Danbury returns to streets to protest ‘travesty’ of Floyd death
DANBURY — Lorena Santana has used social media to highlight police brutality and racism for four to five years.
Santana, who is Afro-Latina and a Danbury native, said she thinks about how she’ll likely have black children one day and wants to do something to better their future.
Her activism began around the time she started growing out her hair naturally.
“As I started to learn about my roots, my African roots, everything else just came,” she said.
But Saturday afternoon was the first time she took to the streets to demand change and accountability for police officers, in the wake of George Floyd’s death and other black people who have been killed by cops.
Holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Stop killing us,” roughly a thousand people marched peacefully from Rogers Park to the Danbury police station and back. Various officials, including the Mayor Mark Bougton and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., attended.
This was the second protest last week and one of many being held across the state and country after Floyd was killed when a white Minneapolis cop pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes.
“It should be something that disturbs everyone,” said Matt Price, one of the organizers of Saturday’s protest.
He said he does not want black people being killed by police to be normalized and wants to ensure this does not happen again in his or any community.
“Holding the police accountable and holding lawmakers accountable, that’s the way we’re going to do it,” Price said.
The organizers pushed for the #8CantWait campaign, which calls for eight policies that could be adopted to reduce police brutality.
They said they’ve talked to a Danbury sergeant, who told them those policies are already part of the training sessions officers undergo. But the organizers said they wanted an independent review board that would examine wrongdoings.
“If they’re not following (the policies), then they have to be held accountable,” organizer Amber Then said.
Chief Patrick Ridenhour, who is black, said he wants to meet with the organizers to discuss what steps the department could take to improve and educate the community on policing.
“We do our best to train people, to treat everyone fair and equitably,” he said to the protesters before they made the about 1.5-mile march to the police station. “We know that does not always happen across this country.”
He said he has cried over Floyd’s “senseless” death.
“But we know that it didn’t start with George Floyd,” Ridenhour said. “We know there have been others that have been questionable and we just have to work together.”
Danbury resident Pierre Moudourou, who is black, said he has experienced the racial profiling like other black men across the country. He recalled eight to nine cops once responding while he and several friends played basketball.
“Sometimes I feel like they (the police) see us as a little bit of a threat,” he said, adding he marched because he wants to be part of the change. “It has been a lot to endure when we see these killings online and nothing is being done about it.”
As she marched, Santana held a sign that read: “Everyone wants to be black until it is time to be black.” She made the sign the night before and included a picture of a crowd protesting in front of Trump Tower with black man raising his arm in the forefront.
“A lot of the things we enjoy today, things like pop culture, fashion trends, music, it was all started by black people,” Santana said. “It’s great and everyone wants to sing the song and do the dance ... and no one wants to speak on the issues.”
She has her master’s degree in social work and serves as a therapist for teens. She talks about race and identity with them.
“I tell my kids it’s important to be transparent and honest in everything you do. That includes my own identity,” Santana said.
At the station, the group knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time the officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck, while a woman from the crowd came forward to speak. After she was finished, the crowd started to rise, but organizers told them the time wasn’t up yet.
“Do you realize how (expletive) long that is,” a man yelled from the crowd. “It’s a travesty.”
Speakers expressed their grief over Floyd’s death and violence against black people and urged protesters to continue to push for change.
One man recited a poem about his exhaustion with racism and hypocrisy from white people. Before heading back to Rogers Park, the crowd sang “Lean on Me.”
“It’s a powerful statement for the community to come out the way they did to support this issue,” Santana said.