Members of minority communities in eastern Long Island will gather this weekend to protest injustices that they say put them a step behind others.
They will host what they call a “Walk for Interdependence.” They plan to join together in solidarity to oppose the national policy to separate and deport undocumented immigrants, racial disparities in incarceration rates, and the threat of violence that indigenous Shinnecock women face.
The Reverend Kimberly Quinn Johnson leads the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork in Bridgehampton. She is one of the organizers.
Reverend, thank you for joining All Things Considered.
Thank you for having me.
So tell me how did this event come together, uniting all of these groups?
Well, this is actually the second annual of these events. Last year we were concerned with the – with what we saw as a crisis, of family separation at the border, and this was happening at the end of June, and so someone in our community thought we should do something and what we decided to do was focus on interdependence and because this was so close to the Fourth of July, we had, instead of an Independence Day march, on the Fourth of July, a March for Interdependence. One that celebrates our interdependence as a community, and as a nation, and since the crisis still exists, and, in fact, seems exacerbated, we wanted to do it again this year. As long as there’s interest in these issues, we want to continue to find opportunities for people to come together and be together and focus on what makes us stronger
And how many people will be there? How many are you expecting? And where are these people coming from?
Last year we had hundreds, and so we expect something similar this year. The people who are coming from all over our communities out here on the East End. So the march itself is in Sag Harbor. People are coming from Sag Harbor, Bridgehampton, Easthampton, I think as far out as Manorville or Quogue or East Quogue. Generally from all over the East End, people are coming. We have lots of folks involved in planning and drawing people to this event and so one of the things we think makes us different from other events that people go to is really the diversity of communities represented.
And how did you get involved in this project?
I got involved in this project because someone from my congregation wanted to do something. We talk a lot about the injustice in the world and we talk a lot about how we as people and we as people of faith are called to do something, but it’s often hard to find that next step and so someone from my community wanted to do something, and something that seemed really simple, bringing people together to celebrate our interdependence and so, almost always, when someone in my congregation says “we should do,” I’m nodding my head and agreeing. “Yes. Let’s make that happen.”
What do you hope to see as the outcome of this event?
What we really hope to see as the outcome is that this is not understood as only about our congregation, but really understood as an action that involves all of our community and that draws together different, different corners of activism out here on the East End. I think often people are doing their work, and doing their good work, and it feels as though we’re doing it in isolation, so people are working for immigration rights and working in support of immigrants, or people are working to support the rights and well-being of folks who are part of the Shinnecock nation or people are working on antiracism, and all of that seems isolated and what we hope to do is to bring all of these issues together, so that people, one, recognize that they are not alone in this work, but also, we are able to share our efforts.
The Walk for Interdependence starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, in Sag Harbor. Thanks for speaking with us, Reverend Johnson.
