Photo of the Rat Pack, The New York Times, 24 March 1969ĭuring the mid to late 1960s, Waterbury's Black community joined the nationwide Civil Rights movement, standing up for their rights, addressing racial inequalities in the city, holding rallies and protests. The RPMC was in fact described as "a kind of Ku Klux Klan in leather jackets." ( David B. The club built a positive reputation for itself in the white community by holding charity events, but their other activities were disturbingly similar to what the KKK was doing in the south. Fernandez, Connecticut Superior Court, Judicial District of Waterbury, 6 March 2003, 2003 Ct. Other positions included a captain, first lieutenant, and two sergeants-at-arms. According to later court records, Crafa ran the club as a paramilitary organization, styling himself as a colonel, while the club's vice president, Robert Fernandez, was a lieutenant colonel.
#WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE RAT PACK MOVIE#
Waterbury's Rat Pack Motorcycle Club was started in 1964 by John Crafa, supposedly inspired by the Marlon Brando movie The Wild One. News coverage of the clashing groups outside City Hall, Rep-Am website, 2 July 2020. The past is repeating itself, and not in a good way. Members of the RPMC doing their best to look tough and intimidating towards Black people holding a rally at City Hall is something Waterbury has seen before. I wasn't able to attend, but I was curious to see how it went, so I went on social media last night to look for images and videos.Īs soon as I saw the Rep-Am report that the Rat Pack Motorcycle Club (RPMC) had staged a counter-protest at the rally to "protect" the statue of Christopher Columbus, alarm bells went off inside my head.
#WHO ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE RAT PACK SERIES#
I figured it would be a pretty straight-forward event, exactly as billed, a series of speakers at a peaceful gathering. The lineup of speakers included familiar names, Waterbury residents who frequently speak out on issues that are important to them. There was a rally at City Hall yesterday intended to draw attention to the problem of racism in society today.