A Rainbow Memorial Befitting Branford

As far as Toni Cartisano can remember, Monday night’s #Branford4Orlando ceremony marked the first time that the Branford Green has hosted an event in solidarity with the gay community. It is certainly the first time that either the town hall or the Blackstone Memorial Library has been lit in rainbow colors.

“When I first came to Branford almost 50 years ago,” Cartisano recalled, ​“I would never have said I would be standing on our town green speaking of the gay community, and certainly would not be lighting the town with rainbow lights.” Cartisano, a retired teacher and volleyball coach at Branford High, was named the Connecticut State Volleyball Coach of the Year in 1984.

A large crowd, estimated at 500 to 800, gathered on the Branford green to commemorate the victims of the deadly attacks at Pulse, an Orlando, Florida, based gay nightclub. The attack on June 12, orchestrated by Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and wounded 53. It was aimed specifically at the club’s gay clientele and it came in June, which is also Pride month.

The ceremony took place on a Town Hall stage remaining in place from the Branford Festival. Speakers included First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove, Branford’s three state legislators, State Sen. Ted Kennedy, Jr., State Reps Lonnie Reed and Sean Scanlon, and guest speakers Chris Velardi, Cartisano, and local Branford resident Colin Sheehan, who organized the event. In between speeches were musical numbers performed by Branford High School’s Choir students and alumni, under the direction of Cathyann Roding.

The event was sponsored by Seaview Productions, Tommy Sullivan’s, Tommy’s Wax Center, Jim Fischer and his partner Tim Monis.

Rainbow-Lit Town Hall

It began with a familiar song.

“America the Beautiful” is not a gay anthem – at least not in the popular imagination. But as this classic patriotic tune drifted over Branford’s rainbow-lit town hall, it was easy to imagine that it could be, at least for the moment – especially when the song’s final chorus gave way to flamboyant numbers such as ABBA’s ​“Dancing Queen” and Lady Gaga’s ​“Born This Way.”

Cartisano’s remarks highlighted the uniqueness of this particular event. Other speakers saw the occasion as a natural response from a town with a tradition of solidarity and outreach. 

Kennedy emphasized the need to address gun violence in a tangible way. ​“All of you know that my family has been touched by gun violence,” he told the audience, referring to his uncles President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, Jr., who were both assassinated by gunmen. Kennedy, who lives in Branford, represents the 12th District, which includes Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison and North Branford.

“In a very public way, we’ve had to relive those moments on TV, in the history books. And what saddens me is how this epidemic of gun violence is impacting more and more families in America. And it’s really sad and it’s time to do something about that,” Kennedy said. This last remark was met with thunderous applause from the audience on the Green. 

Reed, who represents the 102nd District said, ​“Reaching out and being Orlando strong, and Boston strong, and Newtown strong, and San Bernadino strong, and Branford strong – that’s who we are.” Reed also pointed out that the people of Branford have always looked out for one another through resources such as the Community Dining Room, the Counseling Center, and the Exchange Club, among others.

State Rep. Sean Scanlon, who represents the 98th District, which includes Guilford and two sections of Branford, looked out over the crowd of people assembled on the Green. ​“I hope that people feel a sense of hope, because I do, at this event.”

Chris Velardi, a former local television anchor, who emceed the event, said that the fact that Branford would make such a gesture was of no surprise to him.

“I think we all knew, deep in our hearts, that Branford could and would do something like this,” he said. ​“And I think it’s a testament to that faith that we all have in this town and this community that we’re all here tonight.”

To a casual observer arriving before the ceremony, the #Branford4Orlando event might have seemed like just another neighborhood block party, were it not for the preponderance of rainbow flags and pins.

Elderly couples lounged in fold-up chairs, children chased each other across the green, and groups of friends sat chatting on blankets. There were people of all ages, races, genders, and sexual orientations. The town hall, its lights barely visible in the daytime, bore only a faint shadow of the technicolor display that would illuminate its columns for the rest of the night.

For some people in the crowd, this may have been their first time attending an event that was centered on recognition of the gay community.

How #Branford4Orlando Began

“The whole thing began on social media,” said Sheehan, recalling the spontaneous nature with which his plans first began to develop. On Tuesday of last week, Sheehan had posted a photo of a rainbow flag he’d seen hanging outside Branford’s Owenego Inn and Beach Club in the aftermath of the Orlando massacre. ​“Great addition to the Owenego Inn and Beach Club,” the post read. ​“I’m lucky that I can take a very short walk from my office to see this!!! Thanks Pat Bloomquist & John Bloomquist for your support! Xoxo Happy Flag Day.”

Inspired by the positive reactions he received for this post, Sheehan took to Facebook again the following day to ask how he could get another rainbow flag to hang in the center of town during the upcoming Branford Festival weekend. Before he knew it, he was on the phone, pitching his idea to First Selectman Cosgrove.

“…And I met with Jamie Cosgrove and he said, ​‘I think we can do better,’ he recalled on Monday night, this time from a podium overlooking a strong and deeply involved crowd. He leaned into the microphone and addressed his audience directly. ​“Do you think we did better?” he asked. His question was met with exuberant applause and whistles.

But Sheehan wasn’t satisfied yet. He smiled, shook his head, and repeated his question back into the microphone. ​“I SAID, DO YOU THINK WE DID BETTER?” The crowd erupted in an even louder round of cheers.

By this time, the rainbow lights illuminating the Town Hall were fully visible against the dark night sky. The building, along with the Blackstone Library several blocks away, will be lit this way every night for one week from sunset to midnight. The rainbow flags decorating all of the planters on Main St. will also remain in place until Sunday night. 

Standing Up

Reed was not the only speaker to acknowledge the broader pattern of gun violence and terrorism in her remarks at Monday night’s event.

Said Cosgrove, reflecting on the familiar feelings of grief that the most recent shooting has evoked: ​“We felt the pain with Sandy Hook, we felt the pain after Sept. 11, 2001, and we will feel the pain now, with Orlando.”

The event was a moment of pride for many of those who attended the ceremony. Kennedy said in his closing remarks: ​“We have a lot to be proud of in this town.”

“I had to stand up and say that the sadness, the anger, the horror is no less real because some of the victims were gay men and some of their friends, family, and employees of the club,” Cartisano said.

If it is unified action that such crises demand, then Branford has proven itself ready to answer Cartisano’s call. Nearly everyone who took the stage on Monday night spoke emphatically of the need unity and solidarity – not just with Branford, but with the country as a whole.

“We’re here for each other, we’re here for people that we’ve never met,” said Velardi.

“We are not going to allow this to divide us,” declared Reed.

The display of solidarity in #Branford4Orlando must serve ​“to let Orlando know, and the nation know, and the world to know that we stand together, united,” Cosgrove concluded.

Though the outpouring of unity may seem like a simple and intuitive reaction to many, to have it affirmed in such a public manner sends a strong message to those who are watching and listening. ​“Don’t think that this is a small gesture,” said Cartisano.

After the program at Town Hall many in the audience walked to the Blackstone Library to see that historic building lit up in the colors of the rainbow like Town Hall.

Editor’s note: People are encouraged to use the #Branford4Orlando hashtag to post about the event.
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