This is a picture of a Hartford Courant article in 1994 where Diane Zannoni was honored with six other Hartford residents who received neighborhood service awards at SINA’s 4th annual ceremony. In the article she is credited with cofounding an academic minor called Studies of Progressive American Social Movements which challenged students to examine social issues while gaining real world experiences working with community organizations. At the time Diane was also volunteering on the board of the Trinity College Community Child Center, which she helped found.

Diane started teaching Economics at Trinity College in the 1970s, the decade where SINA was founded by Ivan Backer (SINA’s Executive Director who presented her the service award in 1994). In the 1990s, Diane participated in the Trinity Center for Neighborhoods, a partnership between Trinity College faculty and students and four community organizing groups. The Center for Neighborhoods provided research and information community groups requested to help them more effectively plan and advocate. The center had two staff faculty members who focused on monitoring the research and two staff who were experienced community organizers who worked with the community groups. Alta Lash was one of the organizers. She was a Frog Hollow resident who had an incredible ability to identify neighborhood problems and work towards sustainable solutions while developing the people around her. Out of these initiatives, many professors wanted to start an interdisciplinary minor where students could examine social issues through the lens of their academic subject. Out of this passion, Studies of Progressive American Social Movements was born. At the time, subjects like inequality and poverty were not often incorporated into learning. This minor sought to change that.

For students who took this minor, they joined because they were eager to do things that made a difference. “They wanted to take their skills and see how they could help make life better for someone else,” Diane said. Alta Lash taught the seminar. Students would tour the neighborhood and then come back to the college. Alta helped the students reflect on what they had seen. Students would ask questions like why they hadn’t seen playgrounds or why certain blocks had so many blighted buildings.  Alta helped students to process, lean into their discomfort, and reexamine what they previously had thought. She then helped students to see that things didn’t have to be the way they were, but could change.  They could change through a lot of small actions taken over time. Some of the actions the students took like investigating where a traffic light should be placed in a neighborhood might seem insignificant. “It might appear small,” Diane said. “But it is not a one-off action. It is part of a larger effort and can make a permanent difference.”

Another seemingly small action Diane recalls is a time when the college obtained funds to improve the patio of a property on Zion St. across from Trinity College where Timothy’s Restaurant used to be (current location of Mexican American Diner at 243 Zion Street). Diane remembers working shoulder to shoulder with students during the late summer before classes started. They took up cement, planted trees, and installed fencing. It was a lot of work, but also a great opportunity to have enriching conversations. Beyond being a worksite, for that week, the patio was a classroom. During the work Diane was able to get to know her students, to learn what they cared about and where they saw their lives going. They were able to share perspectives and mutually learn from one another. (See pictures below)

As for the Trinity College Community Child Center, Diane would be quick to let you know that there were six founders. The other five were Louise Fisher, Diane Anselmi, Kathy Frederick, Marcia Johnson, and Frank Hartman. All of them were concerned with how segregated Hartford was and how much of a need there was for childcare. At the time, the neighborhood consisted of mostly white families whose children would seldom interact with Hispanic and Black residents who lived in other parts of the city. In 1985, the founders received funding from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving to open the center. True to its vision, the center was a place where children of all racial and ethnic backgrounds could learn together. In addition, the center was intentional about making the facility accessible to families of varying income levels by offering scholarships (which they still offer to this day). The center was wildly popular when it opened. Just like today, childcare was a crucial issue facing many families.

So where is she now?

In short, not very far away from where she was then. Diane is still a professor at Trinity College, teaching Economics. Today, one of her core missions is protecting academic freedom which she observes as becoming increasingly threatened in our world. “Universities are to be a place where you can debate and discuss opinions,” she said. “If you can’t keep [academic freedom] alive at a college where else will it be preserved?”  Diane sees the ability to debate through discomfort as foundational. It is what allows a person to revisit and rethink their perspective. Without that building block, students would not have learned from Alta Lash in her seminar or while planting trees in front of Timothy’s Restaurant. Without academic freedom, there cannot be transformational learning and without transformational learning, there can be no transformation.

As to why Diane feels so strongly about this you can blame nuns. Diane grew up in New Jersey and attended Catholic school all the way from elementary school through college.  Diane remembers how many nuns took a genuine interest in students, treating them with profound care (Diane is still in contact with some of them).  She also remembers how the nuns would do things like take students on trips to work alongside migrant workers picking tomatoes used at the nearby Campbell’s Soup factory. They then led the students in reflecting on working conditions and larger societal issues the trips revealed.  “They taught us to always try to see the other side,” Diane said, “to put yourself in the other position.”  All of this took place during the 60s and 70s in the middle of the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movement and the social turmoil of Vietnam. These waves of experiences made social action something that wasn’t theoretical and optional, but practical and necessary. “It starts with you,” became a truth Diane observed time and time again and something that became a part of her.

So where are you now?

One thing Diane wanted to make sure you know is that she is not some hero or saint. She is just an ordinary person who was given opportunities and a lot of support. So it seems only fitting that an article dedicated to generations of women educators leading others through transformational reflection, would end with a series of questions.

Where are you now? Why are things the way they are? How can you be a part of making them better?