Naugatuck students walk out in late January. | Nyjahn Wade via Nagatuck Peaceful Protests.
NAUGATUCK, Conn. What do the police killing of George Floyd and Naugatuck, Conn., have in common? Plenty.
In June 2020, there was a March of 1,100 people in Naugatuck in solidarity with the many George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter (BLM) marches across the country. It gave birth to the peace and solidarity group Naugatuck Peaceful Protests. Its focus is opposing systemic racist policing and advocating for defunding.
Recently surfaced racist and violent Snapchat posts by the daughter of local police chief Steven Hunt and the associate principal at the local high school, Johnna Hunt, have been like a shot from a flame thrower on an already smoldering fire. They have also, however, been an accelerant for ongoing community organizing and working across movements.