On Thursday evening, Iowa City community members gathered for a solidarity circle in response to Donald Trump’s recent presidential election victory.
The event, which drew a crowd of about 30, was organized by the Corridor Community Action Network, an organization founded by newly-elected Johnson County Supervisor Mandi Remington.
“I’m excited to be moving into that role,” Remington said about her election win. “I was definitely hoping that it would be in a different political climate than it’s going to be.”
Remington, who unseated incumbent Royceann Porter, ran on a campaign advocating for affordable housing, expanded mental health services, environmental sustainability, and strong protections for LGBTQ+ rights, including opposition to restrictive state laws targeting trans youth.
“The same issues that drove me to get involved in politics and to run for office are going to be the same issues that I think are going to be amplified and that we’re going to see a lot more concerns with,” Remington said regarding the upcoming Trump presidency.
Finch Vandyk, Corridor Community Action Network treasurer, said they planned this event in hopes that connection will be the best antidote to the heightened fear among several marginalized communities facing another Trump presidency.
“We need to be able to build a community that can work together and withstand what’s going to be coming over the next four years,” Vandyk said. “That’s going to start with one plan and one night, and we’ll go from there.”
At the start of the event, Vandyk addressed the crowd and asked attendees to identify their main concerns, to which people said trans rights, the treatment of immigrants, and the right to protest.
Vandyk encouraged attendees to reject fear, calling on them to support one another and bolster existing activism efforts.
“There are already people working on all those things,” Vandyk said regarding the attendees’ areas of concern. “And they are looking for you.”
Remington also urged attendees to take the needed time to process the election results but then continue to rally, especially as the Iowa State Legislature is set to convene in January.
“There’s a lot we can do that doesn’t have to wait for the next election,” Remington said.
David Sterling, secretary of the Corridor Community Action Network, explained that the first hour of Thursday’s event was designed to give attendees a chance to share their feelings, while the second half offered an opportunity to connect with local groups that share their values.
The crowd included representatives and volunteers from various local organizations dedicated to supporting community needs: Inside Out Reentry Community, United Action for Youth, Shelter House, LGBTQ Iowa Archives and Library, Iowa City Catholic Worker House, and Resilient Sustainable Future for Iowa City.
Zaria Rochester, a reentry services coordinator for Inside Out Reentry Community, echoed Vandyk’s earlier sentiment of hope.
“There’s an opportunity to focus on compassion and community and not depression and despair, which is what oppression feeds off,” Rochester said.
Mason Koelm, development director for United Action for Youth, highlighted services, including transitional housing for homeless teens and specialized programming for LGBTQ youth.
“Many of our kids couldn’t vote in this election and feel very disenfranchised, as many of us do,” Koelm said.
Emily Salmonson, owner of The Green House, a plant-themed cocktail lounge that hosted the event, shared that Thursday’s gathering was exactly what she had envisioned for her space when she opened it in 2022.
“The Green House is a place we want to make sure is a safe space for everyone who comes in, so the events we hold tend to reflect that,” Salmonson said. “The perspectives of the community need to be shared, especially at times like this.”
In addition to fear about another Trump administration, several attendees voiced frustration with the campaign efforts of the Democratic Party.
“I felt like [Democratic] campaigning was really bad,” Sterling said. “And I felt like their handling of the post-Trump years really squandered the time they had in power.”
Mika Covington, Vice-Chair of the Johnson County Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and co-chair of Iowa’s Democratic Socialists of America chapter, agreed with Sterling’s frustration in Democratic campaigning.
“What we saw was the Democrats going to the center and right to try to gain votes,” Covington said, adding that she feels the Democratic Party is failing to appeal to more left-leaning Democrats. “As a member of the party, I am disheartened to see that they’re ignoring us.”
Vandyk said they hope attendees leave the event feeling more connected and hopeful than they did coming in.
“These are the people that are going to be there for you,” Vandyk said, addressing the crowd. “And who you have to be there for.”