It started with a couple of mothers talking after school on the playground at the Chilmark School. They were upset about the outcome of the national election and wanted to do something constructive in response.
“The moms felt like we needed to do something with our feelings,” Sarah Waldman said.
So they put the word out on Facebook, and 20 people showed up at a meeting last week. Then, again on Facebook, they organized We Stand Together: In Solidarity, Resistance, and Resolve — a peaceful event that took place on Saturday, Nov. 19, at Dennis Alley Park (formerly Waban Park) in Oak Bluffs that roughly 250 people attended. The goal of the event, according to their Facebook page, was to pledge support for the values of inclusion and tolerance.
The We Stand Together movement’s mission is to “educate ourselves and others and deal with our changing culture,” organizer Arielle Hayes said at the rally. “We’ve relied on the government to do this for us, and we’ve been too comfortable and too complacent for too long. We will take power into our own hands. It’s time for courage and vigilance. Don’t give power to the power they have over us. It is time to rise up and resist; it’s time we are together.”
On Sunday, Nov. 20, organizers of the event held a follow-up meeting at the West Tisbury library for people who wanted to continue organizing action. About 40 people attended the event, roughly 35 women and five men. Irene Bright-Dumm, one of the organizers, told The Times that their goal was not politically motivated, but more a community-based effort to mobilize the Island in response to the events that have taken place after the election.
“I would really like to see the community move forward in that sense of togetherness,” Ms. Bright-Dumm told residents. “And I think that’s really what we’re looking for in getting organized today.”
People split into small groups and introduced themselves, explained what brought them to the meeting, what they were feeling since the election, and their concerns moving forward as a community. Then they brainstormed various actions that could be taken in response to those concerns. The emphasis was on speaking freely and practicing active listening.
In one group, many people said they had feelings of despair, anxiety, grief, anger, denial, and fear. They were concerned with the hatred that has surfaced in a surge of hate crimes around the country, and people talked about their experiences with acts of racism and misogyny.
Residents talked about how to take a stand without escalating more hatred or further widening the divide. Attendees said that people on all sides of the political spectrum are welcome and organizers spoke of the need now more than ever to be able to have a dialogue between the opposing sides.
Some of the actions discussed were organizing for a Million Woman March, pushing for Martha’s Vineyard to be a “sanctuary city” that would protect undocumented immigrants, practicing acts of civil disobedience, supporting truthful news and the First Amendment, and assessing one’s privilege. They talked about inviting elected officials to meetings and working with local police. Calling senators and congressmen was another tool they discussed, as well as reaching out to Brazilian, Jamaican, and Eastern European communities on the Island. And “if you see something, say something,” standing up against injustice, was something all agreed on.
Laura Silber, a West Tisbury resident, stressed the importance of small, grassroots actions that can make a greater difference: “I see what cumulative actions — very small actions —can lead to.”
The group will meet on Sundays from 1 pm to 2:30 pm at the West Tisbury library.