSUES EACH IN THEIR OWN WAY By Joy VanderLek Special to the Record-Journal Jocelyn Pannell is an art teacher in the Southington Public School system, working at Hatton and Thalberg elementary schools. Pannell said she loves working with young children and adds that they’re generally open and honest. She grew up in Cheshire, the child of a white mother and Black father. During the time of the Black Lives Matter protests last spring, one second grader asked Pannell if she was “sad about what was happening on TV.” “I knew what she meant. She recognized that I had dark skin,” Pannell said. The question caught Pannell offguard. Skin color never came up in the course of her daily classroom work, no child had ever made a comment or appeared to notice. “It was random. I thought that was interesting. Also, I was very proud of
her for asking,” said Pannell. “Maybe she was having that conversation at home; that it wasn’t right these things were happening.” Jocelyn’s husband, Titus Pannell also is an artist. The couple have been married for almost five years and, currently live in Wallingford. Titus works as a production coordinator for Elim Park’s Nelson Hall, in Cheshire. He also creates children’s books and graphic novels. Recently, he self-published a children’s chapter book, co-authored with his friend Travis Woronowicz, called “Return to Eden.”
person and a man and bring the two together,” he said. He’s thankful to have been blessed with male mentors who helped guide him as best they could when he was growing up. He went on to serve in the Marine Corps and earned his master’s degree in traditional animation. He also has undergraduate degrees in biology and theology. He’s quick to explain that he, “is not looking for sympathy. I am not looking for racism in the world.”
However, “Like most people, I came into the world thinking we are all equal. There are people who don’t The Pannells described their different feel the same way and those people experiences growing up and how express themselves in very interissues of race were handled in their esting and unique and subtle ways respective households during their sometimes,” he said. earlier years. At first, Titus Pannell questioned Titus Pannell was raised by his single mother, Mammie Pannell. “Without my father to guide me, I had to learn what it meant to be a Black
himself. “Was it me?” He’d try to change himself, things he said or the Continued on next page
SOUTHINGTON — To help the community understand the concept of race and color in society, the Make It Different Foundation held an event last October called “What is Color? What is Race? — A Presentation of Black” at Southington Community Cultural Arts. “I am a woman of color and I’m looking at myself in this light community and everyone is speaking for me, everyone is speaking for my group, everyone is speaking for the persons affected by the problem,” said Deborah Garner, president/founder of Make It Different Foundation. “… This situation puts the entire community in jeopardy. Race and color and racism and colorism, all of the things that stem from that. I just felt that wouldn’t it be a nice idea if we can take a step back from the emotional charge from the issues and look at the root of the issues, which is this construct of race, which is an idea.” Through a series of art disContinued on next page
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way he acted, or by not talking at all. When he kept seeing the same problems come around, he realized there was nothing he could do to change anything. “It was the people,” he said, although not everyone.
plays, lectures and historical exhibits, the event examined the nomenclature of Black America, themes of color and ethnicity. “Can we begin to create a different kind of culture in this community, in this very white elite community?” Garner said. “Can we begin to change how we view one another and appreciate what it means to be Black? What does it really mean and where does it come from? What are some of the real contributions and is this not a human issue, is it really about race and color or is it about people?”
Jocelyn Pannell was born in Cheshire and grew up there in 1990s, with a biracial couple as her parents. While she was aware she was different from most of her peers and noticed, “I am the only one,” the fact did not bother her at the time, she said. “For years it was the norm …you are always going to be the one who is different,” was the way adolescents thought about it. Her parents, Karen and Joe Pugh, never gave her reason to think twice about her ethnicity and Jocelyn recollects no in-depth talk about race when she was growing up. While she realized she was different, coming from a biracial family, it wasn’t a defining issue for her. Jocelyn can’t say for sure, but she believes that her brother was given more of an insight into racism and the need to be careful while she was shielded from those realities. It was only when Jocelyn Pannell was older that she heard about racism from older family relations and began to have insight into the significance of her heritage. “My father was one of 14 children in his family, raised on a farm in the south,” she said. “When the extended family got together, with my aunts and uncles, that’s when the stories would come out.” Overall, though, Jocelyn’s path was clear and unencumbered by issues of race. It was Jocelyn’s grandmother Virginia Doucette who inspired her to develop her skills as an artist. When her grandmother retired and began to paint, Pannell would sit and paint next to her. “That’s how I got my itch through art,” she said, adding that at the age of five, she was allowed to take classes at Artsplace, a free-standing art school owned by the Town of Cheshire and affiliated with the Cheshire Public Library. Early on, when Jocelyn Pannell was getting
Titus Pannell at work in his studio. involved with the organization, art classes were held in the old firehouse building on Maple Avenue. She noted that Artsplace director, Joan Pilarcyzk, “has known me a long time.” When she told her mother she wanted to be an artist, her mother remarked, “There’s a reason why they call them ‘starving’ artists, you know.” It made sense to become an art teacher. She’d enjoyed her time working as a babysitter in high school as well as working as a nanny during college breaks. Putting art, teaching and kids together, worked well. As an artist, Titus Pannell supposes it is in his nature to be sensitive. However, to be met face-to-face with racism, especially after Barack Obama was president and he (Titus) had served honorably in the Marine Corps, is “disheartening.” What pulls him back to a joyful place is his work, his art and his wife, who he calls “his anchor.” Titus Pannell also credits Jocelyn’s father. “I didn’t have a father figure growing up, so I see him as my surrogate father. I cherish Jocelyn’s father,” Titus said. All of it encourages him and helps him to grow as an artist — and to do something more positive in order for people to find more hope in the world today.
The event was split into four thematic weeks. The first focused on the history of race origins and the second was all about Black innovation and invention. “The first one being deconstructing what race is as a concept,” Garner said. “I felt like that was the foundation for everything else. Then the Black innovation and invention was really challenging the slavery narrative because most of our education around African Americans specifically is all based on the slavery era, but our history goes back to the beginning of human existence …” Week three examined “the revelation of the soul” and the final week celebrated the idea of “creating a culture of honor.” Garner included speakers and artists outside her foundation. “I come from a community background in Greater Hartford and I’ve been working in the community for the last at least 30 years of my life and I come from a family of civil rights activists and community builders and political people so that’s sort of in my bones,” Garner said. Frederick Douglass Knowles II, Hartford’s first poet laureate, performed two poems as part of the event. “The first poem was titled ‘Griot the Great’ and really paid homage to storytelling,” Knowles said. “In African culture, griots were the storytellers. They were also the elders of the village and they would gather the youth around … and really share
stories. Because in African ancestry that is how stories are passed down through the oral tradition … The second poem (‘Secrets’) was about social/racial injustice specifically dealing with police brutality and the shooting of Black men so it really just tells the story of how frustrating it is and really how there’s a lack of humanity when it comes to Black males in the American culture.” L’Merchie Frazier, an artist and the director of education and interpretation for the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket, was contacted by Garner to give a lecture at the event. “My pointed lecture was to talk about an expanded narrative and placement and understanding of African American history within the parameters of Western hemispheric activity from the 1500s forward and its impact on African American art and culture,” Frazier said. Frazier’s main objective is to inform and encourage people to want to learn more. “So people would look for the truth, that people would question why they have not been taught aspects of the connectedness of Africa, African American history and the proceeding impact of American history that we witness in the tensions of protests and addressing a pandemic of racism,” Frazier said. ...for people to then find themselves informed… and not only rely on the mythology that they have been given but to then investigate.” While the event took place months ago, Garner hopes people will take away the idea of challenging the narrative. “Don’t just accept a narrative because it has the word Black on it or because it has the word white on it,” Garner said. “Dig a little deeper, look a little bit further, go a little bit farther because doing that, you really get to examine a lot of the motivation behind the cultural narratives, the agendas and all of those kinds of things that perpetuate this agenda.” jsimms@record-journal.com 203-317-2208 Twitter: @jessica_simms99
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CHANGING THE COURSE OF EVENTS THROUGH PHILANTHROPY Curtis D. and Sheila D. Robinson, of Southington, are well known for leadership and philanthropy in their local community and beyond. In recent years each has been recognized for their monetary contributions — but also for their visionary thinking and actions. Here are some highlights from Record-Journal stories.
Robinson and his wife also provide support for a wide array of causes through the Curtis and Sheila Robinson Foundation.
A businessman and entrepreneur, Robinson heads C & R Development Co. Inc. with offices in Hartford and East Granby. He was the 2018 recipient of the UNICO gold medal award for his charitable work in SouthLast fall, the Queen Ann ington and throughout Nzinga Center Inc., of the state. Since he and New Britain, a multiculSheila moved to Southtural arts program, recogington over 20 years ago, nized Curtis D. Robinson Bread for Life, Southingfor his work to improve ton Community Services services for men with and the fire and police Sheila D. Robinson prostate cancer. The Curdepartments have all retis D. Robinson Center for Health Equity ceived support. works to address racial and health dispar- “God has been so good to me,” Robinson ities. Its philanthropy towards these goals said, “I know how it is to walk the street included assisting men with prostate can- and be hungry and have nowhere to go.” cer who did not have insurance. Robin- Robinson said his experience struggling son’s donation to St. Francis Hospital and in his early years leads him to try to help Medical Center helped establish a clinic anyone he can. to assist men with this diagnosis, The Curtis D. Robinson Men’s Health Institute at Robinson, 77, grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where he frequently faced disSt. Francis. crimination. His mother, fearing that the “Mr. Robinson is an exemplary role mod- Ku Klux Klan would hurt him after a run– el for the children and teens who partic- in at his job, sent him by bus to Boston. ipate in the Queen Ann Nzinga Center Robinson said he got off at the wrong stop programs,” said Dayna Snell, executive and ended up in Hartford with little mondirector at the Queen Ann Nzinga Cen- ey, no job and nowhere to live at age 16. ter. “His success inspires youth to reach their full potential, dream big, never give He got a job at an Asylum Avenue hotel, up and always give back.” Continued on page 25
Curtis D. Robinson
Jahana Hayes
HAYES’ HISTORIC ROLE REPRESENTING THE 5TH DISTRICT Congresswoman Jahana Hayes is serving her second term representing the state’s Fifth Congressional District in the U.S. House. She was first elected in November 2018, making her the first Black woman to represent Connecticut in Congress. In 2020, Hayes was re-elected. The district includes Meriden, Cheshire and Plainville. Named the 2016 National Teacher of the Year among other honors, Hayes’ government biography describes her story as “one of achievement despite the odds and overcoming the obstacles that life can place before you.” During her 2020 campaign, she was subjected to a blatant act of racism when a Zoom meeting was hacked by a group of individuals using racial slurs. Areas of legislative focus for Congresswoman Hayes are equitable access to quality education, affordable health care for everyone, labor, agriculture, and the environment. Additional priority areas include: immigration reform,
gun violence prevention, veterans’ issues, social justice, transportation, and working in a bipartisan way to bring positive change to the lives of every person in our community. She currently sits on the full House committees of Education and Labor, and Agriculture. Her subcommittee assignments include Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, Civil Rights and Human Services, Livestock and Foreign Agriculture, Nutrition/Oversight and Department Operations. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, ProChoice Caucus, Coalition for Autism Research and Education Caucus, and Co-chair of the College Affordability Caucus. Congresswoman Hayes serves on the Emergency Task Force on Black Youth Suicide and Mental Health, Education and Labor Task Force, Freshman Working Group on Addiction, Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and is a Deputy Whip. Compiled from AP, Record-Journal and house.gov sources.
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Speakers talk about Black history in Plainville during a presentation at the historical society.
PLAINVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY CELEBRATES LOCAL BLACK HISTORY By Devin Leith-Yessian Record-Journal staff PLAINVILLE — The Plainville Historical Society’s expert on the history of local residents traced African Americans’ impact on the region at an event last year.
Black governors in the early 1800s, an African tradition where Black residents elected someone to lead them. “He was considered a leader. Lyman Homer was not a slave,” Williams said. “At election time, it was said that he would ride around on a horse dressed in military clothing ...”
“There’s just so much richness here,” said Dayne Snell, whose mother Gail Williams spoke about slavery, civil rights and the accomplishments of local people dating back centuries during a presentation marking Black History Month. Williams said Prince Livingstone Jr., a descendant of an African prince, was abducted and eventually brought to Connecticut, where he and his son were slaves. Livingstone Jr. was a carpenter and helped build the First Congregational Church in Bristol. “Every time I come and hear her presentation, there’s something that I didn’t know before and that jumps out at me,” said William Fothergill, who traces his ancestry back to two slaves who lived in Farmington.
About 40 years later, Homer’s grandson, Horatio Homer, would become Boston’s first Black police officer.
Attendees at a recent Plainville Historical Society presentation for Black history month look at some exhibits. Photos: Devin Leith Yessian, Record-Journal
Fothergill was happy to see a diverse audience at the presentation, held at the Plainville Historic Center, 29 Pierce St.
Lyman Homer was another Black Farmington resident who would shape the future of Plainville. He was elected to be one of Connecticut’s
Attendees also learned of Plainville’s connection to the 1839 slave revolt aboard the Spanish ship La Amistad — the slaves passed through Bristol Basin, now part of the town, as they were transported to Hartford via the Farmington Canal. The fate of the Amistad captives became a cause among abolitionists, and they were represented in court by former President John Quincy Adams. The Supreme Court ruled in their favor and 35 of them eventually returned to Africa.
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saving money and buying a small grocery store at age 18 for $7,500. “I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know how to price anything,” Robinson said. “I found out the hard way.” Before long, he owned a restaurant, grocery store, cleaners, apartment building and construction supply company. He eventually owned the hotel where he’d started out as a dishwasher. In 1969, 11 years after moving to Hartford, he started the Small Business Development Program, creating more than 100 small businesses in the greater Hartford and Springfield, Massachusetts areas. Today the Curtis D. Robinson Center for Business and Innovation continues to support emerging entrepreneurs. Sheila D. Robinson also was honored by the Queen Ann Niginza Center in 2019 at the 10th Annual Constance Renee Wilson Collins Exceptional Women’s awards Her community work includes serving as the honorary chairperson for the 2011-12 United Way of Southington campaign.
RENOWNED BALLERINA FEATURED IN ‘DANCE THE DREAM’ Submitted In recognition of Black History Month last year, the Plainville Historical Society presented a program with a local African-American history connection, “Rena Robinson-Steiner: Dance the Dream.”
ing story of renowned dancer Rena Robinson-Steiner, who grew up in town. She is the daughter of Norene and Frank Robinson, who are longtime residents and active members of the community.
Gail Johnson Williams, the society’s expert on Plainville’s rich heritage of African American history, gave the presentation.
Born in Germany while her father was stationed abroad with the military, Robinson-Steiner studied dance from an early age. She was a student at Wheeler School, Plainville Junior
The program tells the inspir-
High and Watkinson School, where she graduated as valedictorian in 1983. Robinson-Steiner was with the Hartford Ballet and danced in their “Nutcracker” production. She went on to perform with the Hamburg Ballet in Germany and the Dance Theater of Harlem. After marrying, she also spent time in Africa, where she taught dance. She now lives on the West Coast.
Dear Readers, There are more Black History Month articles in the online version of this publication. To read them, visit our website:
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“I live the philosophy of giving back, paying it forward, philanthropy, and the Holy Scriptures’ teaching that ‘It is better to give than to receive’,” Sheila Robinson said. “The source I connect with is God. He gets the credit for everything in my life. My husband Curtis’ life’s framework is on compassionate giving.” Sheila Robinson grew up in Bridgeport and taught in the school system there. “I saw many children who would go without. I would think to myself if they only got a hand up, their lives in their current state might be different,” she said, adding that the Robinsons’ foundation has often been able to help. “Curtis and I live for the soul and not the body. Now, with our whole family, our focus while on this Earth is to help as many as we can. It is realistic to say we are not able to help everyone, but we are humble to say that by faith we know thousands of lives have been touched over the years — not just in Southington, but Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport; all over the state, the nation and the world,” Sheila Robinson said. Sheila Robinson described aid the couple’s foundation had given to people in Southington. Those “who did not have the money to put gas in their cars, we blessed 200 cars with $20 in gas plus additional monetary support that helped men and women to buy more gas, or groceries — because they now didn’t have to go without to purchase medication, (we also gave) a few dollars for their son or daughter who needed money for school.” Curtis Robinson also is a past president of The Lions Club. He is listed in Who’s Who Among Black Americans and was named one of the 100 most influential Black men in Connecticut by the NAACP. He won the Hartford Business Journal’s Diversity Award in 2009. In 2010, he and his wife were awarded the Tuskegee George Washington Carver Humanitarian Award. “God made Adam and Eve,” he said. “There’s only one race: the human race.”
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Milo Hotchkiss house on 289 Main St. dates as far back as 1855 and is believed to have ties to the Underground Railroad. Photo: Nadya Korytnikova
LOCAL RESIDENT ACTIVE IN ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT By Nadya Korytnikova Record-Journal staff BERLIN — Now a private property, the house at 289 Main St. was once a home to Milo Hotchkiss — an avid anti-slavery advocate and, possibly, an Underground Railroad member.
1831 they moved to Berlin, where Hotchkiss built his family home in 1855.
New Britain and then on to Farmington.”
Like many anti-slavery advocates, Hotchkiss frequently faced violent public opposition. Mobs occasionLocated next to the Berlin Historical ally vandalized his home and once Society, the Hotchkiss’ family home even attacked Hotchkiss while he is frequently referred to as a “wedwas attending an antislavery meeting ding cake house” — with each floor Most likely, Hotchkiss used his house in Meriden. similar to a tier of cake. Others say to shelter runaway slaves, according “In the mid-1850s there weren’t the house resembles a 19th-century to historian Strother Horatio. In his many people of color in town,” said riverboat. book, “The Underground Railroad Sallie Caliandri, president of the BerThroughout his life, Hotchkiss was in Connecticut,” Horatio wrote: “A lin Historical Society. “It was a very a portrait painter, teacher, farmer, minister in Meriden, Rev. George W. homogeneous society, at least here justice of the peace, and a member of Perkins often hid fugitives in his barn in Berlin, and people who were difthe Board of Education for 40 years. or attic. He probably then took them ferent were looked at with suspicion.” He was born in 1802 in the state of to the Milo Hotchkiss way station in Hotchkiss died in October of 1874, New York. He married Rhoda Barrett, Kensington. From there they would at the age of 72. He and his wife with whom he had six children. In get taken to the Stanley Quarter in Historical records indicate that Hotchkiss was a part of the Underground Railroad — a network of people offering aid to escaped slaves from the South.
are buried in the Ledge Cemetery. Hotchkiss lived long enough to see some of his early opponents change their views on slavery, according to Berlin-Peck Memorial Library assistant director Cathy Nelson. “He was one of the leaders of the antislavery movement in the state and certainly in the town of Berlin,” said Nelson. In the obituary, it was noted that just before his death, Hotchkiss said: “The greatest delight of my life has been to watch and see the moral progress of the world.” nKorytnikova@record-journal.com 203-317-2444 Twitter: @n_korytnikova
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CAPE VERDE FAMILIES WHO MIGRATED TO THE AREA FOCUS OF DISCUSSION
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PLAINVILLE — In 2018, The Plainville Historical Society hosted a program highlighting the history of local people who migrated from the Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. “There are several (Cape Verdean) families in Plainville,” said Gertrude LaCombe, of the historical society. The people who migrated from Cape Verde came in search of a better life in America. The migration was not part of the slave trade. Several Cape Verdean families came to live in area towns such as Plainville, New Britain and Waterbury. “I think it’s an interesting history,” said Gail Williams, a Plainville resident and one of the program speakers. Also leading the discussion on the culture and history of Cape Verde people was Valeriana Angelina Gomes DeBrito. While Williams was born in Plainville, DeBrito was born on the island of Soa Nicolau in the Cape Verde Islands before settling in Waterbury in the 1970s. DeBrito shared her experiences growing up, as well as a recent trip back to the island. The program also told about the late Plainville native Lena Santos Ferguson’s fight to break the color barrier and become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. “It’s a good history lesson,” Williams said.
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5 1. James Halstead, Civil War Veteran, 54th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, Company A. 2. Douglas Mason Plainville’s 1st African American businessman. Married to Adeline Grant, Scatacote Indian. 3. Charles Lester O’Neil, Sr., Son of Ellen Booth O’Neil Naaman. Charles was one of the founders of Redeemer’s A.M.E. Zion Church. He and his wife, Bessie, were the first custodians. 4. Clifton Leraoy Johnson Came to Plainville in 1909 so his children could get a good education. 5. Ancient United Sons & Daughters of Africa parade on W. Main Street Plainville. 1920’s.
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Sam Kimble’s Band
Sam Kimble’s Band is pictured: Al Ayers, Sam Kimble, Gail Johnson, Leon Stinson, Taffie Ann Walker and Henry Bentley.
PLAINVILLE’S RICH LEGACY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSICIANS Submitted Gail Johnson Williams, the Plainville Historical Society’s specialist in local African American history, offers a look at the history of Plainville’s Black musicians and bands on the organization’s website, plainvillehistoricalsociety. com.
Kimble’s band and was the only woman R&B electric bass player among area bands.
A Plainville native, Williams has presented numerous programs related to the important role of the African American community in town.
In her article posted to the historical society website, Williams brings the world of local African American music alive. She tells of parties and music at the Halsted home on Pearl Street in the
She was a long-time member of Sam
In the 1990s, she founded Nzinga’s Daughters, a well-known women’s group that has performed African and African American music.
1920s, George Peters’ bands, such as the Majestic Orchestra in the 20s and 30s, and Amateur Night at the Strand Movie theater in the center of town. Two legendary band leaders, Sam Kimble and Bob Beverly (Royalaires and the Velvetones), also are covered in the article, as are the musical connections with the A.M.E. Redeemer’s Zion Church over the years. Williams also describes the story of Nzinga’s Daughters and the message
of social consciousness which has been woven into the group’s songs and performances. The article includes a list of additional African American musicians from Plainville. The writer’s work documents and preserves a rich legacy. The historical society invites the public to learn about this important and fascinating part of the town’s cultural history.