HARTFORD, Conn. — NAACP officials on Wednesday denounced what they called continued racism at an Amazon warehouse construction site in Connecticut where an eighth noose was found, despite additional security measures having been added last weekend.
Another noose was found at the site in Windsor on Wednesday morning, the day of a scheduled meeting between workers and NAACP officials about safety and security, said Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP organization.
“We have a serious problem in American and it hasn’t gone away,” Esdaile said. “It’s deplorable. It’s sickening. It’s a sick mindset that Black people have to fight against.”
Amazon closed the site over the weekend, saying it was putting additional security measures in place after a seventh noose was found last week. The company closed the site again Wednesday to allow the FBI to investigate after the new noose was found under some electrical materials, Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement.
“Hate, racism or discrimination have no place in our society and are certainly not tolerated in any Amazon workplace,” Nantel said. “We will continue to work with all levels of law enforcement as well as our development partners, to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure that all members of our community feel valued, respected and safe.”
A message was left Wednesday for Windsor police, who also have denounced the nooses and called them “potential” hate crimes.
Windsor police have been working with the FBI and state police to try to identify those responsible for the nooses, the first of which was found at the site last month. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identification of the culprits.
Gov. Ned Lamont called the nooses “racist provocation of the worst type.”
“I can tell you that I’m talking to Amazon,” the Democratic governor said at an unrelated news conference about the coronavirus Wednesday. “We’re doing everything we can from a security point of view, everything we can from a law enforcement point of view. But I can’t change people’s hearts and it just breaks my heart that this is still going on.”
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Associated Press writer Pat Eaton-Robb contributed to this report.
