At Greenport women's rally, advocates call for civic engagement, solidarity

“Onward.”

That was the word of the day in Greenport’s Mitchell Park as nearly 100 people gathered for a rally Saturday, with attendees vowing solidarity and civic engagement ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration on Jan. 20.

Snow fell steadily as the crowd huddled together, chanting, singing and listening to calls to action from community leaders. Speakers covered topics such as women's rights, education, health care, immigration and other social issues they believe could be impacted under Trump's presidency. Each urged the crowd to get involved to spur positive change.

“It’s time to wipe your tears,” said Tijuana Fulford, executive director of the Riverhead nonprofit The Butterfly Effect Project. “Let your fear motivate you to move.”

A committee of local activists organized the event, billed as a "women's rally," in an effort to promote unity and encourage political activism following the presidential election in November. In addition to the rally, the committee has started a “Community Action Center” at the recently rebuilt Unitarian Universalists church in Southold.

The committee plans to hold meetings on the fourth Friday of each month at 4 p.m. to “work on issues that we believe are important relative to ... fighting for the values that we believe in,” organizer Carolyn Peabody said.

Randy Wade, of Greenport, another organizer and a member of the church, said the sessions will be open to anyone interested in getting involved, from writing postcards and making phone calls on political topics to finding organizations to volunteer with.

“We didn’t want to make [the rally] a one-off,” Wade said. “You really only get anything done when you’ve got community.”

Across Nassau and Suffolk counties, more than 53% of voters cast ballots for Trump, Newsday previously reported.

Southold was one of just five Long Island municipalities, along with Shelter Island, East Hampton and Southampton towns and the city of Long Beach, where Vice President Kamala Harris won more votes than Trump in November’s presidential election.

Rosario Rodriguez, 27, a Greenport filmmaker and Guatemalan immigrant, shared her story at the rally, from her father’s life as an undocumented farmworker to achieving citizenship in 2019. She said immigrants play a crucial role in the East End economy, from farms and vineyards to the hospitality industry.

Rodriguez said advocating for immigrants is a key priority for her.

“We are often driven by opportunities, and do so with resilience and grit as we prove our worth,” she said.

In June, President Joe Biden — who has been criticized for the number of migrants entering the country during his administration — restricted access to asylum on the United States-Mexico border when daily crossings were over 2,500. The rules tightened further in September, requiring restrictions to be in place until the daily number of migrants entering the country dipped below 1,500 for a month, The Associated Press reported.

Trump has pledged to sign executive orders on his first day in office that could include deportations and clampdowns at the southern border, according to AP.

For some rally attendees, Saturday marked a new opportunity to effect change.

Trisha Martinez, 24, of Hampton Bays, wasn’t old enough to vote in 2016, when Trump was elected to his first term. She remembers feeling “defenseless” about politics.

But she left the demonstration feeling inspired.

“You’ve got to do what you can," she said. "Especially now that we’re older. We can do a lot more.”