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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Monday, March 8, 2010

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led protesters on a march from Selma, Ala., to Montgomery, Ala.

Selma March 2007

Clinton, Obama Commemorate Historic Selma March

SELMA, AL - MARCH 04: Presidential candidate (L-R) Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), Congressman John Lewis (D-GA), Presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and her husband, former president Bill Clinton march with a crowd to the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 1965 'Bloody Sunday' Voting Rights march March 4, 2007 in Selma, Alabama. In the 1965 march, which was to go from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama police beat back the marchers when they reached the Pettus Bridge.

Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images

Mar 04, 2007

Bloody Sunday History Lesson

CBS42 - Kimberly Rankin - ‎1 hour ago‎

Children of all ages marched across the Edmond Pettus Bridge in Selma this Bloody Sunday, many for their first time. Their parents wanted to instill in them this piece of American history. “I wanted to cross the bridge with my children because it was a ...

'Jubilee' to put focus on education

Montgomery Advertiser - Alvin Benn - ‎Mar 5, 2010‎

SELMA -- Segregated water fountains and voting inequities were key civil rights issues in the 1960s, but the focus today is on education, which will be a theme of this year's Bridge Crossing ...

Statement from DNC Chairman Tim Kaine on the 45th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday

PR Newswire (press release) - ‎6 hours ago‎

"This weekend marks the 45th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where some 600 civil rights marchers attempted to walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. They had only made it about six blocks, to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, when the marchers were met with ...