State Of City: Determined, Resilient

Newhallville Alder Delphine Clyburn knows what it means to struggle. And she’s tired of it.

But, Clyburn said Monday night in the annual Black & Hispanic Caucus State of the City address, there’s much work yet to be done — to forge a better life for herself and her community. So she and her legislative colleagues aren’t bowing out yet.

Standing in-person in City Hall’s Aldermanic Chambers, Clyburn —who chairs the local legislature’s Black & Hispanic Caucus — delivered the address to colleagues who were assembled virtually over Zoom and YouTube Live.

“Without struggle, there is no progress,” Clyburn said Monday night. ​“And on behalf of the caucus, I am here today to say that we are tired of the struggle. We are tired of struggling.” (Click here to read about the mayor’s annual state of the city address from earlier this year.)

For the fifth-term Newhallville alder, those words were as personal as they were political.

“My parents were killed in a car accident when I was three years old,” Clyburn said. ​“And then I suffered abuse — mentally, physically, sexually, and spiritually. So I know struggle.”

She said the hard work of surviving and fighting for a safe, dignified, healthy life took on a special resonance over the past year as New Haveners across the city came together to make sure their neighbors had food, masks, and other basic necessities for surviving the Covid-19 pandemic’s public health crisis and related economic downturn.

“Despite the challenges of last year, our communities have stepped up like never before,” she said. ​“Out of necessity? Yes. But more importantly, out of love for one another.”

She cited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when describing the motivations behind the community-wide altruism on display during the various crises of the past year.

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward. Despite the terrible impacts of this pandemic on our communities, we kept moving forward.”

In the same way that New Haven was known as the ​“model city” in the 1960s and ​‘70s for its embrace of redevelopment, she said, the city should now lead on efforts to ​“abolish a system of systemic racism. I’m calling on New Haven to be called a model city again by abolishing systemic racism in our city.”

Clyburn cited some actions already taken by the board as working in that direction: declaring racism a public health crisis and adopting a plan to combat it, creating a yet-to-be-convened Affordable Housing Commission, recognizing the climate emergency and creating a task force around that topic.

She also cited the roughly $94 million in federal aid en route to the city thanks to the American Rescue Act as offering an unprecedented opportunity to advocate for the alders’ top legislative priorities, like good jobs for New Haven residents, improved public safety, more quality affordable housing, and health equity.

“The state and federal government will be providing our city with the most significant infusion of financial support in recent memory,” Clyburn said. ​“As a caucus, we are committed to making sure that these resources get to those in need.”

She called on New Haveners from all wakes of life to get involved in civic life and work collectively towards realizing that vision of a fair, equitable, and just society.

“As the old saying goes, if you do not stand for anything, you will fall for anything,” Clyburn said. ​“In closing, let me say, our caucus will not let our communities fall for anything. We stand for these things, and we ask that you stand with us now also.”

Walker-Myers: ​“Hold On. Keep Pressing”

At the end of Monday night’s virtual meeting, during a section of the night called ​“points of personal privilege,” Board of Alders President and West River Alder Tyisha Walker-Myers returned to that theme of struggle and resiliency when reflecting on the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in Minnesota.

“I can’t just sit here tonight without saying something about how I feel about watching the trial in regard to the murder of George Floyd,” she said.

“It really makes my heart heavy that in 2021, we’re still having conversations about why the lives of Black men should be valued. It’s really sad to have to continuously be having these conversations about the very things that America is built on and the promises that are supposed to be made to everyone. To have to have these conversations over and over is a little disheartening.”

She called on people across the city and the country to ​“start pressing for things that are really important.”

“People cannot stand by and watch things happen. That is not right. You have to call it out all the time, not some of the time.

“The lives of everyone should be valued. It shouldn’t matter what you look like, where you come from, or how much money you make.”

Just as the city’s mayor and police chief said at a press conference earlier on Monday, Walker-Myers cautioned that the jury’s verdict in the Chauvin case could hit New Haveners hard.

“I know it’s going to be really difficult when this verdict comes down, because in our experience, being Black, we haven’t seen it work the way it should.

“Just hold on,” she urged her colleagues and any city residents listening. ​“Keep pressing. Because one day, we will get to where we need to be. We’ve got to hold each other up.”