After outcry, councilwoman apologizes for activist quote

Bloomfield’s Wong quoted convicted killer of officer

BLOOMFIELD — A quote shared by Bloomfield TownCouncil member Danielle Wongat a meeting last month in celebration of International Women’s Month sparked outcry among the town’s police officers and an eventual apology from Wong.

“A revolutionary woman can’t have no reactionary man,” a quote from 1970s Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, was one of three Wongshared at the March 8 meeting.

Shakur, 73, was convicted in 1977 of murdering New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, along with several other charges stemming from the shooting. She escaped prison in 1979 and resurfaced in Cuba, where she was granted political asylum in 1984 and has lived ever since. Shakur was the first woman named to the FBI’s most wanted list.

A former leader of the Black Liberation Army, Shakur is heralded by some as a revolutionary leader. A2017 Essence article calls Shakur, who is the godmother of Tupac Shakur and often celebrated in rap music, “a revolutionary Black icon, whose legend has evolved into making her a patron saint of Black rebellion in the last half-century.”

Wong’s invoking Shakur prompted Bloomfield Police Chief Paul Hammick to send a memo to Interim Town Manager Phil Schenck.

“Council woman Wong’s comments and perceived celebration of a convicted murderer of a police officer, fugitive from

want major, long-term projects to overshadow Hartford’s urgent needs, such as a rise in pedestrian deaths.

Last year was exceptionally deadly, despite the pandemic taking many cars off the roads. According to a preliminary count by the state DOT, 65 pedestrians died on Connecticut roads in 2020, six more than in 2019.

Groups like the Center for Latino Progress and Connecticut Association for Community Transportation want to see more

“Complete Streets” projects that make existing roads safer and more inviting for pedestrians, cyclists and bus-riders of all ages and disabilities.

Sahar Amjadof Transport Hartford Academy, a Center for Latino Progress program that engages residents around transportation, said requests for small-scale fixes like bike routes and sidewalks get overshadowed by “flashy” projects like the interchange.

U.S. Rep. John Larson has said that could cost $10 billion over multiple years.

“Those big investments must not distract us from the emergency of investments we need to protect a cyclist and a pedestrian in Hartford and the rest of the state,” said Thomas Regan-Lefebvre, also of Transport Hartford Academy.

Murphy didn’t give details about how infrastructure spending could look in Connecticut.

Nationally, the $2 trillion package proposes spending more than $100 billion for improving sewers and replacing lead water pipes, $100 billion for high-speed computer broadband, $100 billion for public schools, and $100 billion for improving the electric grid.