By Preet Patel, Trinity College In the shadow of the illuminated state capitol building, hundreds of people sat mesmerized by a powerful show. Joyful laughter, sparkling smiles, and camera flashes dotted the magical landscape of Bushnell Park. Standing on stage and looking out onto people of many cultures and ethnicities, we raised and then lowered … More Illuminating Stronger Ties at Hartford’s Night Fall
by Muhammad A. Zeb, Trinity College A metropolitan area is similar to a human body, wherein each city functions as a unique organ, while the central city represents the heart. The City of Hartford — the heart of a 1.2 million person metropolitan area — is starved of its lifeblood in a region starkly divided … More Yanil Teron: Bonding the Heart of Hartford
Relationships. It’s all about relationships. Relationships are the interpersonal connections among us that build social capital. Social capital is the sum of the relationships enabling a society — a country, a city, a community — to function effectively for everyone. Social capital is bound together in networks of relationships, and networks link to connect more … More Classroom to Community at Trinity
With Christmas rapidly approaching stores are brimming with potential presents anticipating the post-Thanksgiving throngs rushing to buy the right gift for the right person. Gifts are the currency of the holidays. Given in the right spirit, gifts are important symbols expressing our love and affection for family and friends. Being on the outside looking in during … More The Gift of Dignity
What’s the opposite of welcoming? Unwelcoming. What’s the opposite of inclusion? Exclusion. Welcoming is inclusive, unwelcoming is exclusive — it’s divisive. Divisiveness is a weapon of mass destruction. It destroys families, communities, and countries. It’s a plague. It sickens, weakens, and often kills its infected hosts who refuse to realize, until its too late, that … More Divisiveness: A Weapon of Mass Destruction
Mayor Bob Buckhorn got it right when he told NBC’s Willie Geist “This is when government matters,” after Hurricane Irma passed through Tampa. It matters when government is prepared to lead. We honor and fully appreciate our first responders whose mission is to serve and protect us in the wake of disasters, both natural and human caused. … More Government Always Matters
July 9-14, 2017, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada A week of building. A week of friendship. A week of faith. A week of changing lives. In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, President and Mrs. Carter brought their 34th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project (JRCWP 2017) to several communities across Canada, with Edmonton and Winnipeg the two main … More Hartford Habitat Builds at Carter Project in Canada
It’s August 2017. The United States of America is in the grip of divisiveness and hatred. A grip tearing our social fabric. A fabric woven of freedom and fairness for all people as envisioned by our country’s founders. A fabric celebrated in our Constitution. The Constitution of the United States of America is a framework … More “The time is always right to do what is right”
Andrea Comer is my friend. Her friends are many. Her reach is far. She lives the legacy of the United States’ history of discrimination, segregation, insults, and injustice toward the “other” through her and her family’s experiences. It’s personal. It matters. It hurts. This past year I wrote several blog posts about racial and religious … More Rising Voices of Hate: Andrea’s Story
“This is not just about statues, this is about our attitudes and behavior as well … Many are painfully aware of the long shadows their presence casts; not only literally but figuratively.” — Mayor Mitch Landrieu On May 19, 2017, the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was removed by the City of New … More Mayor Landrieu’s Monumental Truth
Red Truck Stonecatcher 