About 200 Islanders turned out Monday for a Fourth of July rights rally, gathering at Volunteer Park on Bridge Street and then peacefully marching up and down Chase Avenue.
The nonpartisan event — prompted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 24 decision overturning Roe v Wade — concluded with demonstrators, many bearing homemade placards, lined up on the sidewalks flanking Second Bridge, as passing drivers honked horns in support.
The primary organizers, Michelle D’Arcambal and Cristina Peffer, thanked those who took part, encouraging them to stay tuned for future demonstrations.
“For all of our history marches have actually changed our country,” Peffer said. “We can march and make a difference. We cannot go backward. We have to come together and take back our rights. And, we can do it peacefully.”
“We’ve only just started,” D’Arcambal said.
[The images in this post are by photographer K.C. Bailey. To see more of her work about Shelter Island, visit www.kcbailey.com.]
The peaceful demonstration required some advance planning with the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation and Shelter Island Police Department; find details in this Gazette post.
