When work began eight months ago to host a community discussion on “Mass Incarceration and Racial Inequality,” organizers had no way of knowing how ready Connecticut would be to participate.

The hosts had their answer at 7 p.m. on May 6 when several hundred people flocked to Bridgeport’s Klein Auditorium to hear a blue-ribbon panel discuss these aspects of criminal justice reform.

The panel discussion covered the impact on communities and families of a criminal justice system that imprisons a disproportionate number of minorities, and often releases them without adequate support for their re-entry into community life or access to crucial social services.

The discussion was honest and lively; the audience reception was enthusiastic.

The audience could not have been more diverse. There were community activists, religious leaders, attorneys, ex-offenders, families, and prosecutors.

There were also a number of political movers and shakers in the house. Former Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim — himself an ex-offender — sat in the front row as his successor and now opponent for the Democratic mayoral nomination, Mayor Bill Finch, delivered welcoming remarks.

The event was organized by Family ReEntry, a nonprofit that develops, implements and shares solutions to the unprecedented number of people involved in…

Originally posted on Milford Mirror

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