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Bernie Sanders is opening the Women’s Convention—and not everyone is pleased

A man is opening a Women's March event—what could go wrong?

Photo of Samantha Grasso 

Samantha Grasso

IRL

Posted on Oct 13, 2017   Updated on May 22, 2021, 2:26 pm CDT

On Thursday, the organizers of the Women’s March announced their opening speaker for the Women’s Convention, the first national convention in 40 years, held Oct. 27-29 in Detroit. Will it be the persistent Sen. Elizabeth Warren? Or perhaps Sen. Kamala Harris, preaching to the choir about being interrupted by a male colleague mid-sentence?

Nope. The opening speaker for the Women’s Convention with be Sen. Bernie Sanders.

To be clear, the three-day convention is packed with more than 60 female speakers, including Rep. Maxine Waters, who is headlining the weekend and whose “reclaiming my time” statement inspired the convention’s theme; Indivisible co-founder Leah Greenberg; and trans activist Lilianna Reyes. However, the announcement left women questioning why a male ally to the women’s movement was given center stage instead of moving to the side for a woman to speak.

https://twitter.com/rgay/status/918564097716658176

Some found the Women’s March organizers’ decision to be an outright insult to women who experienced harassment by male Sanders supporters, aka “Bernie bros,” during the 2016 presidential race—not to mention to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, too.

https://twitter.com/Marmel/status/918624986771927041

Sanders’ railing against establishment politicians like Clinton, and institutions such as the Human Rights Campaign and Planned Parenthood, resonated with millennials on the campaign trail in early 2016.

“I think that right now, no one can deny that Bernie Sanders is probably one of the most powerful U.S. senators…on progressive issues, women’s issues, mobilizing Millennials,” Women’s March co-founder Mallory told the Detroit Free Press. “He is really in line with the principles of the Women’s March.”

However, many critics of his speaking role resented the unconventional politician’s presence at an event purposed to unite and uplift the voices of women.

https://twitter.com/Maggyw519/status/918484630000435204

https://twitter.com/4everNeverTrump/status/918477865804480512

A Change.org petition has already been created pushing for organizers to give the opening speaker slot to a woman. In response to pushback the Women’s March anticipated for putting Sanders in a prominent speaking slot, co-founder Tamika Mallory said, well, Waters will be there, and we’ve invited other women to attend, but Sanders has already gotten back to us.

“We believe as women…that we ought to have more than just women at the Women’s Convention,” Mallory said. “People want to hear from the leadership from within our government who can give us some insight about what’s happening…so we can know what we need to do to be able organize.”

Following the onslaught of criticism, the Women’s March issued a statement that Clinton, and Sens. Harris, Warren, and Kirsten Gillibrand were unable to speak at the convention because of scheduling conflicts.

“We are excited to come together, to unite across our differences and to fight for the future we all believe in,” the statement concluded.

H/T Vox

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*First Published: Oct 13, 2017, 10:44 am CDT

Samantha Grasso

Samantha Grasso is a former IRL staff writer for the Daily Dot with a reporting emphasis on immigration. Her work has appeared on AJ+, Vox, Splinter, Los Angeles Magazine, and Austin Monthly.

Samantha Grasso