National coalitions of Black men, women voice concerns to Hartford lawmakers

Yahoo

21-02-2025

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Two groups representing African-American communities came together in Hartford Friday, bringing their concerns right to lawmakers at the Legislative Office Building.
The groups are the New Haven Metropolitan Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and 100 Black Men of Stamford. Their goals are equity, education, economic empowerment and justice.
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'So, the agenda for today is to discuss with our legislators key issues or bills that we support, or that we think might have a negative impact on communities of color,' Haley Vincent Simpson said. She's public policy co-chair of the New Haven Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
One of the top concerns is affordable housing. They estimate the state needs 98,000 more affordable housing units. They say the need is obvious in many communities as more people are forced out on the streets.
'I know in my community, in Bridgeport, recently, someone died because the shelters were too full and he didn't have a home to go to and he froze to death,' said Carolyn Vermont, the public policy chair of the New Haven Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Another major issue is making lunch free in all public schools.
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'I am one of those underprivileged children who grew from that situation and needed free lunch every day,' said Chris Desir, the public policy chair of 100 Black Men of Stamford. 'Now, seeing it diminished and seeing it taken away, it's taking away from the fabric of our country.'
The legislative agenda they were in Hartford to talk about contains the word 'equity' over and over again. That is nothing new. What is new is the extra connotation that word has taken on in some parts of the country as the 'E' in 'DEI.'
'In someone's eyes, they think that equity means equal. There's other people's eyes that they think it's way up to the top and the bottom,' said Lorraine Gibbons, president of the New Haven Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. 'We just really want to have an equal level playing field for everyone.'
One place where national efforts have already affected minorities is education. Now, concerns about changes to Connecticut's community colleges are affecting the minority community.
'They're able to go to the community college, get the job of their dreams, or transfer those credits to a four-year institution, so all these proposed cuts would just be drastic to our community,' Vermont said.
All those concerns are coming up as the legislature's budget session kicks into high gear.
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