New CFT site: New Haven Armory

MAYOR JUSTIN M. ELICKER

CITY OF NEW HAVEN

***MEDIA ADVISORY ***

for Friday, September 29, 2023

MAYOR ELICKER TO PARTICIPATE IN CEREMONY COMMEMORATING THE NEW HAVEN ARMORY AS NEWLY DESIGNATED HISTORIC SITE ON THE CONNECTICUT FREEDOM TRAIL FOR ITS SIGNIFICANCE TO THE CITY RIGHTS MOVEMENT

NEW HAVEN, CT – On Friday, September 29^th at 10:30 am, Mayor Justin Elicker will join members of The State Historic Preservation Office, The Connecticut Freedom Trail and other elected, civic and community leaders for an event celebrating the designation of the historic New Haven Armory (290 Goffe Street) as a new site on The Connecticut Freedom Trail for its significance to the civil rights movement.

The Connecticut Freedom Trail “documents and designates sites that embody the struggle toward freedom and human dignity, celebrate the accomplishments of the state’s African American community and promote heritage tourism.” The New Haven Armory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021 for its architectural, military and social history significance over the last century. Part of that significance includes serving as a staging ground for the National Guard response to a 1970 protest in New Haven which attracted national attention and headlines over the murder trial taking place in town of two Black Panther Party leaders. Over the years, the New Haven Armory has also served as a site of other notable events of importance to the Black community in New Haven and Connecticut.

The announcement will mark the conclusion of Connecticut Freedom Trail Month, which is celebrated annually during the month of September with various educational and community events at many of the now over 160 historically designated sites across the state.

EVENT DETAILS

WHAT: Announcement of the New Haven Armory as new site on The Connecticut Freedom Trail

WHEN:  Friday, September 29^th at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:  New Haven Armory, 290 Goffe Street, New Haven, CT

(*** Rain location: Bethel A.M.E Church, 255 Goffe Street ***)

WHO:

• Mayor Justin Elicker;
• Alder Tom Ficklin;
• Todd Levine, Historian, State Historic Preservation Office, Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development;
• Charles Warner, President, The Connecticut Freedom Trail;
• Tammy Denease, Director of Outreach, The Connecticut Freedom Trail;
• Paul Bass, Co-Author, Murder in the Model City: The Black Panthers, Yale, And the Redemption of a Killer;
• Doris Dumas, President, Greater New Haven NACCP;
• Among others.

###

Press Contact:

Lenny H. Speiller (he/him)

Director of Communications

Mayor Justin Elicker | City of New Haven

165 Church Street | New Haven, CT 06511

Phone: (203) 725-4249

Email: Lspeiller@newhavenct.gov