Charter Oak Cultural Center To Dedicate Memorial To People Of Color Killed By Police Violence On September 12

In remembrance of the thousands of people of color wrongfully killed by the police in our country, Charter Oak Cultural Center commissioned a free-standing, double-sided memorial by painter, George Gould. A dedication of the memorial, featuring remarks by Mr. Gould, Charter Oak Executive Director Rabbi Donna Berman and Community Partners in Action Prison Arts Program Manager Jeffrey Greene, will be held on Monday, September 12 at 6:00 on the front lawn of the Charter Oak Cultural Center located at 21 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT. The event is free and open to all.

Rabbi Berman states, "Mr. Gould created a powerful mural that will be installed on our grounds. We wanted this memorial to be accessible to everyone who wants to come and lay a flower or a stone, say a prayer or, in whatever way they feel moved, to remember and honor those people of color who have lost their lives to police violence."

In 1993 George Gould was sentenced to 80 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. 16 years later his case was overturned, and he felt a year of freedom before a state appeal sent him right back to prison. Following a serious bout with COVID in 2021 he was released on time served. He still fights for his exoneration, but will never get back those 26 years.

Throughout his incarceration, George Gould's artwork, and his colleagues in Community Partners in Action's Prison Arts Program, helped him remain hopeful and alive. His artwork, and public exhibitions of his work, served as a powerful arena in which to plead his innocence. He continues his work outside of prison and is honored to have this opportunity to memorialize so many lives lost to injustice.

Charter Oak Cultural Center, housed in the first synagogue built in Connecticut, is a non-profit, multi-cultural arts center, committed to doing the work of social justice through the arts by offering performances, concerts, exhibits, lectures and other professional arts events from which no one is turned away for lack of funds, providing 1,000 Hartford children with a free, high quality arts education and making three innovative programs that offer educational and employment opportunities, in the arts, available to members of the homeless community. For more information, visit www.charteroakcenter.org.

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