Fresno's LGBTQ community on Trump's victory: 'Fight ahead of us'
Nov 07, 2024
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Following Donald Trump's victory on Tuesday, winning the White House in a political comeback, those at an election watch party at Splash Fresno went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
The election watch party was not the first time Splash has invited its patrons to mix politics with mixed drinks. According to organizers, it's what LGBTQ clubs do.
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"Historically, the first community centers for LGBTQ were nightclubs," Splash's Bianca Lopez said.
Lopez says the energy at Splash Fresno's watch party was positive. The numbers were accompanied by drag performers, music and specialty drinks as votes were tallied. But the fun was short-lived for everyone at the watch party as more and more electoral college votes were counted.
"Once it was kind of clear where it was going I think there was a sense of dread," Lopez said. "There's a lot of scared people, a lot of fear, which is understandable."
But according to Lopez, much of that dread was thankfully mitigated by the ambiance of community in the club and as conversations continued the consensus of the room was "we're going to be okay because we still have our community."
One of the event organizers D'Aungellique Jackson says one of her main objectives at the watch party was to educate voters on ballot measures and what they can do moving forward.
"Being able to center those local measures, those propositions, and those local candidate races throughout the event was really crucial," Jackson said.
"It wouldn't have mattered if Kamala Harris or if Donald Trump would have won. We would have still had a fight ahead of us."