Rally-goers urged to turn passion into votes
STAMFORD — Jere Eaton, a former Democratic City Committee member and co-organizer of Saturday’s Black Votes Matter event at the Stamford
Government Center, said the rally initially was planned before the May 25 death of George Floyd.
For the several hundred gathered, Floyd’s death — after white Minneapolis police officer Derek
Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes — gave the event a heightened urgency.
“Our goal for the city of Stamford is to get 95 percent of black voters to participate in the election,” Eaton told the crowd of mostly young people who turned out.
Eaton said the political parties in Stamford could do a better job of grooming young black people for elected offices. She encouraged those in attendance to run for seats on the Stamford Board or Representatives.
Stamford resident Wilner Joseph, whose younger brother Max Antoine was the victim of an unsolved murder in Bridgeport in April 2017, said he was proud of all the people who where there on the noisy corner of Washington and Tresser boulevards.
“This has to continue. The fight has to continue. You have to support every event,” he said as the last speaker of the two-hour gathering.
Kenny Green, a local certified public accountant, told the crowd that about 50 percent of the state is registered to vote, about 54 percent of adults in Stamford.
“If you don’t help make the rules, someone will make them for you,” Green said, before leading the crowd in repeating: “Silence is compliance.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal briefly spoke to the crowd, saying racism in policing, healthcare and housing has to be dismantled.
“We need action more than speeches,” he said.
Attendees said the rally’s central message is a crucial one for people who want to bring about change.
Stamford schoolteacher Stephanie Calin, 34, said she wanted to be at the rally in case any of her students showed up so she could demonstrate to them how important it is to vote. While she did not see any of her students, she did see a couple of parents.
“I want to be part of this. I want to make sure other people understand how important this is,” she said.
Norwalk resident Jenna Hasskarl, 33, who works for a company that brings au pairs into the country, said progress can occur if more people use the ballot.
“Maybe we don’t love all the candidates we have now, but if we start voting in the people we agree with, then we can start slowly making change,” she said.