Connecticut

A Decade of Impact for ‘African American Connecticut Explored’

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2024

A Decade of Impact for ‘African American Connecticut Explored’

Frank Mitchell, Fiona Vernal, and Camesha Scruggs (from left to right) discuss the impact of African American Connecticut Explored at the New Haven Museum on Thursday. Photos Kapp Singer.

The New Haven Museum convened a group of historians to kickoff Black History month and celebrate the ten year anniversary of African American Connecticut Explored, a sweeping book highlighting “the long arc of the African American experience in Connecticut.”

The Thursday evening celebration—which was also livestreamed—focused on how the book has inspired a new generation of historians and galvanized the study of African American history in high schools across the state. The event also leads into the New Haven Museum’s upcoming exhibit, “Shining Light on Truth,” opening Feb. 14, which highlights previously untold histories about Black enslavement and resistance in New Haven. The exhibit includes research findings from the Yale & Slavery History Project and coincides with the Feb. 16 publication of David W. Blight’s much-anticipated book Yale and Slavery: A History. A preview discussion with the exhibit’s curators, David Jon Walker and Michael Morand, will be held Monday, Feb. 5 at the Beinecke Library. The event will also be streamed on Zoom.

In over 50 essays, the African American Connecticut Explored addresses everything from the lives of enslaved African Americans and their impact of slavery on the state’s economy, to the role of abolitionists in the fight for freedom. It covers the Black Panther trials in New Haven, Jackie Robinson’s racial justice work off the field in Hartford and Stamford, and depictions of Black life in the novels of Ann Petry. Those are some of the book’s numerous accounts of cultural and civil rights leaders across 350 years of history. African American Connecticut Explored was developed by the monthly history magazine Connecticut Explored in collaboration with the Amistad Center for Arts & Culture, and published by Wesleyan University Press.

“The exploration, study, reading, and writing of African American history in Connecticut is an ongoing march which we can never retreat from,” said Stacey Close, a professor of African-American history at Eastern Connecticut State University and an editor of African American Connecticut Explored.

Close explained that the book was instrumental in the passage of Connecticut Public Act 19-12, which requires high schools to offer courses in African American history and Puerto Rican history.

“Having been raised by a family with farming roots in Georgia, and attending public schools there for 12 years, not a single word about an African American was ever issued in any of my history courses in high school—not one,” Close said.

Public Act 19-12 is the first of its kind in the United States, and much of the curricula resulting from the bill is derived from the history uncovered in African American Connecticut Explored.

Stacey Close.

“We’ve been building great momentum around these stories,” said Frank Mitchell, also an editor of the book and the curator-at-large at the Amistad Center for Art & Culture, “but there’s still a lot more to do.”

“It’s a really old state, and people open boxes every day and find new things,”he added.

Mitchell moderated a panel with professors Fiona Vernal and Camesha Scruggs where they discussed the impact of the book on their work and how they imagine the future of public history in Connecticut.

Vernal, an associate professor of history and Africana studies at the University of Connecticut, said African American Connecticut Explored was essential background reading as her research interests expanded to include the history of the African diaspora in Connecticut. She is working on Hartford Bound, a book and digital humanities project examining how race, migration, and mobility have impacted the urban history of Hartford.

“There are so many stories to tell,” said Vernal, who was inspired by the biographical approach to writing history she saw in African American Connecticut Explored. Today, she is particularly excited about uncovering the story of Catharine Freeebody, a 19th century Black philanthropist who donated much of her estate to support Hartford’s first African American church.

“Public history has always been telling the story of people who look like me,” said Scruggs, an assistant professor of history at Central Connecticut State University. She is currently researching the experiences of African Americans in Connecticut in the early 20th century.

“At the end of the day, historical figures were just normal people with normal lives,” Scruggs said.

Following the panel discussion, Mitchell turned to the audience to ask what they wanted to see in the future for public history in Connecticut. Some encouraged more research into the intersection of Native American and African American history, while others mentioned an expansion of Public Act 19-22 to include African American history before high school.

Wesleyan University Press Editor-in-Chief Suzanna Tamminen sells books following the panel.

Michael Ellison, who teaches at a preschool program at Augusta Lewis Troup School and is the superintendent of the Sunday school at St. Matthew’s church on Dixwell Avenue, said that he wants to bring the stories from African American Connecticut Explored to inspire his students.

“Children played a big part in the boycott struggle in the South,” Ellison said. “I’m gonna try to see if they have any history on what children did in New England.”

“The Connecticut books that we’ve published have not only been some of the most fun to work on, but also the most meaningful,” said Wesleyan University Press Editor-in-Chief Suzanna Tamminen.

“There is the sense that we’re bringing people together and serving a critical need,” she said.

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Connecticut

CT Attorney General Tong wants Aquarion deal reconsidered after ‘massive math error’

Published

6 hours ago

April 9, 2026

Press Room

CT Attorney General Tong wants Aquarion deal reconsidered after ‘massive math error’

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the sale of Aquarion needs to be reconsidered following a ‘massive math error.’

Tong and the consumer counsel said that the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) missed out on nearly $500 million in potential rate increases.

Aquarion, Eversource’s water company, was to be sold to the South Central Connecticut Water Authority back in November 2025. But a judge ordered PURA to reconsider, which led to another approval in March. Aquarion is the state’s largest water supplier, servicing hundreds of thousands of people across 60 municipalities.

But now, Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman said PURA missed out on just under $500 million in additional rate increases needed to pay for the sale. PURA was reviewing a compressed spreadsheet that omitted information about rate hikes after 2035, according to Tong.

That number could add an estimated $19 million a year over 25 years to customers’ water bills.

“These aren’t new numbers; this is a bombshell,” Tong said on Wednesday. “A deal breaker.”

This will be the third time PURA would have to take another look at Eversource’s plan to sell off Aquarion.

“$500 million more in rate increases pushes it off the knife’s edge and makes it clear this deal is terrible for rate payers,” Tong said.

The top Republican in Connecticut’s House of Representatives agrees that PURA should take another look, but said the sale is in the best interest of consumers.

“At this point, I question anything that the attorney general really has to say about this deal,” said Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader). “He’s cried wolf about this deal. He’s been against this deal since day one, and he’ll clearly do everything in his power to stop it.”

Other lawmakers oppose the sale and continue to push for legislation that would maintain PURA’s authority over rates, even if Aquarion becomes quasi-public.

“The same oversight that we require for any natural monopoly in almost all gases, in electricity, in water, in many utilities,” said Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-Greenwich).

NBC Connecticut has not heard from PURA on when they may take up the petition, nor has it received a response from Eversource and Aquarion.

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Connecticut

New data shows drop in crime rates across CT, DESPP says

Published

18 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

New data shows drop in crime rates across CT, DESPP says

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – Crime rates kept falling across Connecticut in 2025, with murders, assaults, rapes, car thefts, and other thefts all dropping by double digits, according to the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

The number of murders in Connecticut dropped from 90 in 2024 to 70 in 2025, as seen in the newly released crime report for the fourth quarter. This decline matches a trend across the nation. The nationwide homicide rate is expected to be at the lowest level in more than 100 years, DESPP said.

“This is a story of double-digit declines. You have violent crime down. Robbery down by double digits. This is consistent from quarter to quarter,’’ said Dr. Michael Mascari, Chief Data Officer for DESPP.(DESPP)

“Irrefutably, this is making Connecticut – already one of the safest states – even safer. We are spending more time sharing our resources, building partnerships and task forces, and working collaboratively with our local and federal partners. These numbers are a reflection of that,” said Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins. “But we know there are still areas of concern.”

The latest numbers for 2025 show that crime rates continue to drop across the board in... — The latest numbers for 2025 show that crime rates continue to drop across the board in Connecticut, with murder, assault, rape, vehicle thefts, and other larcenies showing double digit declines for the four quarters of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.(DESPP)

Higgins said fraud offenses, particularly identity theft, continue to increase. Arson also continues to rise. A small but concerning rise in prostitution offenses has also been recorded, said DESPP officials.

“We are drilling down and working with our local and state partners to respond to the increase in these offenses,” Higgins said.

Overall, crimes against property went down by 17 percent. The report said the overall number of crimes against persons is at its lowest point since early 2021.

“This is a story of double-digit declines. You have violent crime down. Robbery down by double digits. This is consistent from quarter to quarter,” said Dr. Michael Mascari, Chief Data Officer for DESPP.

Gov. Ned Lamont said the report shows Connecticut is getting safer, with crime down across the board.

“We’re on track for one of the lowest homicide rates in more than a century. Crimes of any kind are unacceptable, and we’ll keep building on this progress with smart public safety policies and strong support for our communities,” Lamont said.

Col. Daniel Loughman, commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police, said the results are driven by the discipline, coordination and effort of state troopers working alongside municipal and federal partners.

“We recognize this progress, but we will not slow down. CSP will stay focused, stay proactive, and continue driving crime down to keep Connecticut safe,” Loughman said.

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Connecticut

Taking a closer look at how fire hydrants maintained across Connecticut

Published

1 day ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

Taking a closer look at how fire hydrants maintained across Connecticut

The faulty hydrants after a recent fire in Waterbury are raising questions about how they’re maintained and what the guidelines are.

“It was horrific, because I was sleeping and I was woken out of my sleep,” Michele Philips, a neighbor, said.

It was a scary situation for her, seeing her neighbor’s home on fire on Bennett Street early Tuesday morning, and it was even more frightening when she saw the firefighters struggling to get a nearby hydrant to work.

“No water came out of it at all,” she said.

City officials say multiple hydrants had water flow issues before firefighters found one that was working properly on a different street farther away. That caused a 20-minute delay and is leading to concerns in the community.

“If that happened to us, what would have happened to my own house, and say if the fire had spread,” Philips said.

Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said the issue likely stemmed from debris stuck in pipes more than 100 years old.

“We have very old pipes underground that eventually build up residue inside that slows the flow,” he said.

“Hydrants have about a 100-year lifespan. So there are a lot of hydrants, especially in your big four cities in Connecticut that are old,” Fire Chief Dan Coughlin with the New Haven Fire Department said.

Coughlin explained that hydrant maintenance varies by location, with no state law requiring a specific number of checks on public hydrants.

“It’s based on their needs, their manpower, for example, as well. So it’s different,” he said.

Coughlin said that in New Haven, hydrants are checked twice a year…and they work with their regional water authority for pressure testing.

“We flush them, we make sure we have good flow coming out of them. We don’t put a gauge on it to see the exact number that we’re getting out of there,” Coughlin said.

The National Fire Protection Association recommends hydrant flow tests every five years. Pernerewski said that he wants to go above that standard. Right now, city workers flush all hydrants every year, but he says they’ll also focus on water pressure testing after realizing that it hadn’t been done for over a decade.

“We’ll now have two folks who can go out and do the testing as well, and we can test while we’re flushing,” he said.

Along with water pressure testing, the mayor said he’s working with the fire department to bring back a color code indicating the pressure at each hydrant.

“Anything 1,500 gallons a minute or higher was painted blue. Green was for those between 1,000 and 1,500, and then red was for those 700 or less,” Pernerewski said.

Philips hopes these changes will mean they’ll have working hydrants.

“We’re talking about people’s lives, and you want to feel good,” she said.

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