125
Finette Benson Nichols Collection
Collection, MS B31
1963 – 1970
1978
1890 – 1969
1978
1890 – 1969
In 1968 the State Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities held public hearings in Waterbury. The commission was concerned with four areas: Housing, Education, Employment, and Police-Community Relations. The hearings provided a forum for anyone who lived in Waterbury to voice concerns over these issues – though the vast majority of people who testified were under subpoena. Witnesses spoke about police violence, segregation, inequality, discrimination in housing, lack of opportunities.
The Commission then took the findings from the hearing to the Executive Committee and Legislative Committee. In addition to the hearings, an Interim Report was issued summarizing the findings in which Police – Community Relation and Housing were the two areas of great focus with conclusions and suggestions.
The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was originally called the Inter-Racial Commission and was founded in 1943. On May 21, 1945 the commission held a similar hearing in Waterbury.
The granddaughter of Fairfield sea captain Abraham Benson, Finette Benson Nichols was educated at the Fairfield Academy and worked for 25 years in New York City as secretary to the head of the American Baptist Society. Although she had been opposed to the suffrage movement before 1920, Finette B. Nichols ended up devoting years of her life to politics. With support from Annie B. Jennings and other Republican women, she was nominated as a state representative. In 1931 she was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly, becoming the first woman to represent Fairfield at the state level. One of only a handful of female legislators during that time, she went on to serve eight terms, until just before her death in 1948. She was known as a “liberal conservative,” serving on committees dealing with public health and safety, labor, towns and cities, and public welfare.
The Commission then took the findings from the hearing to the Executive Committee and Legislative Committee. In addition to the hearings, an Interim Report was issued summarizing the findings in which Police – Community Relation and Housing were the two areas of great focus with conclusions and suggestions.
The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was originally called the Inter-Racial Commission and was founded in 1943. On May 21, 1945 the commission held a similar hearing in Waterbury.
The granddaughter of Fairfield sea captain Abraham Benson, Finette Benson Nichols was educated at the Fairfield Academy and worked for 25 years in New York City as secretary to the head of the American Baptist Society. Although she had been opposed to the suffrage movement before 1920, Finette B. Nichols ended up devoting years of her life to politics. With support from Annie B. Jennings and other Republican women, she was nominated as a state representative. In 1931 she was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly, becoming the first woman to represent Fairfield at the state level. One of only a handful of female legislators during that time, she went on to serve eight terms, until just before her death in 1948. She was known as a “liberal conservative,” serving on committees dealing with public health and safety, labor, towns and cities, and public welfare.
The Waterbury Civil Rights Collection was compiled by local historian Jeremy Brecher about racism in Waterbury during the 1960s. The collection is composed of two types of documents: the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities Hearings and responses, and a general collection of documents and newspapers about racism.
The collection is entirely paper based and consists of 8 volumes of verbatim commission hearings, newspaper articles, correspondence, and a pamphlet.;There are 15 boxes and 3 oversize items in this collection. The bulk of the material concerns Finette B. Nichols' legislative career.
The collection is entirely paper based and consists of 8 volumes of verbatim commission hearings, newspaper articles, correspondence, and a pamphlet.;There are 15 boxes and 3 oversize items in this collection. The bulk of the material concerns Finette B. Nichols' legislative career.
The collection is arranged alphabetically, except for the public hearings and related materials which are listed first.
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