Windsor Leaders Condemn ‘Acts Of Hate’ After 3 Incidents

WINDSOR, CT — Three incidents targeting Windsor’s Black and LGBTQ+ communities should be investigated as possible hate crimes, the president of the Greater Hartford NAACP said Friday.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz joined state lawmakers, town officials, religious leaders and community advocates at Windsor Town Hall following the theft of a Pride flag, a memorial bench and a historic bronze plaque within roughly two weeks.

“Some may choose to call these acts of vandalism, but when our history, our sacred spaces and symbols of inclusion and human dignity are targeted, we must be willing to confront the possibility of something much deeper,” Greater Hartford NAACP President Corrie Betts said. “I call it hate.”

Betts called for the incidents to be thoroughly investigated and for hate-crime laws to be used if the evidence supports those charges.

Windsor police are investigating. Bysiewicz said the Connecticut State Police and state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection are also aware of the incidents and prepared to assist local investigators.

Officials said they did not yet know whether the three incidents were connected.

The first was discovered around Sept. 12, when a Pride flag was torn down from First Church in Windsor. The church has since replaced it.

First Church displays the flag as a sign of welcome to LGBTQ+ people, the Rev. Adrienne Armes said while reading a letter on behalf of the church’s senior minister.

“When a symbol of welcome is torn down, the message sent to LGBTQIA+ people is that their dignity is negotiable and their safety is conditional,” Armes said.

Days later, a memorial bench honoring Alfred and Patricia Narcisse was discovered missing from the cemetery at Archer Memorial AME Zion Church. The couple led Windsor’s Freedom Trail Committee for 25 years and were longtime contributors to the church and community.

The Rev. Monique Sanders, pastor of Archer Memorial, said the bench offered the Narcisses’ sons, church members and other residents a place to reflect on the couple’s contributions.

“To think that someone would remove a memorial bench given as a token of respect and honor from the church cemetery is simply beyond me,” Sanders said.

A bronze plaque was then removed from the U.S. Colored Regiments Memorial Monument at Windsor Veterans Memorial Cemetery. The monument, dedicated in May, honors Black soldiers and sailors from Windsor who served during the Civil War.

The timing drew particular concern because September is Connecticut Freedom Trail Month and Windsor is marking the 30th anniversary of its Freedom Trail Committee.

Mayor Nuchette Black-Burke said Windsor would not allow the incidents to define the community.

“Hate is not welcome here in Windsor, Connecticut,” Black-Burke said. “We will call it out.”

State Rep. Jane Garibay said some people initially hoped the incidents would fade from attention, but remaining quiet was not an acceptable response.

“Together, we are stronger than the few bad,” Garibay said. “If you see something, say something.”

Bysiewicz said Connecticut would continue working to protect residents from discrimination and intimidation.

“Intolerance, hate and discrimination have no home here in Connecticut,” Bysiewicz said.

Anyone with information about the incidents can contact the Windsor Police Department at 860-688-5273.

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