Omar Thornton Victim of Racism and Union Management Corruption

Omar Thornton Victim of Racism and Union/Management Corruption

(With Permission from Broadway Stagehands Democracy)

The editorial staff held a meeting yesterday regarding the murders in Connecticut. We concluded that when Omar complained to union and management about racism that the Teamsters and Management built a phony case of stealing against him to cover their Racism and Lack of Union Democracy. We have seen the same story repeated over and over again in Local One IATSE. Complain and they set you up. Omar was not correct in his shooting spree but he too was a victim.

Kristi Hannah, girlfriend of Omar Thornton, recalls gunman's goodbye, racism concerns

BY Matthew Lysiak In Enfield, Conn., and Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Originally Published:Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 11:37 AM
Updated: Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 12:06 PM

CT shooting suspect Omar Thornton with his girlfriend at left Kristi Hannah.

Hill/AP

Authorities converge on Hartford Distributorsin Manchester, Conn., Tuesday.

The girlfriend of the Connecticut truck driver who killed eight of his co-workers said Wednesday that on the morning of the massacre "he was in a daze."

Speaking exclusively to the Daily News for the first time since Omar Thornton ended his deadly rampage by shooting himself, Kristi Hannah said she did not he was planning to unleash hell - but she knew something was not right when he left her apartment.

"That morning he seemed like he was in a daze," she said, speaking at her mom's house. "His eyes weren't right. They were empty. I kept asking him what was wrong but he wouldn't tell me."

Thornton, she said, "was quiet."

"He gave me a weird hug," said Hannah. "It was really long. And a kiss and said goodbye. He looked at me hard and told me he loved me."

Then he was gone.

A short time later, Hannah said, the cops showed up.

"Two detectives showed up asking for Omar," she said. "I texted Omar and asked, 'Why are two detectives at my door? You've never done anything wrong in your life.' He didn't answer. I texted him again, 'Are you okay?'"

Still, there was no answer from Thornton.

Then, Hannah said, she saw the reports flashing across the screen of her TV and a horrible realization set in.

"I saw the news and I collapsed on the ground," she said. "I couldn't even move. I felt so sick."

Hannah said that all their plans for the future crumbled in an instant.

"We were engaged, we were talking about having a family," she said. "I fell in love with him because he was the most gentle man I had ever met. His eyes were so kind. He would never hurt another creature."

Hannah said she can't reconcile her memories of Thornton with the cold-blooded killer who turned the beer and wine wholesaling business where he worked into a slaughterhouse.

"Omar was very kind," she said. "His sister had a drug problem and Omar spent a lot of time caring for his nephew."

Hannah also backed up claims by Thornton's kin that the 34-year-old gunman finally snapped after years of being subjected to racist taunts by co-workers.

"Everyone of \[the victims\] was a person I heard Omar mention," she said. "He didn't go around randomly shooting people. He knew these were the people who harassed him."

Thornton, a black man, "was very sensitive about his race," said Hannah.

"If you called him a n----r he would go off," she said. "But he kept it inside. He kept it all bottled up."

Thornton was reportedly about to be fired for stealing cases of suds, but his girlfriend denied he was a thief and claimed he was a good worker who was recently promoted to driver.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

CIVIL RIGHTS ICON JOSEPH LOWERY AND SIDNEY POITIER RECEIVE MEDAL OF FREEDOM FROM PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Civil rights icon Rev. Joseph Lowery awarded Medal of Freedom

Posted by The Huntsville Times and Associated Press August 12, 2009 3:26 PM

AP PhotoIn this July 2, 2008, file photo Civil Rights pioneer Joseph Lowery speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. President Barack Obama will recognize the accomplishments of actors, activists and athletes on Wednesday when he awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 16 people.

WASHINGTON -- Civil rights leader Rev. Joseph Lowery this afternoon will be among 16 actors, athletes, activists, scientists and humanitarians who this afternoon will be presented the nation's highest civilian honor by President Barack Obama.

Lowery, a Huntsville native who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was an early leader of the civil rights movement, gave the benediction at Obama's inauguration.

Among those receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony Wednesday are film star Sidney Poitier, and tennis legend Billie Jean King.

Others being honored are retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is getting the medal, too, but the Massachusetts Democrat is not at the White House due to his fight against brain cancer.

Posthumous awards are going to former Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of New York and gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

President Harry S. Truman established the Medal of Freedom in 1945 to recognize civilians for their efforts during World War II. President John F. Kennedy reinstated the medal in 1963 to honor distinguished service.

Many of the other recipients announced today are household names: Stephen Hawking, the internationally known theoretical physicist; the late Congressman Jack Kemp, a former Republican vice presidential nominee who died in May; Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts; tennis legend Billie Jean King; actor Sidney Poitier; former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; Bishop Desmond Tutu, the anti-Apartheid activist from South Africa; and Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official from a major city, and the recent subject of a major movie starring Sean Penn.

Others receiving the award today were: Nancy Goodman Brinker, sister of breast cancer victim Susan G. Komen and founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation; Pedro Jose Greer Jr., founder of Camillus Health Concern, an organization that provided medical care to the homeless in Florida; Chita Rivera, a Tony award winning actress, singer and dancer who in 2002 became the first Hispanic to win the coveted Kennedy Center Honor; Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland; Joe Medicine Crow-High Bird, the last living Plains Indian war chief and a World War II veteran; Janet Davison Rowley, the Blum Riese Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine, Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology at the University of Chicago; Mumammad Yunus, an anti-poverty activitst who pioneered the use of "micro-loans" to provide credit to poor people without collateral.

This is the White House statement on Lowery:

Rev. Joseph E. Lowery has marched through life with faith and purpose, carrying with him the legacy of a movement that touched America's conscience and changed its history. At the forefront of the major civil rights events of our time -- from the Montgomery bus boycott to protests against apartheid -- he has served as a tireless beacon for nonviolence and social justice. As a pastor and civil rights advocate, he co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and championed the cause of peace and freedom around the world. The United States proudly honors this outstanding leader.