CommentsBCK FILE--An estimated 200,000 demonstrators gathered in Pershing Square on January 19 for the 3rd Annual Women’s March.
Two years ago, the first Women’s March following President Trump’s inauguration brought an estimated 750,000 to downtown LA. Whether this drop was due to protest fatigue or controversy surrounding Women’s March, Inc. leaders, thousands of protestors still showed up in Los Angeles and in cities around the country to protest Trump administration policies and to support the resist movement.
Women’s March, Inc. co-founders Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez have been the focus of criticism since last February when Mallory was in attendance at the Nation of Islam’s Savior’s Day event where leader Louis Farrakhan had made anti-Semitic remarks. Tablet Magazine’s Leah McSweeney and Jacob Siegel reported in December about alleged anti-Semitic statements made by Mallory and Perez at planning meetings, which both founders deny.
According to the Tablet article, it was at the very first meeting at Perez’s apartment that “Perez and Mallory allegedly first asserted that Jewish people bore a special collective responsibility as exploiters of black and brown people -- and even, according to a second-hand source, claimed that Jews were proven to have been leaders of the American slave trade.” McSweeney and Siegel explain that these are “popular canards popularized by The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, a book published by Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam -- “the bible of the new anti-Semitism.”
As a result of the controversy, the Democratic National Committee, Southern Poverty Law Center, and other groups have moved away from Women’s March, Inc. Other groups have or are holding marches, independent of Women’s March, Inc.
The Women’s March Los Angeles Foundation (WMLA) grew from the original grassroots movement but is run as an independent organization. A statement on the group’s homepage reads:
We are aware of the recent concern about the perceived support of Louis Farrakhan, whose statements about Jewish, queer, and trans-people are not aligned with The Women’s March unity principles. Women’s March LA (WMLA) strongly denounces these statements and recognizes the pain they have caused for the Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities.
For deeper clarity and understanding, WMLA and Women’s March, Inc. are separate organizations that arose from a shared grassroots movement following the 2016 presidential election. WMLA does not share leadership, structure or funding with the Women’s March, Inc. and does not have any input on the makeup or their leadership or decision-making.
As an independent organization, WMLA will do everything in our power to demonstrate and promote intersectionality and inclusivity as we continue to work towards our vision of shared humanity and equality for all. We believe our diversity makes us stronger and do not tolerate any kind of hate speech, bigotry, homophobia, Islamophobia, transphobia, or any other form of hatred.
The Women’s March LA Team
The two-year mark since Trump first took the Oath of Office, the nation continues to suffer under Trump’s policies and divisive rhetoric. The midterm elections were a referendum on Trump and his policies. However, the work is far from done, which is why we must take care to avoid divisiveness within the resist movement. There’s room under the tent for everyone who wants a more inclusive, fair, and just America.
(Beth Cone Kramer is a professional writer living in the Los Angeles area. She covers Resistance Watch and other major issues for CityWatch.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.
