State Baptist convention gathers in Stamford

STAMFORD -- A Baptist organization claiming to represent over 80 black churches in Connecticut took steps Wednesday to be heard, speaking in favor of policies it says will benefit minorities, while also railing against a controversial bill designed to protect transgender people from discrimination.

Clergy of Baptist churches statewide gathered at the Connecticut State Missionary Baptist Convention Wednesday for a press conference where key speakers presented views on topics ranging from education disparities and racial profiling to pro-minority business incentives and transgender rights.

Speakers at the conference, held at the Holiday Inn Stamford, presented the 2011 "Legislative Initiatives Affecting People of Color," a report of minority-relevant bills originally drafted for a meeting of the Statewide Black Clergy and The Black and Puerto Rican Caucus in Hartford last month.

Wednesday's event was organized to publicize and promote policies of the black Baptist community, whose members say they have a frustrating tendency to fade out of the public eye after election season.

"We're looking Hartford in the eye," said Lindsay Curtis, vice president of the convention and senior pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Norwalk. "We want the state of Connecticut to know that we're not going away."

Talk of disparities between minorities and non-minorities comprised most of the discussion. One issue, however, the men of cloth -- egged on by a supportive audience -- said they take particular objection to: the prospect of enhanced transgender protections.

The passing of an anti-discrimination bill under consideration in Hartford is something African American Baptists will simply not brook, the speakers said. The bill would make it unlawful for schools to transfer transgendered teachers to other schools, they said.

While Connecticut African American Baptist churches are staunchly opposed to the bill, the Connecticut Black and Puerto Rican Caucus has not taken a public stance so far.

But state Rep. Bruce Morris, D-Norwalk, vice chairman of the Connecticut Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, and a member of the Norwalk Clergy Association, offered a scenario made possible if the bill goes into effect -- a transgender person shares a bathroom with children.

Does a parent want a transgender person "taking a shower with your 8-year-old?" he asked.

"The black church says this is a bad bill that shouldn't pass," said Boise Kimber, president of the convention and senior pastor of First Calvary Baptist Church in New Haven.

Kimber addressed the irony of a black community opposing an anti-discrimination bill, noting "We've been discriminated against for over 400 years -- ain't nothing to us."

But at the forefront of issues addressed was the severe education disparity between city and suburban school systems in Connecticut. That the state leads in public education overall, but rated last of all states for achievement gaps is "a horrific travesty," Curtis said.

He and other speakers called for creation of a plan to close the achievement gap by 2020, maintaining or increasing subsidies to underperforming schools, and adding laws to protect the education rights of juvenile offenders.

"Those who started behind need a hand to catch up," Curtis said. "It's our children who are at the bottom rung."

The speakers voiced support for general economic relief initiatives such as tax credit programs and capital improvement projects, but also spoke in favor of legislation requiring state government to award 5 percent of its contracts to minority-owned businesses.

"We have to make sure, coming out of the recession, people of color are not forgotten," Morris said.

To that end, he called for a "disparity study" to determine how "unfair the state of Connecticut has been in spending their dollars."

Discussion on disparities grew particularly stark when Morris wryly called for elimination of the offense of "caught while driving black." A new bill under consideration could accomplish this, he said, by pressuring police departments to keep tabs on how often individual officers stop minorities.