Thomas Breen photo
Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers at community rally by City Hall’s back-lit Amistad statute: Daughter was frightened.
Black New Haveners saw Wednesday’s invasion of the U.S. Capitol by armed Confederate-flag-waving Donald Trump supporters unfold in black and white.
Scenes from Wednesday’s insurrection.
They saw armed terrorists storm the Capitol, stop government from functioning, and drive members of Congress — who were in the midst of certifying electoral votes, a cornerstone of the peaceful transfer of power — into hiding.
And, for hours, as they scaled walls and shattered windows and hung Confederate flags from the rafters and destroyed federal property, they met little resistance from any kind of law enforcement.
“What I saw today was white privilege at its best,” Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers said at a speak-out convened by Mayor Justin Elicker Wednesday night outside of City Hall. “That’s what I saw.”
Thomas Breen photos
Mayor Elicker at the mic.
Walker-Myers stood alongside a half-dozen alders and local faith leaders and in front of the Amistad memorial, which was illuminated with foot lights.
Elicker contrasted Trump’s use of the National Guard to tear gas Black Lives Matter protesters in Lafayette Park this summer with the president’s encouragement of mostly white rioters on Wednesday to take over the Capitol.
“This is white supremacy,” he said. “This is the definition of white supremacy. And we’ve got to call this out as a nation.”
The half-hour event came just before New Haven’s representatives in D.C. — who were all unharmed and hidden for hours in undisclosed locations — joined their legislative colleagues to resume certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory at 8 p.m. in a cleared Capitol building.
The local event brimmed with frustration, fatigue, outrage, and a deep and personal emotional hurt.
“I watched what happened with my children,” said Walker-Myers. “I was embarrassed. I was upset. I was frustrated.” She said the level of anxiety she saw her daughters experience “broke my heart. I did not know what to say to them.”
“We’ve got to stop having two sets of rules for different people depending on what you look like.”
Greater New Haven NAACP President Dori Dumas (pictured) agreed.
“I was disgusted, but I was not surprised,” she said about the day’s events. “It was not a protest. It was a riot, a coup, incited by Trump. His reckless, shameful leadership and misuse of power led to an assault on our very democracy.”
She too referenced the teargassing of Black Lives Matter protesters by the National Guard in Lafayette Park.
“Where was the Capitol police?” she asked. “The National Guard? This was clearly white privilege at its best. If they were Black people, the outcome and the response would have been much different.”
She said she stands with the NAACP’s national president in calling for Trump’s impeachment. And she spoke of how her daughters and granddaughter both live in Washington, D.C., and how she was on the phone with them both all day, pleading with them to stay low and stay safe.
“This is a sad day for our country,” Dumas said. “I am praying for our country.”
One of the last speakers of the night, Darrell Brooks (pictured) of Beulah Heights Pentecostal Church, offered a potential path forward for undoing this country’s racial double standard.
“It’s often that you will see a Black face, a Black woman, a Black man crying about, ‘No justice, no peace,’” he said. “But what we need in America is a blend of voices. White Americans need to stand up and say that what happened today cannot be tolerated in this country.”
Below is an earlier version of this article.
New Haven’s representatives in D.C. are reported to be unharmed and in undisclosed locations amid a storming of the Capitol by armed terrorist mobs unleashed by President Donald Trump to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory as his successor.
I am ok. My staff is ok.
This is an insurrection. And President Trump bears responsibility.
It will not succeed. It will not stop us from doing the work of democracy. It will not stop the transfer of power. Those responsible will be held accountable.
New Haven U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro issued a statement at 6 p.m. expressing her determination to get back to work completing the process of certifying Biden’s election.
“I am grateful for the outpouring of support and relieved to report that both my staff and I are safe, DeLauro wrote.
“Make no mistake, this was a coup attempt instigated by President Trump. Everyone who has aided and abetted him for the past four years bears responsibility for today’s violence. January 6 will go down as a dark day in United States’ history, but our democracy will prevail over the violent mob that ransacked our Capitol. In two weeks, President-elect Biden will take office and begin the work of healing our nation.
“I stand ready for Congress to reconvene and complete our work counting the Electoral College votes and formalizing President-elect Biden’s victory. Together, we can overcome the hate that inspired today’s events and move forward to a brighter tomorrow.”
“My staff and I are safe at a secure location,” Connecticut U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal stated in a release. “I am absolutely sickened by scenes of anarchist mobs violently swarming the Capitol. It’s not a protest – it’s armed insurrection. This is an assault on the heart of our democracy incited and fueled by the President of the United States and his enablers. Make no mistake: Congress will do its job. This election will still be certified, and President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris will be sworn in on January 20.”
And Connecticut’s Democratic Party tweeted: “We have confirmed that all five of CT’s US Representatives are safe.”
The fast-moving events Wednesday afternoon at the nation’s Capitol — with elected officials given gas masks and directed into hiding as Confederate flag-waving Trump mobs breached barricades to enter the Senate, House of Representatives, and offices of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other politicians — had New Haveners on edge, but with no reason to be concerned for their own safety.
Police Chief Otoniel Reyes said his department is staying in touch with the FBI.
“We’re monitoring the events in D.C.. At this point there is no local concern. We have been in touch and will continue to be in touch with our federal partners,” Reyes said.
Protestors are surrounding the House chamber pic.twitter.com/EAI89aWUU2
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) January 6, 2021
In D.C., on the other hand, the National Guard has been called in and a citywide overnight curfew declared, and the process of counting electoral votes to announce Biden’s victory has been suspended as law enforcement battles the Capitol mobs.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker issued a statement calling a “dark day in American history.”
Following is Elicker’s full statement.
I am watching the TV now feeling a combination of outrage, sadness, and disbelief. Our country was founded on a peaceful transfer of power. What is currently happening in Washington, with protesters forcing their way into the Capitol Building and putting the country’s elected representatives at risk, is a clear violation of the foundation of this country, our Democracy. I am outraged that in his last days in Office, the President of the United States incited an insurrection in what would be an otherwise ceremonial process.
My heart goes out to all those members of Congress and their staff who were trying to certify the results of a free and fair election: I hope you are in a safe place and can all get back to work when this is over. This is another reminder that there are some in this country who want to use division for their own personal gain. We have much to do as leaders, and that starts with calling out lawlessness and holding those in power accountable.
Today is a dark day in American history. Individuals are inciting violence and undermining our democratic institutions. We must move forward with resolve in the face of adversity, fight to hold our country together, and move it forward to a brighter day. I am proud to lead the City of New Haven, where we have a history of peaceful protests, respect for each other, and enough dignity to recognize the results of an election, even if it did not go our way.
Paul Bass contributed to this report.
I am just so sad for our Country. I could only watch 5 minutes and had to turn off the TV.
I'm speechless. I'm really down about this. It's a terrible day.