Al Marder
Alfred Marder has received a Governor’s Award for Excellence in Culture & Tourism, the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism announced on Tuesday.
Marder will be honored at an April 27 ceremony in Hartford, along with three other award recipients: the Stamford-based Curtain Call theater, actor Keir Dullea, and Lyman Orchards, an “agri-tourism destination” (as characterized in the commission’s press release) in Middlefield.
Marder, of New Haven, is being recognized for his work with the Connecticut Freedom Trail, whose planning committee he chairs. Marder is also president of the Amistad Committee, Inc., and chairs the City of New Haven Peace Commission.
Barbara Lamb, director of New Haven’s Department of Cultural Affairs, said, “Ever since I’ve known Al he has worked tirelessly and passionately on these issues closest to his heart: freedom, peace, and equality. Considering all the time and energy he has expended over the years engaging the community and elevating the conversation about these important issues, I can think of no one more deserving of this award.”
In his preface to Yale, Slavery and Abolition, a report published in 2001 by the Amistad Committee, Inc., Marder wrote, in part:
“The campaign to free the Amistad captives unfolded in New Haven. The original Amistad Committee that led that campaign in 1839, with support from Yale faculty and students, was from New Haven. The present Amistad Committee conducts its business in New Haven. Just as we support efforts to remove Confederate flags in the South and combat racial injustice wherever it exists, it is incumbent upon us to focus upon our own community. We would be remiss in carrying out our mission if we did less.”
In the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism’s press release, Gov. Dannel Malloy — commenting on the above-mentioned award recipients — was quoted as saying: “These remarkable individuals and organizations enrich the quality of life in Connecticut and the world. … Connecticut is fortunate and proud to have this amazing group of extraordinary honorees living and working in our great state.”
