My dad died because he couldn’t breathe. And George Floyd died because he could not breathe. It doesn’t matter whether it was from a police officer’s inadequacy or a doctor’s inadequacy, Black lives were lost at a disproportionate rate because the people we depend on for help do not give it to us the same way they give it to others.

Is remaining silent in the face of racial injustice an act of racism? Whether silence rises to the level of racism is open to debate; but it is, unequivocally and categorically, cowardly and insupportable. The leadership of the Connecticut Association of Schools, representing education leaders across the state, has shared its individual and collective perspectives.

The first class of Hartford Promise students – 75 strong – graduated from colleges in Connecticut and beyond, this spring. Two of the Hartford Promise scholars delivered messages to their fellow graduates, and the community, as part of the hour-long Night of Promise celebration webinar, honoring their graduation in the midst of challenging times. Their messages resonated with their peers and their community.

You might be familiar with the work of Eliot Noyes and not realize it. If you have ever used an IBM Selectric typewriter or stopped for gas at a Mobil station, you have encountered his work. From his home base in New Canaan, he was pioneering in a new way of thinking about design and the impact on business. Yet he would insist, “I am first an architect.”

Just as the world today is consumed with images of American law enforcement officers pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in front of the White House and pushing old men onto the sidewalk, so was the world transfixed by similar scenes during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. When Americans stand up successfully for their own rights as human beings, it gives inspiration and confidence to others, alighting the world in civil rights and democratic activism.

Recent events and recent days have led to a cascade of messages from organizations and leaders throughout the nation, in communities nearly everywhere. A sampling of four such messages, emanating from Connecticut’s Capital City…

Lebanon’s mile-long town green, said to be the second largest in New England, is on the National Register of Historic Places. With a 300-year history, the green is one of Connecticut’s unrivaled gems. Recently, it found itself at the center of two lawsuits. The legal question is this: who owns the green?

UConn is now poised to make a bunch of athletes and coaches from non-revenue sports pay for their manifold mistakes. How will it be explained, and who stands to lose?

When I look back on when I was dealing with depression and anxiety, it feels like I was putting together a puzzle. Slowly at first, because until recently, I didn't understand exactly what I was working on.

The Connecticut Foundation for Open Government conducts an annual essay contest for high school students on current freedom of information and First Amendment issues. This year’s winning essay discusses offensive speech, and the First Amendment, on an issue at UConn last year.