Mercy Quaye Photo
Crump delivers a luncheon address Saturday.
A civil rights attorney who has represented the families of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and most recently Stephon Clark — all unarmed black men killed in most cases by police officers — told New Haveners that they’re obligated to fight injustice.
That was Benjamin Crump’s message for nearly 200 families, students, and politicians who turned out at Hillhouse High on Saturday to be a part of the Connecticut State Conference of the NAACP’s inaugural “Nothing About Us, Without Us” criminal justice summit.
Crump talking with a summit attendee …
… and stopping to take photos.
Some attendees said they came to support the NAACP. Others said they couldn’t wait to hear the words of the nationally regarded civil rights attorney who urged the audience to stay encouraged and take a stand against racial injustice.
Crump spoke during a luncheon on the second day of the two-day conference, which was just one stop on Crump’s multi-city tour to educate families on the criminal justice crisis.
He urged those in power to act with a sense of common morality, recalling the “seemingly clear” acts of injustice in the officer-involved shootings of Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Sandra Bland, Philando Castile and others. These deaths have sparked protests and the organization of movements like Black Lives Matter that have pressed for policing and gun reform along with the end of mass incarceration
“When you interact with injustice, you have an obligation to do something, if you’re gonna say you’re a good person,” he said.
Crump’s recent work involves him traveling to communities of color to remind them that legality does not dictate whether something is right. He said although his formal education was hinged on the duty of precedence in law, he instead operates on what is morally just for the community.
“Forget precedence,” he said. “You argue what is right because if we base everything on precedents, we would still be slaves in America.”
Crump said Connecticut’s fight for systemic change in the criminal justice system is alarming, but not unique.
“I go to courtrooms all over America,” Crump said. “And I see how they’re treating black and brown people, not just in Connecticut … And the question I have for you all this morning is: ‘When justice and the law are not on the same side, what side do you stand on?’”
Crump: Legal doesn’t equal just.
The question was posed to an audience filled with residents, students, as well as gubernatorial hopefuls who got the opportunity to lay out their platforms before the community in a panel discussion about the race for the state’s highest office.
Connecticut NAACP State President Scot X. Esdaile, who was appointed as the national NAACP criminal justice chair in August, said bringing the candidates to New Haven is an important step towards ensuring relationships are made that lead to criminal justice reform.
“The children of incarceration are in our communities,” Esdaile said. “The individuals who are coming back into society are coming back into our communities. They’re not hearing from us in Hartford, so it’s imperative that they come to our communities and hear our voices.”
Gubernatorial hopefuls Ned Lamont, Joe Gamin, Susan Bysiewicz, Guy Smith and Peter Talhiem accepted the invitation to attend and hear from constituents in New Haven, an action that Esdaile and Crump applauded.
“The bottom line is that we need to develop relationships,” Esdaile said, “the kind that delivers meaningful results. There’s a lot of politicians saying they represent us, but they don’t really represent us. So now they get an opportunity to establish real relationships with people from the community.”
Crump agreed with Esdaile’s point.
“With the national leadership doing everything in their power to make it more difficult to achieve criminal justice reform, we have to remain vigilant and understand that the battle won’t be one overnight, it will take a sustained effort,” Crump said. “People all over America, in communities just like New Haven are fighting the same battles and we have to continue to share with each other. So when we get the best ideas from other states in America we can bring them back home.”