After Racist Attacks, LI Youth Group Vows: 'We're Not Going Anywhere'
RIVERHEAD, NY — For more than a decade, Tijuana Fulford, the founder of Riverhead's Butterfly Effect Project, has poured her heart into creating an organization that would empower young women, affording them the opportunity, despite financial and other challenges, to soar — evolving so much like a chrysalis to a butterfly, taking flight into a bright, limitless horizon.
But the organization was dealt a staggering blow recently when racist attacks "derailed" an upcoming fundraiser and left Fulford shaken to the core. Speaking with Patch, Fulford described the series of events that both broke her heart and, at the same time, strengthened her steely resolve to keep fighting for the girls who are the heartbeat of all she believes in.
And the community has come together to help: A
The Butterfly Effect Poject was founded in 2014 by Fulford, a Riverhead native "who turned her personal experiences with mentorship into a powerful force for change," the page said.
"What began as a small group of eight girls meeting at the Riverhead Public Library has grown into a thriving nonprofit that now mentors over 800 young people, primarily girls of color — from preschool to college— across 31 chapters in communities including Riverhead, Flanders, Calverton, Mastic, Shirley, Bellport, Westhampton, Peconic, Patchogue, and West Islip. The mission is simple but vital: to give young people the tools, guidance, and confidence they need to build strong, emotionally healthy, and empowered futures. But recently, this work has come under attack," the page said.
"The Butterfly Effect Project has been the target of hateful, racist, and violent threats. These attacks have directly led to the cancellation of key fundraising events, putting critical programming at risk.
A group of North Fork women is stepping up — and we're asking you to join us. Please help us raise funds to replace what BEP has lost. Every dollar you give helps ensure that this incredible organization can continue mentoring and uplifting the next generation of local leaders — and sends a clear message that our community stands against hate. Together, we can protect this safe space for youth. Together, we can keep the Butterfly Effect Project soaring."
The Butterfly Effect Project is a a nonprofit, community-oriented organization, its website states. "It was Tijuana's goal to start a totally free program that would empower young girls by giving them the tools to assist in achieving emotionally stable and self confident futures, in hopes of bringing forth a generation of women who are strong, independent and knowledgeable,"
"On February 23, The Butterfly Effect Project announced their annual fundraiser, Wo/man Empower Wo/men, celebrating 10 years in operation and picturing honoree, Founder and Executive Director Tijuana Fulford and five young women leaders in the organization (all Black presenting) through their social media outlets," she said.
"Shortly after the post went up on Facebook, attacks began to appear in the comments — disgusting racist tropes, hateful demands, and vile ignorance on full display. Some examples of the bigotry include a meme of monkeys dancing, a meme displaying a sign in a window saying 0% interest with the caption 'when negros are involved,' statements such as "go lead Africa," 'keep empowering criminals,' 'ghetto effect,' among others, Fulford said.
On February 28, BEP coordinated a press conference to respond to the display of "vile ignorance and racist social media attacks", Fulford said. The event was attended by Fulford, Tijuana Fulford, BEP's Butterfly Action Group — a youth-led social action group — Riverhead Supervisor Tim Hubbard, the Riverhead Anti-bias Task Force, and community members, who condemned the attacks, she said.
The Riverhead Police Department, representatives from Jodi Giglio's Office, and community members were present to support the organization, as well, she said.
"I will not allow commentary, hateful, negative, and racist voices to silence the joyful noise the Butterfly Effect Project makes," Fulford said, at that event.
Also, beginning on February 20, BEP had announced and been promoting their second annual "Pearls of Wisdom" event, a smaller fundraiser that featured 12 local women from different walks of life who were invited to share their journeys and impart wisdom to the next generation, Fulford said.
The event was organized in partnership with the National Coalition of Black Women of Suffolk County and was scheduled for Saturday, March 22 at the First Baptist Church of Riverhead, she said. The money raised from the event was earmarked for BEP's College Access & Retention Program and was meant to primarily assist BEP's high school students in covering the costs of college applications, she said.
From March 8 through March 11, BEP had started to announce the women who would be speaking at the Pearls of Wisdom event by posting images, including their photos, names, and professions via their social media outlets, Fulford explained.
"Many of the women are Black," she said. "On March 10 and 11, BEP received a number of anonymous calls to their office. The callers hung up or laughed, and then hung up. On Tuesday, March 11, Tijuana received a direct call to her extension, which she answered to hear a distorted man's voice say, '12 monkeys jumping on the bed. While you're celebrating eating bananas in your n----- church, we'll be sweetening tanks and slashing tires,'" she said.
After that call, BEP made the decision to cancel the event for the safety and security of the speakers and attendees, in particular the youth participants, Fulford said.
Speaking with Patch, Fulford described the "hiccup that derailed" the group — and the reinforced vigor with which she now faces BEP's future.
"We're a shoestring non-profit," she said. "We don't have a lot of staff or the newest technology. I wear many hats. What I think what people don't realize is getting the racist comments on social media was already super hurtful, super violating."
When some asked if those comments were made by bots, Fulford asked why that would have mattered. "If I threw a rock at your daughter, would it matter if it were baseball or football players that threw it?" she asked. "For a victim to have to explain if it was a true crime, or how big of a crime," she said, was even more troubling.
The incident filled her with a rush of emotions, Fulford said. "For me, it wasn't fear so much as paranoia," she said. "I didn't know where they were calling from. Was it someone I talked to? Someone I considered a friend?"
The reaction was not familiar to Fulford. "I'm a very grounded person," she said. "I come from light, I give light, I feel light."
Fulford said immediately after what transpired, she felt a need to step away from everyone for a time, to work through what had happened. "People had positive suggestions, and they care — but that caring does not articulate me feeling uncomfortable or unsafe. I needed a moment to retreat. I was uncomfortable. I just wanted to go home, be in my house, knowing that within those four walls, I was safe."
Fulford said personally, along with the girls at BEP, she also had to think of her family. "I have to make it home to them every night," she said. "I can't make it home to them broken in pieces." Fulford said at one point, she broke down in her car, distraught, and her husband left work to come support her. "This had put me in a very awful position."
The end result, she said, was that the "Pearls of Wisdom" event was canceled. And then, Fulford said, she felt she was at the forefront of a dual attack. "Some were from the Black community — saying my ancestors would be embarrassed by me, because they felt I'd run from what happened. I thought, 'Are you serious?' I didn't run — I have children to protect."
As the founder of BEP, Fulford has long taken her responsiblity as a role model to the young girls she mentors with all the love and dedication a mother would show her own children. "As a mom, how could I ask these parents to send their child off to a place where they might be heckled, called a 'monkey,' or where they might meet a person who could possibly have the opportunity to call them 'monkeys'? These girls have mothers, fathers, a community, and I would never put their families in situation like that where they had to defend their children against something like this."
The Riverhead Police Department did get involved, Fulford said. But because using the "N-word" is not a hate crime, not much could be done, although the investigation continues. "It would be very hard to track down the bad guy," she said.
Still, Fulford said, she and the detective had a very good discussion about avenues she could take to prevent such attacks from happening again. "I understood then, the pathway foward," she said.
Fulford has been implenting those suggestions, installing a new phone system. "Now if you call and hang up, I know exactly where you're calling from," she said; the system also allows for recording and transcription. In addition, cameras and security have been installed, with security officers also patrolling the grounds, "making sure our people are safe."
Describing the emotional impact, Fulford said it was not easy. "To the girls, I'm 'Miss Tia.' I felt as though I were expected to shoulder this humongous burden, when I really just needed a hug."
But in true Miss Tia fashion, Fulford forged ahead — for the girls. "I had to conduct business through all of this," she said. "I never missed a beat." All the activities and events for BEP continued. "I still showed up," she said.
The community turned out in force to support BEP, she said, helping to bolster the coffers and replace what was lost by the event's cancellation, so that girls could still attend college programs and tours, including two girls attending a pre-college program at Duke University this summer.
"I am beyond appreciative and excited," Fulford said. "This is such a big deal for these two young ladies to have this opportunity and for it to be given to them from the community."
The racist comments, she said, were "an attack not just on me personally but on my whole ideology, my way of thinking." From the first, BEP has been about celebrating diversity of all kinds and creating a safe space to empower young minds and hearts.
But she also stood firm under those attacks: "If you call me a monkey I'm not going to make you believe I belong in a cage," she said. And, she said, she did not want to "fight hate with hate," by holding the event and having some proposing to act "as vigilantes. I didn't want that. I wanted an opportunity to have fundraiser to do what was needed to do for your youth. And if I couldn't do it safely, couldn't do in a way that would lead to a positive mark in their life, then I was not going to do it at all."
She added: "Imagine a young girl, thinking it was going to be the best day of her life, excited to go to a school, and she can't, because she has to be protected by armed guards. Can you imagine sending your daughter to that school? I'm not going to use my girls as a way to prove to history that I was right. I, though, have to show up to every fight I'm invited to. And when I do show up, it's in the best way possible for these girls, for their futures."
Fulford reflected: "When people research me years from now, I want them to know that I stood on the right side of history."
Most important to Fulford, and in the forefont of why she canceled the event, was to protect the girls, to keep them safe from possible hecklers — or worse.
Looking ahead, though, Fulford said the "Wo/man Empower Wo/men, The 10th Year," event will go on, held at the Bellport Country Club on May 17, beginning at 1 p.m.
Although she is an honoree at that event, Fulford said she is taking the reins to oversee all that takes place. The space, she said, is larger; there will be security; there will be a way to track who purchases the tickets through an online ordering system. People will not be able to pay at the door. "Now that we know better, we can do better," she said.
Despite all the negatives, Fulford said the bright light shining in the midst of the turmoil has always been the community. "Our community has been really supportive," she said. "Our neighbors came over and introduced themselves. People have made very generous donations. As terrible as all this has been, we know that we are wanted — we are accepted."
Fulford said she would "love the community, all those who donated or supported us — to do more. Come out, buy a ticket, see firsthand, meet the girls. So the next time something like this happens, not just to us but to any organization, people can understand what we are doing here. My honor is to present the Butterfly Effect Project to the public."
Fulford discussed the many programs BEP offers, explained that even boys and their dads have reached out at times for guidance. She has shepherded trips to the South to teach the girls about racism and how laws were created — and how to put those lessons to work. She is a constant in the lives of all the young people she guides — and her dedication to the girls remains steadfast.
Some of the girls are a bit nervous after what's occurred, insistent that she be with them for events and programs. The girls need her, Fulford said, and that realization propelled her forward. "I had to pick myself up and say, 'Okay, Tia, that's enough.' One thing all of this has made me realize is that Miss Tia cannot go anywhere. I am needed now more than ever. They are looking for someone they can trust. Who is consistent, reliable, who represents them in all the many imperfections that exist within that representation. There is still a lot of work to do — and I know now, more than ever, that I am a really good candidate to do that."
And, too, she has been buoyed by the many who believe in her mission.
BEP also listed other points in their plan moving forward and call to action:
"The Butterfly Effect Project has pursued legal action by filing a police report with the Riverhead Police Department, detailing the escalating incidents. The Riverhead Police Department has been cooperative, and has said while the events are not considered a crime in legal terms, they are and will continue investigating the incidents. They will offer more patrol cars in the area and provide support in securing safety infrastructure for the organization. BEP has also corresponded with the Suffolk County Hate Crime Unit, which will assist and advise the Riverhead Police Department with their investigation and provide patrol cars at BEP's Wo/man Empower Wo/men Event at Bellport Country Club on May 17," Fulford said.
In addition, she said, the Butterfly Effect Project "urges all of our elected officials to make a public statement acknowledging and condemning these heinous racist acts and to stand united with BEP. We must stamp out this racism and bigotry before it escalates further and show that it will not be tolerated under any circumstances in our communities. Our elected officials represent all of us, and must do all they can to ensure our safety, security, and well-being."
For those who have asked how they can help, Fulford said there are four different areas of organizational support that "are most needed, encompass BEP's mission, and reflect the future we're building toward":
- Event support, beginning with the May 17 event. To
- Security support, to help keep all safe. "As many know BEP secured a new campus to call home this past fall. This has been an incredibly exciting time in the history of the organization, and we will not let recent events dampen our forward momentum. The campus has allowed BEP to host more programming and in-house events for our participants, families, and wider community. BEP now needs to purchase new lighting, a security system, updated phone systems, and coordinated alarms to make sure that whoever is in the building is well-protected. Click
- Community-building and capital support: "BEP hopes to build on the new programming and events being offered at our new home," Fulford said. "We want to continue to open our doors to more participants, families, and neighbors to expand our community and be a safe and welcoming gathering place for all. We are currently building a new, larger intergenerational community garden at our campus that will serve as an educational space for participants to grow organic and sustainable flowers and produce. It will also be a safe, recreational outdoor learning space to share healthy meals and celebrate together." To donate to support rebuilding the garden,
- Support BEP youth's future: "As noted, proceeds from the canceled event Pearls of Wisdom are earmarked for BEP's College Access & Retention Programs. Right now we are fundraising to send two Butterflies to a pre-college medical program at Duke University this summer. Please donate here to help Gigi and Gianna advance their medical careers by
Caroline Nadeau, BEP's chief compliance officer and director of program operations, reflected: "This office isn't just where we work — it's where we build, where we uplift, and where we create opportunities for the children and families we serve. We host so many programs and events here, and for many of us, this is our safe space. My own children come to work with me, just like so many others who find a second home within these walls."
She added: "We will not be bullied into silence. The threats against us only prove why spaces like this are so important, and we are not going anywhere. But we need real support from the community —more than just words, more than just photo opps. If you truly want to help, show up for us. Volunteer, donate, and advocate. Speak out against hate and stand with us in action, not just in sentiment. This is about more than one event being canceled. This is about ensuring our children grow up in a world where they are safe, valued, and empowered."
Despite the vitriole, Fulford is encouraged by the outpouring of suppot.
"I knew ugliness was out there," Fulford said. "But Riverhead and the community showed us what love looks like."
She added: "We will not be silenced. We will not be intimidated. We will keep building. We are not going anywhere."
To donate to the Go Fund Me,
