FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 9, 2020

Contact: Ala Ochumare (203) 503-7444 or ala.ochumare@racce.net

Day of Action to Achieve Police Free Schools

September 10, 2020 3pm-6pm

235 Grand St, Waterbury, CT

Press Conference – Teach-in – Rally

Waterbury, CT – As organized by a state-wide coalition, this day of action will bring to light the harm done by keeping police officers in our schools.  We have chosen Waterbury as the site of this day of action because it is ground zero for the school-to-prison pipeline in Connecticut.

A press conference will be held in order to bring awareness to the severity of the problem in the Waterbury Public Schools and the racist outcomes that result from having police in our schools across Connecticut.  Solutions exist and recent federal legislation introduced by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy remind us all that legislative remedies must be enacted so that:

• Police can be removed from schools
• Schools can hire more school counselors
• Schools can hire more school social workers 
• The “hardening” of schools can be prevented
• The school-to-prison pipeline can be stopped once and for all

Press conference invitees include: 

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy 

State Senator Doug McCrory & State Representative Bobby Sanchez (co-chairs of the Education Committee)

State Representative Brandon McGee (Chair of the BPRC)

This will be followed by a teach-in on the matter led by student organizers. Topics of discussion include: 

• What does defunding the police mean? Imagining what police free schools look like!-Facilitated by the CityWide Youth Coalition, New Haven
• LGBTQ Community and the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Facilitated by Waterbury UCONN students

The day will end with a rally where food, fellowship, and local artists will perform.

This day of action is focused on raising awareness to an urgent crisis in our state, to direct attention to the severity of this issue in the city of Waterbury, to provide education on the matter to all community members and to make available a liberated space for folx fight for racial justice in our state. 

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Federal Legislation: https://pressley.house.gov/sites/pressley.house.gov/files/200729%20CNC%20One%20Pager.pdf

State-based research: 

Waterbury:

Categories: Current Issues