Save the Post Office Saturday

 

Bethlehem, Connecticut

Nearly 700 protest rallies were planned for today, in support of the USPS. About fifteen people turned up with signs in the tiny town of Bethlehem, CT. I noticed that nearly everyone in passing cars either honked or waved in support.

It's also "Street Photography Day," in honor of Henri Cartier-Bresson's birthday. I think this counts as Street.

Click on any of the pictures for a larger and clearer view on a large display.

LGBTQ + BLM in Watertown, Connecticut, 6/27/20

Watertown, Connecticut

When I saw on a list published online by the Connecticut Democratic Party that this event was scheduled for Saturday at noon I knew I wanted to be there.

As with other BLM gatherings here in rural western Connecticut the participants were mostly not black, because hardly any blacks live here. However, this one had a big extra element. It was that LGBTQ+ partisans, allied with BLM, had organized it, gotten it listed on social media, gotten the Watertown Congregational Church involved. A lot of LGBTQ+ people live here. Like everywhere.

It was well organized by the young people who put it together. It began with a musician playing and singing some songs to get everyone in the mood. The Watertown Green is tiny, but has a gazebo in the center. They'd set up some minimal sound equipment.

Several of the young people who had organized the event spoke, with an interpreter signing with them. Once again I was struck by the fact that this was organized by young folks, though the turnout to participate crossed all age groups.

Connecticut's U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal showed up, unannounced. The organizers of the event and others around were a little stunned by this. They asked if he would speak to the gathered crowd after the scheduled speakers. Of course, he said he would.

One of the organizers asked for everyone to either lie down or take a knee for 8 minutes and forty six seconds. It's a powerful mechanism. I'm used to dealing with time intervals like this because of my alternate process photographic darkroom work, but as I moved around and tried to respectfully find positions I could make pictures from, I began to feel that this was the longest eight minutes I'd ever experienced. I think that's the point. It works.

Senator Blumenthal took a knee for the whole long moment.

The rainbow imagery combined with the BLM was really strong. For the Senator and the other speakers.

As always, just click on any one of the pictures to get a much larger and clearer view of them if you are using a large screen.

Juneteenth, Waterbury, Part 1

Waterbury, Connecticut

Part protest march, part block party, Waterbury's Juneteenth event was fascinating. More to come.

A Few More from Sunday's Rally

Woodbury, Connecticut

Demonstration/Protest, Woodbury, CT, 6/14/20

Woodbury, Connecticut

There was another Black Lives Matter rally on the North Green of Woodbury Sunday afternoon. Not as many people turned out as last week, but still pretty impressive for a small town in bright red rural Connecticut.

There again were lots of young people. There were also old people who've been doing something along these lines since the 1960s. As last week, what I noticed most was that the traffic going past was incredibly supportive compared to many similar events I've photographed over the years. At least 50% of the cars honked their horns, which is at least three times the proportion I've ever seen before last week.

This guy has a cardboard sign that he's waving as he drives. I suspect he might have been driving from one demonstration to another with his sign to participate in his own way. Can't photograph the horn blowing, but the hand gestures showed a real connection to the demonstrators.

Click on any picture to see the whole set in a larger and more legible view.

Since this is rural Connecticut, the drivers were almost all white, and many of the cars were, well, pretty fancy, but the support for the demonstration passed that right by.

Signs of the Times: Women's March and Rally, Hartford, CT, 1/20/18

Hartford, Connecticut

The marchers and assembled crowd looked even bigger than last year's event at the Connecticut state capital. The mood seemed angry, defiant, and yet upbeat at the same time. The signs were varied, but unified in viewpoint.