Demonstration For Diversity In Education Set For Danbury

DANBURY, CT —A group demanding that state legislators and city leaders "prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion" in Danbury students' education will be holding a demonstration on Aug. 8 from 2-3 p.m. at the Danbury Green.

Organizers say the state's plan for reopening the schools in the fall favor some ethnic and economic groups over others.

"Danbury schools are increasingly overcrowded and many families lack technology access for remote learning to be a possibility," said spokesperson Adele McConnell. "The prospect of a continued or restarted shutdown could be devastating for Danbury students with the greatest educational support needs. Part of our goal with this demonstration is to fight for a just school year that doesn’t leave behind families of color, especially those within Danbury’s growing Latino community."

McConnell is the communications director for Prospect Schools, who have been cleared by the state Board of Education to open Danbury's first charter school this fall, if the state legislature comes up with the money.

"Education in Danbury is at a meaningful crossroads," said Jose Lucas Pimentel, who is leading the grassroots organizing efforts for Danbury Prospect. "Now is the time to center equity in any conversation about schools, teachers, students and the doors that education can open. Our Black and Latino students have been harmed by systemic racism for far too long, and they are not getting the education they deserve."

Alongside Prospect Schools, the coalition promoting Saturday's rally includes The Ecuadorian Civic Center, Radical Advocates for Cross-Cultural Education (R.A.C.C.E.), Black Visionaries of CT, Niyah Zuri, the Ecuadorian Civic Center, Latinos for Educational Advocacy in Danbury, and New Hope Baptist Church.

"The front line fight for racial justice resides at the intersection where our education system collides with all other systems of oppression," Robert Goodrich, Co-Founder of R.A.C.C.E., told Patch. "Racial equity in our schools goes a long way to ensuring racial justice can be achieved in our state writ large."