CORNWALL, Conn. — Think the First Amendment allows you to say whatever you want? Think again.Probably nothing has been more debated, from so many different perspectives, as freedom of speech. In his more than 50 years as a law professor, consultant to the Supreme Court (weighing in on issues including the Pentagon Papers) and head of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Norman Dorsen is an expert on the subject. He has also written 16 books on Constitutional law. His ability to richly summarize and humorously present the aspects of the debate are enviable and delightful. The 75 or so people who filled the North Cornwall Meeting House Sunday afternoon enjoyed a painless yet serious lecture.His talk was the first in a series presented by the Northwest Chapter of the ACLU of Connecticut. It was planned for the home of John and Julia Scott, but response quickly overwhelmed that venue. In introducing Dorsen, Julia Scott recalled when Dorsen and his late wife, Harriet (also a renowned civil rights attorney), moved to Town Street in Cornwall. The Scotts were invited to dinner to meet a South African couple bravely fighting for rights for their fellow citizens. “He and Harriet would become an example for us all,” Scott said of their determination to expose the atrocities.State ACLU Director Andrew Schneider opened the Sept. 30 talk. The series, he said, is a celebration of a highly successful year in achieving objectives — in particular, the abolition in Connecticut of the death penalty, a goal for the last two decades.Dorsen went back to the beginning, when the Bill of Rights was written two years after the Constitution after it was found it were needed after all.The First Amendment says Congress may make no law that restricts numerous rights, including the right to observe a religion, peaceably assemble and exercise freedom of the press.Put in its simplest terms, this established a huge gray area. Supreme Court justices would eventually devise lists of categories of public speech disallowed by case law, such as slander, obscenities and “fighting words.”“No one was ever convicted on the fighting words claim,” Dorsen said, “but the category is still on the books. The world has changed and since the mid-1970s, there has been no case involving obscenities.”Content of speech is applied to all cases, with time, place and manner the guidelines for a legal determination. Dorsen noted that rights extend not just to spoken or written words, but to all sorts of forms of expression.Dorsen offered numerous intriguing court cases, and a look at how Supreme Court justices decide matters. Interestingly, he said, a study has been conducted on how their backgrounds factor into decisions involving rights.Over the years, the justices have made some surprising decisions, such as upholding the right to burn a flag in protest of President Ronald Reagan’s policies. What it comes down to is intent, and the balance of freedom of expression against the negative consequences.“For example, if you wanted to protest the town budget, you can protest on the street,” Dorsen said, offering a more local example, “but you can’t go on [First Selectman] Gordon Ridgway’s property at 3 a.m. and chant, ‘Cut the budget,’ and interfere with his and his family’s life.”In another instance, the Occupy Wall Street movement is constitutional when laws are not being broken. “No one bothered them when the park was open, but when they set up tents and planned to spend the night, it was a different matter.”The next two lectures will be held at the Rooster Tail Inn in Warren. David McGuire, staff attorney for the Connecticut ACLU, will speak Monday, Oct. 15, at 6 p.m. on “Recent Prison Reform Successes in Connecticut and the Work Still To Be Accomplished.” Monday, Nov. 19, will bring “Shielding the Press: Should Reporters Ever Have to Reveal Their Sources?” The talk will be presented by Keith Johnson, former foreign correspondent for Time and senior editor of Fortune; and John Miller, former writer for NBC Nightly News and the Today show.Programs are free and open to the public. No reservations are needed. Dorsen and Johnson are members of the Executive Committee of the Lakeville Journal Co.
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One systemic consequence of slavery is the loss and obscuring of the histories of those who were enslaved. Records were often not kept about where Africans had been stolen from or who they were related to. Families were torn apart, leaving nothing but the faintest traces of the past. The delineation point, where genealogists can no longer trace histories back, is refered to this as the “document wall.”
Today, 250 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and more than 160 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, there is a growing effort to restore some of the history stripped from enslaved people and their descendants. Among the leaders of these efforts is Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation, a nonprofit organization that works to identify previously anonymous Black Americans from history and connect them with their living relatives.
The work began with Mills’ sister, who started digging into their family’s past in the 1990’s and introduced him to this emerging world of genealogy. Through that process, the Mills family discovered their great-great-grandfather, Ned Mills, who had been enslaved in Texas. His last name came from his final enslaver and remains the family surname. Through their research, they found that the document wall directly affected their ancestor, who learned of his liberation on June 19, 1865, now commemorated as Juneteenth.
“For the first time,” Mills writes on his website, “American slavery wasn’t something that had happened to anonymous people in a history book. It had happened to my family.”
The discovery gave Mills a familial pride he had been missing for years. That pride fueled his desire to help others find their own history. In 2023, Mills received his certificate in genealogical research from Boston University. He has used his expertise to help descendants of enslaved people uncover histories they never dreamed of learning.
To do this, he uses a process called “reverse genealogy,” identifying a person from the past and working forward to discover their descendants. Along the way, Mills has found some remarkable people who fought for freedom on American soil, some of whom were never freed.
Pay Bill for Robin Starr’s service in the Continental Army.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
At the Cornwall Historical Society event, Mills will present the stories of four Connecticut families: Job Lathrop of Norwich, the son of Pirmus Armes, about whom Mills has published a book; Prince Mortimer of Middletown, also the subject of a book by Mills;, the three sons of London Wallace of Simsbury; and Robert “Robin” Starr of Danbury, who later lived in Cornwall and Sharon.
A few years ago, Cornwall Consolidated School social studies teacher Will Vincent reached out to Mills for research guidance on a local history project his students were undertaking. Together, they learned about Naomi Freeman of Cornwall. After purchasing an acre of land on Great Hollow Road in 1828, Naomi Freeman became the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.
The students petitioned the town to rename a road after the historic Cornwall resident In April 2025, Great Hollow Road was officially renamed Naomi Freeman Historic Road. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes joined Mills and the Cornwall Consildated School students for a presentation of their research.
Since then, Mills has guided the students in their quest to learn more about Starr’s story. Starr was a Revolutionary War soldier who joined the Continental Army to earn enough money to buy his own freedom, receiving the Badge of Merit in the process. The stories of his descendents’ services are equally worthy of their own books.
In recognition of Mills and the students’ work, First Selectman Gordon Ridgway proclaimed Feb. 8 as Robin Starr Day.
Preregistration is required for the event at the Cornwall Historical Society. To learn more about Mills’ work, visit
alexbreanne.org.
John Mills speaking at Quinnipiac University.Courtesy the Alex Breanne Corporation
Stephanie Saetta runs Charlie Chicken Bones, a sanctuary in Salisbury.
Dogs have been at the center of Saetta’s life since childhood. She remembers going to the library to research different breeds and trying to convince her parents the family needed a dog. She had her heart set on an Irish Wolfhound, but she was more than happy when her mom brought home a West Highland terrier.
After college, she adopted Charlie as a puppy from a rescue on Long Island. He was a hound-shepherd-Rottweiler mix who suffered from intense seizures. Some veterinarians recommended euthanasia, but Saetta wasn’t ready to give up on him.
When Charlie would have an episode, she would sit with him, nose to nose, talking him through it. She learned to look for the moment he began to come around — when he could smell her again and his tail started to wag.
“You only get one or two of these soul connection dogs, so I do this in his honor,” Saetta said. “I like to think that all the dogs that come through are going to have that person that they connect with just the same.”
Through a network of women working to rescue animals in Texas, she learned about the desperate situations facing many dogs.
With limited space, some public pounds euthanize even healthy animals to make room. Limited access to veterinary care leaves sick dogs or unvaccinated puppies especially vulnerable.
Saetta saw that reality firsthand with a puppy named Gus, a Labrador mix she fostered who has since been adopted. Gus and his sisters had been dumped beside a road, where they were living under an abandoned car. People would leave food for them, but no one would take them to the pound.
“Even the people who rescue animals down there were like, ‘sadly, the best place for them to be is on the side of the road,’” she said. “That’s safer. Someone might actually help them that way.”
Saetta knows that there are far more dogs than any one person can save, but she also knows that helping one dog means one fewer on the street.
Stephanie Saetta,with her rescue dog George and Blue (left), a shepherd mix awaiting his forever home.Madi Long
Charlie Chicken Bone Sanctuary operates entirely through foster homes, a model that Saetta believes is best for the dogs and the humans hoping to adopt them.
Rather than moving directly from a difficult environment into a permanent home, the dogs have a chance to settle into a quieter setting. They can learn what it’s like to live with a family, sleep somewhere comfortable and receive affection without fighting for attention. Fostering also allows the rescue to really get to know each dog.
“As fosters, we’re honest,” said Saetta. We’ll tell you everything that’s been bad, everything that’s been good. What their temperament is and how they’ve responded to all the things they’ve experienced.”
A successful adoption is not just about finding a dog a home; it’s about finding the right home where the dog and family can thrive together.
Saetta is looking for more people willing to open their homes to foster dogs. She understands that the thought of growing attached and eventually saying goodbye can feel daunting. But she sees that goodbye a little differently.
Fostering means being part of a dog’s journey, even if only for a short time. It gives dogs a safe place to rest, the chance to trust again and the love they have gone without for much of their lives. And when the time comes for them to leave, it is not really a loss. It is the reward of knowing they are moving on to a forever home.
Blue, Saetta’s current foster, is hoping to find his perfect home.
Blue, a 7 year-old Shepard mix, is waiting for his forever home. Madi Long
Now around 7 years old, Blue spent most of his life wandering the streets of Texas. People sometimes left food out for him, but his mangy, dirty coat kept them from stopping to pet him. Today, he has a chance to experience something different.
Blue is still waiting for his forever home. Saetta believes he would do best as the only dog in a household or alongside another senior dog. He will need someone willing to continue working with him on his training and understand that a dog with his history needs patience.
But what he gives in return is a whole lot of love.
“He’s so enthusiastic, he’s so excited for life, he’s so friendly, and he’s got such a good heart, and he loves to cuddle,” Saetta said. “He’s a good, good, good dog.”
For more information on adopting Blue or how to foster, visit ccbsanctuary.org.
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