Group gathers to celebrate diversity, fight racism in Meriden

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MERIDENT the We Are Meriden: Unity Rally was held on the Meriden Green on Saturday.

A modest crowd turned out to hear speakers, including City Councilor Sonya Jelks, state Senate candidate Jan Hochadeland Fifth District Congresswoman Jahana Hayes. They spoke about the importance of diversity and the need to stand up against racism.

We wanted a positive message that we are Meriden, we are united, we are varied and we are diverse and that’s great, said Nancy Burton, an eventcoordinator and member of the Unitarian Universalist Church, which organized the event along with the Meriden-Wallingford NAACP and the Meriden Racial Justice Initiative.

The rally was partly a response to the discovery of racist recruitment flyers in Meriden and Berlin on July 4. They appeared to be distributed by the New England Nationalist Social Club, a white supremacist group. The goal, organizers said, was to make a public display to show solidarity.

We gotta get the word out. We need to communicate and let people know that Meriden is not like that, said Meriden-Wallingford NAACP President Kim Fisher, an event organizer. There’s so many different nationalities here in Meriden and we all need to get along.

The event was planned after members of the Unitarian Universalist Church discussed the flyers at a meeting of the church social justice council. Elaine Donovan, a member of the church, was the first to suggest contacting the NAACP about holding a rally in response.

It was just kind of offensive to me that white supremacists would try to recruit here, Donovan said. We’ve talked for a while that we feel like us white people need to stand up and speak up when something like this happens, not just people of color.

The event organizers were hopeful about holding more rallies in the coming months. They would like to coordinate events with many of the approximately 60 churches in Meriden, building a network to mobilize the clergy against racism and bigotry and encourage dialogue with the community.

I don’t know if it’s gonna be this year or not, depending on how this one comes out. I know we definitely want to get more of the churches involved, Fisher said. We want to get more of the people in the community involved. So we know hopefully, if not another one this year, definitely in springtime.

Jelks, who spoke at the event, voiced her support for the organizers.

Its about our message and what were doing, she said.

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