Despite KKK Concerns, Hampton Bays Protest Peaceful

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — Despite some concerns that counterprotesters may cause disruption at a rally in memory of George Floyd in Hampton Bays Sunday, the event was peaceful.

Organizer Lisa Votino explained that each protest so far has had its own set of dynamics and challenges.

"After we organized the protest in Bridgehampton I noticed something very interesting," she said. "My white friends urged me to stay away from doing an action in Hampton Bays. It has a known KKK chapter and a pretty vulgar anti-immigrant group. But youth of color kept asking us when we were going to do one in Hampton Bays. If we stay away from the actions that make us uncomfortable, then we are inherently part of the problem."

Votino mentioned three boys who held signs that said "Hampton Bays Supports Black Lives Matter."

She added: "I've said it before and I will say it again. The young people are fed up with their elders' way of thinking. They are inheriting a world that has been abused and beaten in every aspect. And they have made it perfectly clear to anyone that was listening that they are over it and want a better world."

Speaker Willie Jenkins of Bridgehampton also mentioned the boys carrying the signs: "I never thought I'd see that sign in Hampton Bays."

In 2018, 15 bags filled with KKK literature were found in Hampton Bays, police said. Earlier, in 2017, Douglas Munker of Hampton Bays, was found trying to distribute KKK literature near East Hampton Middle School, police said.

The crowd on Sunday marched from the train station through Hampton Bays and along Montauk Highway, pausing at the intersection of Ponquogue Avenue and Montauk Highway for 8 minutes and 46 seconds — the amount of time that a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck as Floyd begged for help, saying "I can't breathe" and calling for his mother.

Next, the group headed back to the train station, where speakers addressed the crowd.

"As an African American male, as a black teacher, as a black preacher, and as somebody who has grown up with a single African American mother, this is more than just a Black Lives Matter thing to me," Travis Wilkins, who also spoke at a protest in East Hampton a week before, said. "If the African American male is so appealing that you can recruit us to play on your basketball teams, black lives matter. If the African female is fine enough for you to want to touch her hair when it's natural, black lives matter.

"And the reality is if our music is sick enough to make a TikTok video, black lives matter ... If we're good enough to educate your children on your summer vacation, if we're wise enough to push your child in a stroller while you play tennis with your best friend, and if we're fly enough for you to sit at our restaurants and enjoy our soul food on a Sunday afternoon, then black lives do matter.

"Whether I have a degree or I have a trade or I had to do time behind bars for a little while, black lives really do still matter."

Wilkins added that not only black culture matters, but every ethnic group matters.

"The Native American is not a savage," he said. "The Asian is not a virus. And the African American is not a threat."

Patrick Coonradt stood alone before the train station, holding a sign that said "STPD Lives Matter" for the Southampton Town Police Department. A lifetime Hampton Bays resident, he said he was friends with many in the crowd. "All lives matter. So do the police in my town. That's why I'm here."

Serena Lee of the Shinnecock Indian Nation asked what "color blind" really means.

"Everyone in this crowd is color blind," she said. "You have a diverse group of people that have gathered for a cause. And there's no color to that. Everyone standing in this crowd is a representation of humanity. . .It's one world that we all live in. We have to share the space. We have to share everything. You need me just like I need you, in order to survive. . . So just be color blind. Human beings — that's what we are. We are a tribe of human beings."

DeQuan Wilson, of Mastic Beach, said, "Suffolk County, NY is the most racist and segregated part of New York."

Jenkins said he didn't want to be out protesting. "Why do I have to do this? Why do I have to fight for my basic rights? But I'm out here, and I'm going to stay out here. Nobody, the KKK, nobody is going to tell me I can't stand out here. I'm going to march on Hampton Bays if I have to do it by myself. But guess what? I'm not by myself. Because I've got you all with me. When my voice gets tired, you're all my voice. We're not going to let them die in vain. None of them."

He added: "We have to keep going. It starts with voting. That's where the change really starts."

Brookhaven Town Councilwoman Valerie Cartright, running for New York state Senate, said the time has come for change. "Change is here. It's not coming. It's here. When you look to your right and to your left, you see people that don't necessarily look like you but they stand with you. And that's what's important."

She urged the crowd to respond to the call for jury duty.

A civil rights attorney practicing law for 16 years, Cartright said last week was the first time she had seen Gov. Andrew Cuomo's "aggressive legislation passed" in regard to police reforms. "You know why? You did it! This is not a sprint, this is a marathon. We have much more work to do."

(Video by Lisa Finn)

She also mentioned Cuomo's executive order mandating police reform on the local level. "We're talking about Southampton. We're talking about Suffolk County. And you know what the governor said? It's time to fund it. If you don't do it, you won't get our money."

Cartright urged community involvement and told the crowd not just to march, but to call Town Hall and the police commissioner and demand a seat at the table and a civilian complaint review board.

"We are the people," she said. "Can we please not get tired? Keep fighting the good fight."