Southold Town Anti-BIas Task Force's Unity Picnic Unfolds Saturday, A 'Celebration Of Unity And Diversity'

NORTH FORK, NY — A beloved annual tradition, one that brings the community together to celebrate unity and diversity, is back in Southold Town Saturday.

The Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force's Annual Unity Picnic takes place Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. at the Peconic Community Center, located at 1170 Peconic Lane. Food, including hot dogs, hamburgers, as well as beverages, will be served from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

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The free event also includes live music, entertainment, games, and prizes ."Everyone is welcome," the ABTF said.

This year, however, there is a cloud of concern that the event could be the last — the Anti-Bias Task Force has expressed concerns over potential cuts to the ABTF's budget, according to ABTF representatives.

Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski told Patch that it was too soon to tell if the ABTF budget would see any cuts.

"We're looking carefulyl at every aspect of the budget," Krupski said. "Certainly, no decisions have been made — it's way too soon to tell."

Krupski said that as it stands, budget analysis is currently being sent from each of the town's departments to the town comptroller, who is "getting everything in order for a full review."

Of the ABTF, Krupski said: "It's a great committee. Very dedicated, one of the older town committees. They run a couple of really good events every year," including the ABTF Unity Picnic, which Krupski said was a "wonderful event," one he attends yearly.

"I encourage people to go," he said, crediting the Southold ABTF for all the work all involved to, to create the picnic.

Sonia Spar, past co-chair of the Southold Anti-Bias Task Force, sent comments regarding her concerns recently to members of the town board, expressing what the picnic means, to so many — especially during a time when so many members of the local population and beyond live in fear.

The work of the ABTF, she said, is critical now, more than ever.

"I want to start by saying out loud the name of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero," she said. "Johan Sebastián was a 26-year-old Colombian man who was killed in Biddeford, Maine. An ICE officer, in plain clothes, opened fire, striking his car five or six times and hitting Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero in the head before an ICE unmarked vehicle rammed his car. He was pronounced dead at the scene."

She added: "He was not a threat. He was not a criminal. He was not the person federal agents were looking for. He had a valid work permit. He had a wife. He had a life. He was killed in front of his child. His death is a painful reminder that behind every policy discussion, every enforcement action, and every public safety decision, they are human beings. They are families."

And said, Spar: "They are neighbors. They are friends. They are co-workers. They are people whose lives cannot be restored once a mistake is made. One life lost in this way is one too many. One person taken by mistake is one too many. One innocent person taken in front of children, should shake us to the core."

She added: "Innocent people have been harmed because assumptions were made based on their appearance, their language, their ethnicity, and their perceived identity. When those characteristics become the basis for suspicion, let's call it for what it is: Racial profiling."

Racial profiling, she said, "is not a theoretical concern. It is a public safety issue with real consequences. When people are stopped, questioned, or treated as suspicious because of their race, ethnicity, language, appearance, or perceived identity rather than because of evidence of wrongdoing, trust is damaged. And when trust is damaged, communities become less safe. Local law enforcement loses one of its most important tools: the relationship with the community it serves."

This is why, she said, racial profiling has been rejected for decades, not only by civil rights advocates, but by law enforcement agencies themselves.

"Professional policing organizations and law enforcement agencies have long recognized that effective policing must be based on evidence, and credible information, not stereotypes or assumptions. That is why officers receive training on constitutional policing, bias awareness, procedural justice, and building trust with the communities they protect. For a few decades, bipartisan leaders came together to recognize that racial profiling is not just ineffective policing; it is plainly wrong! When individuals are targeted because of who they are, the harm extends beyond the individual. It creates fear throughout an entire community. So today we must ask ourselves: What happens when practices that we have spent decades working to prevent begin happening in our communities?"

New York State, Spar added, "prohibits racial profiling. Local policies prohibit racial profiling. Constitutional protections prohibit racial profiling. Law enforcement agencies train officers specifically to avoid racial profiling because we know the damage it causes. Yet we are now seeing situations where unidentified federal agents, operating without local accountability or community connection, engage in racial profiling enforcement actions that create fear among residents and that can be a danger for us all."

The community, she said, "cannot simply wash our hands and say that because these actions are being carried out by another agency, they are outside our responsibility. Public safety is a shared responsibility. The question Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero's death asks of us, and the experiences of members of our own community ask of us is simple: What do we do when we see something that makes our neighbors less safe? We cannot say we do business as usual. Yes, it is uncomfortable!"

But, she added: "We reaffirm the principles that have guided our laws, our Constitution, and our commitment to public safety. The answer must be that we protect community trust. We protect dignity. We protect the relationship between communities and local law enforcement. We develop a plan and bring transparency and accountability for our community."

Spar said she also wanted to bring attention to an important point that came out of the recent public safety task force discussions in Southold Town: the role of the Anti-Bias Task Force.

"Recently, our community received a significant investment in the Southold Police Department. The $1 million investment to provide our officers with additional resources demonstrates a commitment to ensuring that local law enforcement has the tools necessary to keep our community safe. That investment matters, and our officers deserve our support. And we know that enforcement and prevention must go hand in hand. A safe community requires professional trusted local law enforcement, but it also requires outreach, education, relationship-building, and opportunities for residents to come together before problems escalate."

Those efforts, she said, create trust.

"They create connection. They create the sense of belonging that allows people to look out for one another. That is the role of the Anti-Bias Task Force. Its budget represents less than one percent of the investment recently made in our police department, yet its impact reaches every corner of our community. The work of the Anti-Bias Task Force is not simply about organizing events. It is about prevention. It is about education. It is about ensuring that neighbors know one another and that differences do not become divisions. Sometimes we underestimate the power of simply bringing people together."

Those who have attended the Unity Picnic understand this, she said.

"Our clergy members understand this. Community leaders understand this. Sitting together, sharing food, and breaking bread are not symbolic gestures. They are the foundation of community. When people know each other, they are more likely to care for each other. When people have relationships, they are more likely to stand together during difficult moments," Spar said.

She added: "When communities are connected, they are stronger and safer. This is why reducing the budget and minimizing, or dismissing the work of the Anti-Bias Task Force is concerning. Prevention work is often the first thing people question because its success is measured by what does not happen. By the absence of conflict, fear, and division. That is precisely the result we are trying to achieve."

Southold Town, Spar said, "has made a commitment to work toward becoming a bias-free community. That commitment requires more than words. It requires continued investment, continued leadership, and continued support for the initiatives that bring us closer together. The responsibility of elected leadership is also to invest in the relationships, education, and partnerships that prevent harm from occurring in the first place. A safer community is not built only with enforcement. It is built with trust, with connection, and with the understanding that every resident has a place at a town board meeting."