20 Photos
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
Lance Gumbs, vice chairman of the Shinnecock Nation Tribal Council, speaks at the vigil in Agawam Park on Thursday. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
A vigil was held in Agawam Park in Southampton Village on Thursday morning. DANA SHAW
Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren. DANA SHAW
Kaiden Davis, 10, of Southampton at the vigil in Agawam Park on Thursday. DANA SHAW
Andrina Smith gave an impassioned speech at the vigil in Agawam Park on Thursday. DANA SHAW
Dr. Richard "Junie" Wingfield at the podium at the vigil in Agawam Park on Thursday. DANA SHAW
A socially-distanced crowd filled Agawam Park in Southampton Village on a sweltering Thursday morning to remember the life of George Floyd and other black lives lost to police brutality and systemic racism.
The vigil, organized by a coalition of black community leaders, with support from Mayor Jesse Warren, was filled with songs, prayer and calls for action to fight police violence and structural violence experienced by black communities.
Thursday’s event was markedly different from many national protests and even Bridgehampton’s protest on Tuesday. At the park Thursday, participants quietly stretched out across the park’s lawn, many with lawn chairs and blankets. Some brought signs bearing national slogans of the movement: “No justice, No peace,” and “Black Lives Matter,” two read.
Early in a lineup of speakers, Mr. Warren provided a brief welcome message at the podium, reaffirming his commitment to fighting systemic inequalities and for “social and racial justice.”
Lance Gumbs, vice chairman of the Shinnecock Nation Tribal Council, in a call to action, demanded that attendees do more than just hold a conversation. “There’s a lot of George Floyds out there who don’t get videotaped,” he said.
“If you remain silent, you are just as guilty as the perpetrators,” Mr. Gumbs said to applause from the crowd.
Community leader Dr. Richard Wingfield urged the crowd to call out opponents of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he said, quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Andrina Smith noted racism and racist systems on the East End.
“This notion of the Hamptons has become bigger than our community,” she said, speaking of racism from community members and business owners in her hometown of Southampton Village.
Ms. Smith also called out the exclusive beach and country clubs on the East End: “When you enter those country clubs where the only people of color are the [staff], I need you to [speak up].”
But the ongoing pandemic, which has claimed over 100,000 lives in the United States, was seldom forgotten — aside from masks and social distancing, the crowd was led in a one minute moment of silence for those lives lost. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on black communities in particular — an NPR analysis found that in 32 states, the percent of COVID-19 victims who were black outweighed the percentage of black people in the state.
Before speakers took to the podium, attendees could register to vote or pick up a rally sign from members of the local NAACP branch.
Arelean Vanslyke, a member of the Eastern Long Island branch of the NAACP, said she was there to fight for equality: “the right to walk in the store and not be followed, the right for our men not to be killed for minor traffic violations, we want everyone to vote.”
Alec Giufurta on Jun 4, 2020