Black Lives Matter March Closes Main Street In Stratford

STRATFORD, CT — Protesters in Stratford shut down Main Street during a Black Lives Matter march Saturday, one of many held locally and nationally after Minnesota man Georgia Floyd died last month in police custody.

“Black men are already scared and already guilty before they’re even born,” Bridgeport school board member Bobbi Brown told the Stratford crowd while standing on the steps of the Paradise Green gazebo before the march.

The circumstances of Floyd’s death sparked protests across the country, which have continued for weeks, including at least one previous demonstration in Stratford. Fired Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, seen in a viral video with his knee on Floyd's neck, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Three other former officers are also charged in connection with the death.

“For 400 years, black people in American have had someone’s foot on their neck,” Stratford attorney Donald Smart said after the march, talking from the steps of Stratford Town Hall.

The protesters, chanting and waving signs, walked the length of Main Street from the green to town hall, closing the roadway to vehicles with the assistance of Stratford police. Cassandra Charles, who organized the event, worked with local law enforcement to ensure the march would be safe for demonstrators and drivers alike. Charles, a Stratford resident and daycare worker, said Saturday’s protest was the first she had organized, and that she hoped to raise awareness and inspire change.

Speakers encouraged the crowd — which appeared to number in the hundreds — to complete the 2020 Census, register to vote and contact their elected representatives. Those who spoke also called for more black history to be taught in schools and for an end to qualified immunity. Smart mentioned the upcoming Connecticut legislative special session on police reform.

“This summer there is an opportunity to have a say,” he said.

Stratford resident Kim Rice spoke against the town honoring William Samuel Johnson, a founding father who signed the U.S. Constitution, lived in Stratford and owned slaves.

“We are done with that part of our history,” Rice said, urging demonstrators who shared her sentiment to contact Mayor Laura Hoydick.

Some members of the crowd outside town hall shouted, "Where is the mayor?" and, "Where is the chief of police?" In response, another attendee clarified that Hoydick stopped by earlier in the event. Councilman Bill O'Brien, R-District 9, said in a text message Sunday that Hoydick participated in the march, and that Public Safety Director Larry Ciccarelli also attended. O'Brien said he joined the crowd at town hall. Councilwoman Kaitlyn Shake, D-District 2, spoke at the event.

Other officials present at the protest included Sgt. James Lofton and Lt. Curtis Eller, of the Stratford Police Department.

“We’re hurting too,” said Eller, who is black. “… We’re hurting personally, and we’re hurting professionally.”

Lofton and Eller hold leadership roles in the Stratford Police Activities League, which offers programming for youth about their rights should they encounter the police and training for law enforcement in implicit bias, racial profiling and deescalation.

“We understand there is a need for people to have their voice heard,” said Lofton, who is also black. “… To see that knee on somebody’s neck is just as painful for us as it is for somebody who’s not in law enforcement.”