HOUSE DEMOCRATS • KEN GREEN • NEWSROOM - 2009
Newsroom - 2009
November 10, 2009
State Representative Kenneth P. Green (D-Hartford, Bloomfield) held a press conference in support of a full length movie to be shot and edited in Hartford in 2010 by nationally recognized cartoonist and writer, Joe Young, founder of the Diamond Ruff Project. Young is taking advantage of the state film tax credits adopted by the legislature in 2007.
“I am happy to support Joe on this project to inspire Hartford youth,” said Rep. Green. “Hartford and other urban areas always have a diamond in the rough, but we will never know their potential without showcases like this. I look forward to a continued partnership with Joe in order to ensure that our young people are inspired to reach for higher heights.”
The Diamond Ruff Project is a public inter-generational participatory project designed to inspire people to achieve their dreams. Young, a former Guinness World Record holder and recipient of the White House’s Daily Point of Light Award, is making his Diamond Ruff graphic novel into an independently produced film based on the book.
“Themanner in which we are marketing this project is unique”, said Joe Young. “We are using technology and the Web as a social marketing tool. In addition to our website, we have a presence on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others. The ‘buzz’ we are creating will bring the resources, contacts, and third parties we need to turn the project from a dream into a reality. The daily blogs and a weekly video on the Diamond Ruff website will include club members and website visitors’ on the journey and enable them to experience the daily grind of working on this kind of project.”
Young has published a novel called Diamond Ruff, which is a part of the Diamond Ruff Project.. The book focuses on a 28-year-old multi-millionaire street-smart con artist named, Diamond Ruff, who meets a charismatic Generation X Martin Luther King Jr.-type, Reverend Trek Woods. The two form a bond and improve each other’s lives and inspire millions of people around the world. The plot is filled with social commentary, romance, and themes of faith and redemption. Joe Young’s hometown of Hartford is the backdrop of the story.
The premiere of Young’s first video music production, also based on Diamond Ruff, “Are You Sleeping” will be held at the Bushnell on Saturday, November 28th. This inspirational video is about a tenacious miner looking for a diamond that motivates people to achieve their dreams.
Young is the creator of the previously nationally syndicated Scruples comic strip and animated Holiday film, It’s Christmas, Dr. Joe. He has been featured in People, Ebony, Jet, the New York Times, the Boston Globe, US Weekend, C-Span and other media outlets.
For more information, contact: Young! Studios at (860) 560-1122 or email info@youngstudios.com or visit website www.diamondruffmovie.com. To arrange a personal interview or book signing with Joe Young, please contact Denise Hannon-Gross (860) 798-2434 or denise@youngstudios.biz.
To contact State Rep. Kenneth P. Green, please call (860) 240-8876 or email Kenneth.green@cga.ct.gov.
November 6, 2009
State Representative Kenneth P. Green (D-Hartford, Bloomfield) will be honored as one of the 100 Influential Blacks in the State of Connecticut at the upcoming 44th Annual State Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) which will be held at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods on November 6th and 7th, 2009.
“I am honored to be considered as one of 100 influential blacks in the state of Connecticut,” said Rep. Green. “One cannot take such recognition lightly.”
Rep. Green has played a significant role in the lives of Connecticut’s residents, and these are just some of the many accomplishments that he have made while serving in the state legislature for the past fourteen years. He was the author of legislation to allow voting rights for probationers. He worked tirelessly to help incorporate probationers back into society after release from prison. Serving as Chair of the Housing Committee for the past several years, he was able to initiate, along with State Treasurer Denise Nappier, a $100 million housing trust fund to promote quality, affordable low and moderate-income housing to Connecticut’s residents. He was instrumental in leading Connecticut in the official step to acknowledge slavery, exploitation and legalized racial segregation condoned by the State of Connecticut this past legislative session by the passing of a House Joint Resolution.
Rep. Green is a graduate of Hartford Public High School and received a B.A. from the School of Social Sciences at Hampshire College in 1975. He earned a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Connecticut - School of Social Work in 1979. A lifelong resident of Hartford, Rep. Green a member of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, member of the Blue Hills Civic Association, member of the Greater Hartford Alliance of Black Social Workers, and belongs to the NAACP – Hartford Chapter.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
The NAACP is celebrating 100th years of service to the African-American community. A reception will be held on Friday, November 6th from 7:30pm – 9:30pm with Roger Vann, Senior VP of Branch and Field Operations of the national NAACP, as Keynote Speaker. On Saturday, November 7th from 12:00pm-2:00pm, the Civil Rights Luncheon will take place with keynote speaker Dr. Ian Smith, Founder of the 50 Million Pound Challenge.
June 11, 2009
State Representative Kenneth P. Green (D-Hartford) announces the passage of House Joint Resolution 1: Expressing the Profound Regret of the Connecticut General Assembly for the Wrongs Inflicted upon Black Citizens. With a sweeping majority in the House and Senate, Connecticut is the seventh state to formally apologize for slavery along with New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Maryland. This official step is an acknowledgement of slavery, exploitation and legalized racial segregation condoned by the State of Connecticut.
“It's hard to imagine, in 2009, that such a society existed and was sanctioned by law, that the laws of the nation provided for segregation and enforced fugitive slave laws,” said Rep. Green. “But the fact still remains that slavery and Jim Crow Laws are stains upon what is a great nation and government. This is an apology, not reparations, but it is more than symbolic. The men and women of the 2009 Connecticut General Assembly acknowledged the past actions of the legislature and said they were mistaken in its treatment of its Black citizens.”
According to the state’s previous statistics, more than 5,000 people in the state of Connecticut were black slaves. Agricultural work was their main occupation, though some were skilled at carpentry, leather craft, metalwork and other trades.
Rep. Green also stated, “After crossing the Atlantic in the hold of a ship, thousands of kidnapped Africans set foot on dry land when their ship docked in the slave ports of Connecticut. With that as a shipping point for human cargo, the state played a more insidious role in the slave trade than one might imagine. I must also recognize the tremendous and exceptional part the State of Connecticut played in the abolition of the enslavement of people and the positive and historical role that the state can be proud of.”
A portion of the resolution to issue an apology states as a justification: "The vestiges of slavery are ever before African-American citizens, from the overt racism of hate groups to the subtle racism encountered when requesting health care, transacting business, buying a home, seeking quality public education and college admission as well as other indignities."
Rep. Green noted, “The apology for slavery should by no means close the door on the discussion of reparations, a concept that deserves a full debate not just in Congress, where political interests cloud reason, but also in academia and business. Black Americans continue to experience wealth gaps, education gaps, homeownership gaps and salary gaps based on crippling policies that sprang out of chattel slavery.”
Rep. Green also stated, “I don't think the demand for an apology or the vehement protests will go anywhere. They won't change the way the larger culture continues to reject the notion that consequences of slavery still play a large role in the way we behave toward one another. At least, however, it reaffirms the abolitionists' principles and opens the door for acknowledging that our peculiar institution was a destructive institution.” |
