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    • Fayetteville organizations say they fear the Trump presidency
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    Fayetteville organizations say they fear the Trump presidency

    Pabio Posted on

    After Donald Trump was elected 47th president In the United States on Tuesday, some organizations in the Fayetteville area expressed concern about the livelihoods and safety of marginalized communities.

    Members of the Cumberland County Democratic Party are particularly concerned about the likelihood of power struggles, miscommunications and increased racism under Trump’s presidency, the local party leader said Wednesday.

    We also spoke to people who were excited to see Trump return to power. Read this story here.

    “Democrats must work within our marginalized communities to remind them of their value and importance in advocacy work,” said Derrick Montgomery, chairman of the Cumberland County Democratic Party. “That means building bridges within our rural communities so they not only feel seen, but know they are seen.”

    Montgomery said the country will experience negative effects nationally when Trump takes office.

    “I think we will face greater divisions between cultures, less tolerance and a lack of health care,” Montgomery said. “More challenges with support systems for our women, our middle and low income families. Let’s not forget to mention our unhoused communities and our immigrants.”

    “Are they going to divide the family?”

    Viziana Quiles, the executive director of the North Carolina Immigration and Justice Law Center in Fayetteville, expressed concern about the future of immigrants under President Trump. The organization assists low-income immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers by providing legal services and informs the public about the U.S. immigration system.

    “(I’m) most worried about our immigrant families. At this point, you know, it’s a concern,” Quiles said.

    Quiles said 20,000 immigrants and 5,000 families in Cumberland County will be affected by Trump’s policies. Trump promised the mass expulsion of people living in the United States without authorization.

    More: How Donald Trump Won North Carolina for the Third Time

    “We have our clients who are in the process of getting their visas. What’s going to happen with these families? So are the families who are seeking asylum,” Quiles said. “What would happen mainly with families whose children are citizens? Will they divide the family?”

    Quiles said the North Carolina Immigration and Justice Law Center opened in 2019, during Trump’s first presidency, but said she hasn’t noticed a difference between Trump’s administration and that of his successor Democrat, President Joe Biden.

    With all the concerns about immigrants in Cumberland County, she sees no benefit to a Trump presidency.

    “We want to have answers to some questions that have been asked, and we don’t have any answers as to what would happen to these families if he decides to deport these families who don’t have VISAs.”

    “Many of my animators are afraid”

    Members of the LGBTQ+ community have also expressed fears about a second Trump presidency.

    Carolina Drag Brunch owner Alan Domingo said his performers are afraid of extreme violence and suppression of civil rights and abortion rights, which could lead to an unsafe environment for community members LGBTQ+. Domingo canceled a drag brunch planned at Gaston Brewing Taproom in Fayetteville this weekend to reevaluate its business model. Carolina Drag Brunch hosts drag shows in Fayetteville and Durham.

    “A lot of my artists are scared,” Domingo said. “We’re taking the position right now to change our business model, and it’s not just because of the election, but it’s because now we need to protect those in our community who are being targeted.”

    The owner of Carolina Drag Brunch said he woke up Wednesday morning fearing the impacts of Trump’s election. Domingo said there is no upside to a Trump presidency, and even if North Carolina state leaders support LGBTQ+ rights, they won’t be able to protect the community from federal laws that could make it less safe.

    “Josh Stein cannot protect us from federal law,” Domingo said of the Democratic governor-elect who currently serves as state attorney general. “We’re looking at these restrictions on funding for Planned Parenthood, we’re looking at restrictions on abortion rights.”

    Election results: Here’s who won each race in Tuesday’s Cumberland County polls

    The leader of Fayetteville PRIDE, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, also expressed concern about the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights under a second Trump administration.

    “Our community is afraid of losing the progress we have made over the past decade,” said Krystal Maddox, president of Fayetteville PRIDE. “After seeing the loss of women’s rights during his first term, we know we could fare even worse during this term.”

    Maddox said that after Trump’s first term in 2016, members of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies exposed themselves to attacks and boycotts, and she expressed deep concern for the transgender community serving in the military.

    “We now have a president-elect who has done everything he can to stop serving his country, but who, even worse, wants to prevent other people from serving who really want to,” Maddox said. “If someone is risking their life for our country, why should their gender or sexuality matter?”

    Montgomery, the Democratic Party chairman, said that even with the negative assumptions surrounding a Trump presidency, Cumberland County supporters will be strong and resilient through it all.

    “We have faced all fronts of the difficult issues facing not only our city but our country. We will build on what we have. We will face what lies ahead with courage and unity,” Montgomery said in an email. “We will not fall into despair. We are a blue county. We are for OUR people. For OUR schools. For our unhoused. For OUR seniors. We will prosper and we will grow strong.”

    Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at [email protected].

    Pabio
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