Uniting to fight against hate. The Middlesex NAACP, along with other community groups, held a forum Wednesday with law enforcement to discuss ways to combat hate crimes.
“East Haddam is not alone. There are cities and towns all over this state that have the same problems,” Anita Ford Saunders, president of the Middlesex NAACP, said.
Problems she says have come in the form of hate incidents across Connecticut. Most notable was an incident in East Haddam involving racist messages being sent to a middle school student this year, drawing anger in the community.
Saunders says it was a catalyst to have a forum on recognizing and combating hate crimes.
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“I’ve seen people in the grocery store who were coming this evening who said, 'I want to learn,'” Saunders said.
That included a business owner in East Haddam who said it was important for him to come.
“Getting to know what people’s concerns are these days, it’s important [to] recognize when it is that they are feeling a little bit under pressure,” Mark Thiede, of East Haddam, said.
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FBI statistics show there's been a small increase in hate crimes across the country from 2022 to 2023 with more than half involving a victim’s race or ethnicity.
The agency, along with other stakeholders such as local police and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, say hate crimes come in many forms such as comments, symbols or targeting specific locations, like a place of worship. They urge anyone who may see something to say something to hold people accountable.
“When we put processes in place, that’s a standard and we hold people to that standard that we expect our society to live in. Equally with inclusion and not have hate,” Middletown Police Chief Erik Costa said.
Saunders said educating the community will help empower people to speak out and says her group can’t do it alone.
“We need allies - allies who are informed, allies who are educated, allies who are really true allies who understand what that means when it comes to social justice,” she said.
