The history of CT segregation; Pride in the Park; Humanist discuss secretive writer

NORWALK, Conn. – Some Norwalk events you might attend:

• Segregated by Design, 5:45 to 7:45 p.m., Tuesday, June 4, (today), City Hall community room
• Fairfield County Pride in the Park, noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 8, Lockwood Matthews Mansion
• Humanists meet Monday evening to learn about Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely

Segregated by Design

The Norwalk Fair Housing Advisory Commission asks:

• Did you know that America’s neighborhoods are still predominantly segregated?
• Did you know that these neighborhood segregation patterns are mostly unchanged since the 1950s and before?
• Did you know that Connecticut is the third-most segregated state?

Did people just choose to live that way? No, Fair Housing says, “government intentionally segregated America, in ways that will astonish you.”

You can learn more by attending “Segregated by Design,” beginning at 5:45 p.m. with a cold supper in the City Hall community room. A short film will follow and Erin Boggs, Esq., and Taniqua Huguley, from Connecticut’s Open Alliance Communities, will offer a presentation about segregation, including data about Connecticut in particular, leading to discussion, a press release said.

“As we work towards better race relations, better school outcomes, a more civil society, a more perfect union, we need to know this history and begin the ‘forgotten’ work of the Fair Housing Act, addressing residential segregation,” the release said.

LGBTQ pride on West Avenue

Pride in the Park, thought to be Connecticut’s largest annual LGBTQ Pride event, will bring internationally known headliners and family-friendly activities to Mathews Park from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, according to a press release.

The Triangle Community Center (TCC) sponsors the free community festival featuring pop diva Martha Wash and two performers from the hit reality TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Morgan McMichaels and Gia Gunn, the release said.

“The festival also includes acts from local performers, vendors and food trucks, a 21+ Ketel One VIP Area and activities for families with kids. Since its inaugural festival in 2014, Pride in the Park has grown dramatically welcoming 4,500 people in 2018 alone,” the release said. “Pride in the Park will be even more significant in 2019 as it marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a watershed moment in the modern LGBTQ rights movement. Celebrating all LGBTQ identities, Pride in the Park seeks to foster acceptance and community throughout the region.”

“We are so grateful to all of our volunteers who make Pride possible,” Executive Director Sean-Michael Hazuda is quoyed as saying. “This is a labor of love as we showcase our community in a warm and welcoming environment. This wouldn’t be possible without the support of our presenting sponsor Circle Care Center, our 24 other sponsors, and the 150 volunteers who work around the clock for a world-class event.”

Mathews Park is located at 295 West Ave., Norwalk.

Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely

Andrew S. Curran, author of the new book, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, will be the guest speaker at the monthly Humanists and Freethinkers of Fairfield County (HFFC) meeting, 6 p.m. in the Silver Star Diner on Connecticut Avenue.

The release said:

“The riveting book has been reviewed in the New York Times and The New Yorker.

“Denis Diderot is often associated with the decades-long battle to bring the  world’s first comprehensive Encyclopédie into existence. But his most daring  writing took place in the shadows. Thrown into prison for his atheism in 1749, Diderot decided to reserve his best books for posterity –for us, in  fact. In the astonishing cache of unpublished writings left behind after his  death, Diderot challenged virtually all of his century’s accepted truths,  from the sanctity of monarchy, to the racial justification of the slave  trade, to the norms of human sexuality. One of Diderot’s most attentive  readers during his lifetime was Catherine the Great, who not only supported  him financially, but invited him to St. Petersburg to talk about the  possibility of democratizing the Russian empire.
“Curran vividly describes Diderot’s tormented relationship with Rousseau, his  curious correspondence with Voltaire, his passionate affairs, and his often  iconoclastic stands on art, theater, morality, politics, and religion.  Curran brings out brilliantly how the writer’s personal turmoil was an  essential part of his genius and his ability to flout taboos, dogma, and  convention.

“The meeting, Monday June 10 (6 pm social hour; 7 pm program), at the Silver  Star Diner in Norwalk, is free and open to all. RSVP is recommended by email  to [email protected] or at www.meetup.com/hffcct

“The Humanists and Freethinkers of Fairfield County, Connecticut, espouses  Reason and Compassion, and seeks to promote Humanism and free thought in our  community. It holds general meetings, film events, book discussions,  solstice celebrations, and science roundtables.  Learn more at meetup.com/HFFCCT.”