The organizers of recent Black Lives Matter protests on the South Fork and many of their supporters have begun forming grassroots committees to generate ideas, build relationships, and ultimately make meaningful change.
Focusing on education, financial literacy, job security, career development, voter registration, housing, and relationships with local police, a diverse group of more than 25 people came together -- virtually, of course -- on Friday night to begin putting action behind the words and signs seen at demonstrations that continued this week across the East End.
Speaking about racism in general, Willie Jenkins, a leader of the demonstrations, said by way of introduction that it has to be eradicated "once and for all."
"It's something I strongly believe in -- equality, human rights. . . . We should all encompass that same heart, with justice being served for everyone, equally distributed," he said.
And then, the ideas came as if flood gates had just been opened.
Mr. Jenkins called for the creation of a new entity like the one called East End Unity, which, some years ago, brought together students from different communities to learn about one anotherÕs cultures. "It was awesome," he said, but there isn't anything like it anymore.
On the subject of education, Andrea Grover, the executive director of Guild Hall, suggested theater arts as a means of promoting understanding. She described Witness Theater, a New York City organization that pairs Holocaust survivors with students for impactful storytelling sessions, and suggested forming a similar program here. "Bring these stories out through theater," Ms. Grover said. "The arts is the perfect place for some of these stories to come to life."
Nancy Karlebach, a retired Bridgehampton School teacher, suggested creating a "life skills" curriculum for high schoolers that addresses basic financial education. Budgeting, saving, investing, managing debt Ñ "I learned it going through life," she said. "I think it would be a good start, a good step forward."
Mr. Jenkins, a native himself of Bridgehampton, agreed. "Not only do you have to deal with being an African-American out here, but you have to survive. You have to make enough money to live out here," he said. "It would combat that if [people] better knew how to manage finances."
Cierra Gioielli of Bellport added special education advocacy to the list. "We have to back up to elementary school," she said. "Sometimes children have special needs. Identify those children in the system who may have learning disabilities, and who slip through the cracks. There are many children who are lacking the services that they need because the parents are uneducated themselves, and there aren't enough advocates for these parents. Sometimes there is a language barrier."
Ken Dorph of Sag Harbor, who actively lobbied the school district there to form an entire committee dedicated to diversity education and inclusive policies and practices, offered his help duplicating that model in other school systems. "It's very hard to get the kids interested if the school is not behind it," he said.
When the conversation shifted to relations between the police and communities of color, it became clear that not everyone on the call has had the same experience with law enforcement.
"I'm not sure if you know how bad the profiling is," Mr. Jenkins said. "When someone of color gets pulled over, 7 or 8 times out of 10, they take you out of the car, they search the car, they always think something is going on. . . . It's easy enough to say, 'Let's talk to the police,' but they don't let you talk. They don't let you ask questions."
Andrina Wekontash Smith, a writer, performer, and educator, said that growing up on the Shinnecock Reservation she had been "taught to not interact with the police."
"White allies, this is a conversation we need," she said. "This conversation is an opportunity for us to show our cards. Clearly we're not going to cure racism at the end of this Ñ but showing possibilities for what needs to happen is super vital."
Mr. Jenkins added, "We have to get it before it happens Ñ we don't want to be solving problems afterwards."
On housing, he observed that so many of the black people he grew up with have moved out of the area, but "all the white people I grew up with all still live out here."
"I would like to live in my community. That's why I throw Bridgehampton Day every year. I want my kids raised around that love, that camaraderie," he said.
Bonnie Michelle Cannon, the executive director of the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center, is housing authority chairperson for the Town of Southampton. She said there needs to be more education so that people of color can access the housing programs that are available, and that more people in general need to come out in support of building more affordable housing. "We need people to say they want it. It's always 'Nimby,' " she said.
When the subject of job security and career development came up, it was suggested that more minority-owned businesses need to learn how to access bidding information to be able to land lucrative work contracts here on the East End. Others on the call suggested Ñ and offered to take part in Ñ mentoring programs to help boost opportunities for young people of color.
Ms. Cannon cited examples of high-paying local jobs for which people simply need to have appropriate training. An elevator technician, for instance, makes about $88,000 per year, she said.
Participants acknowledged that many of the issues are intertwined -- financial security and career development, for example, which can both help ensure stable housing.
Ms. Cannon also called for the creation of business incubators to help entrepreneurs get on their feet, whether in the fields of science, technology, engineering, the trades, or other types of industries.
Kiera Forlenza suggested kids should do more volunteer work to help them gain experience and get their foot in the door for great careers. "If you put in that initiative, you can really open up a lot of opportunities," she said. "Get them volunteering young, get them learning. It will grow into something."
A resource guide for the general public is in the works. Ms. Cannon called for people to "roll up their sleeves and work with us to get some things done." And one by one, people added their names to the groups now working on each topic.