Butterfly Effect Project responds to barrage of hate-filled Facebook comments

The Butterfly Effect Project, a Riverhead-based nonprofit that aims to empower young girls, is calling attention to a series of “disgusting racist tropes” and “hateful” comments recently posted on its Facebook page in response to its annual Wo/man Empower Wo/men fundraiser.

The group’s founder, Tijuana Fulford, held a press conference Friday afternoon to address the social media attacks against her organization. Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard, council members Denise Merrifield and Bob Kern, and Mark McLaughlin, chairman of Riverhead’s Anti-Bias Task Force, attended the conference. Brookhaven Town Executive Dan Panico also publicly denounced the attacks on his social media account, calling them “grotesquely racist and ignorant.”

The original Facebook post, dated Feb. 23, consisted of a flyer announcing the 10th annual Wo/man Empower Wo/men fundraiser, and featured photos of Ms. Fulford and five honorees — all young female leaders from the Butterfly Effect Project. Shortly after the post was published, Ms. Fulford said, “racist attacks” began to appear in the comments section “disgusting racist tropes, hateful demands and vile ignorance” were on full display.

“When things like this happen, it’s easy for us to retreat, and it’s easy for us to act like it didn’t happen, or to rise above it — and sometimes, it’s tiring,” Ms. Fulford said at Friday’s press conference. “For the sake of the young ladies on that flyer, I will not act like it did not happen … I will not allow commentary — hateful, negative, vile and racist voices — to silence the joyful noise that the Butterfly Effect Project makes.”

After the press conference, the organization planned to file an official police report with local authorities and hand over information on the identities of the individuals who left the bigoted comments, Ms. Fulford said. She added that none of the comments came from members of the local community, but from outside aggressors, and noted that the organization intends to have added security at all events moving forward.

Ms. Fulford launched The Butterfly Effect Project in 2014 and achieved nonprofit status the following year. In its infancy, the group held meetings in the Riverhead Free Library basement with just eight girls from the Riverhead and Flanders area. Today, the organization has grown to over 20 chapters that serve more 700 girls and boys across Suffolk County.

At the end of last year, The Butterfly Effect Project opened its permanent home in Jamesport and celebrated its 10-year anniversary.

Since the beginning, Ms. Fulford’s mission has been to “break down racial, cultural, economic and social barriers and empower young girls from our communities, no matter their background, through horizon-expanding programming and opportunities,” she said in a statement. At the press conference, Ms. Fulford addressed prior claims that the group has not been inclusive.

“Ironically, because I happen to be Black, many assume that my target audience should and must be Black — I have lost funding, opportunities and a lot of support because of the idea that I should discriminate against a child based on the color of their skin, socioeconomic status, cultural, political or other affiliation,” Ms. Fulford said. “When I see a child, I see a person; I see them fully and respect each part of them.”

The Wo/man Empower Wo/men event “honors all aspects of diverse individuals” who show leadership and a commitment to bettering local communities, Ms. Fulford said. A group of young girls and boys involved in the program spoke about how the hurtful comments made them feel, but agreed that the opposition they faced only makes them stronger and more united.

“What they want is an argument and a reaction — the ignorance is loud,” said Alexandra Fulford, Ms. Fulford’s daughter and one of the young women in the flyer who was targeted. “This didn’t make me mad. It fueled my passion and increased my motivation in life to become something great and to change the world. I am Black, beauty, brains and very educated … It will not degrade me, it will only make me stronger.”

Mr. Hubbard, who said he learned of the social media attacks today, praised the organization for the benefits it offers to the youth in the community and urged others to educate themselves about the Butterfly Effect Project’s mission.

“The fact that we had to be gathered here today is extremely disturbing … when I first learned of this a couple of hours ago, I had a knot in my stomach,” Mr. Hubbard said. “It’s hard to believe that in the year 2025 there are ignorant people in the world that live like this and survive daily They’re not productive to society. Their thoughts and words serve no purpose.

“Hold your head up high, be proud of who you are and what you are,” Mr. Hubbard said to the young people in the audience, “and know that the Town of Riverhead will have your back.”