More than 200 people gathered together in Dennis Alley Park (formerly Waban Park) on Saturday in a show of community support for an event called We Stand Together: In Solidarity, Resistance and Resolve.
Scott Goldin and Michelle Tynan, two of the organizers, said the idea for the gathering came from feelings of helplessness, uncertainty and fear many people had expressed after the presidential election.
“We wanted to turn that energy into something more active for the whole community,” Ms. Tynan said. “We welcome all and any. We want them to feel safe and included.”
At the beginning of the event, two trucks flying Trump and American flags drove past the park, honking their horns.
“It’s inclusive, come on over,” said one woman observing the trucks.
People of all ages wrote signs with messages such as Stand Together and Love Each Other. Other signs were more specific: Ask an archeologist, We’re All African Immigrants, No Human Is Illegal and Estamos Unidos, No Discrimination.
The group walked in a slow circle around the park, holding signs, flags (American, Martha’s Vineyard separatist, gay pride) and three giant puppets: Yemoja, the Brazilian Goddess of oceans, Green Man and Mother Earth.
“They’ve been around for a long time, they come out when it’s important,” said Rachael Ewing as she operated Yemoja’s arm.
After the walk, the group gathered around a small grove of trees to listen to a few speakers.
Oak Bluffs police were on hand for the peaceful demonstration.
During the speeches, the trucks that had driven by at the beginning of the event returned. The trucks were parked with headlights aimed at those gathered. About eight men stood outside the trucks. Though they declined to give their names, saying they were concerned they might lose their jobs, one man identified the group as being in the construction business. They said they were upset with illegal immigrants on the Vineyard and said they have been negatively affected in their jobs because of undocumented workers. One said they were shining the lights at the group, “to shed light on the situation.”
“I’m tired of being called a racist because I voted for Trump,” said another. “We’re not bad people.”
Back at the gathering, host Arielle Hayes introduced the speakers, saying, “We have been too comfortable, too complacent for too long. This is a time for change.”
Lynn Ditchfield, Elaine Weintraub, Rebecca McCarthy, Bruce Nevin, Samantha Decoteau and Rose Styron all spoke.
Ms. Ditchfield remembered coming up through a period of protest, a time of “marches and marches and marches.”
Ms. Weintraub, the chairman of the history department at the high school, spoke about a project undertaken by the students. “There’s been a lot of talk of walls,” she said. “We made a wall of hopes and fears.” The wall gave students a way to express feelings they didn’t have the language for, she said.
Ms. McCarthy, an immigration attorney, promised to help educate people by providing as much information as possible. Ms. Decoteau urged those gathered to continue fighting for their beliefs through day-to-day conversations, love and solidarity. She cautioned against giving into fear.
“As a black woman in this country, I know what it means to be afraid,” she said.
As the speeches finished, the group lit candles and sang This Little Light of Mine.
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