Women’s March founder Teresa Shook on Monday called for the resignation of four of her co-chairs for “steering the movement away from its true course,” CNN reports.
The Women’s March is a global protest that was organized following the inauguration President Donald Trump last January. The movement, which started with a Facebook event created by Shook, also inspired sister marches across the U.S.
In a Facebook post Monday, Shook said that the co-chairs of the organization had allowed it to become aligned with harmful rhetoric against other minority communities.
https://www.facebook.com/TeresaShookOfficial/posts/2368957223146495
“Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour and Carmen Perez of Women’s March, Inc. have steered the Movement away from its true course,” Shook wrote. “In opposition to our Unity Principles, they have allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform.”
Following Shook’s post, people have responded with both support and criticism of the Women’s March.
https://twitter.com/arielsobelle/status/1062371784886898688
The other Women’s March leaders responded with their own post, claiming that Shook “weighed in, irresponsibly, as have other organizations attempting in this moment to take advantage of our growing pains to try and fracture our network.”
Several sister march leaders offered support to Shook, encouraging the resignation of the current Women’s March leaders.
https://twitter.com/Yair_Rosenberg/status/1064644213541871616
From Mercy Morganfield, former head of the DC March who left partially due to this controversy, and who was outspoken about the Farrakhan debate from the beginning. pic.twitter.com/kdj4sU65MA
— Elad Nehorai (@EladNehorai) November 19, 2018
Shook’s remarks came after mounting criticism against organization leaders’ association with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan has made several homophobic and anti-Semitic comments, including his reference to Jews as “termites” a week before the fatal shooting at the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh.
According to CNN, Mallory and Perez have both attended events featuring Farrakhan. Sarsour, who spoke at a 2015 rally headlined by Farrakhan, wrote about repeated calls for the Women’s March to condemn the Nation of Islam leader after the Tree of Life shooting.
As of Monday evening, none of the Women’s March leaders had announced plans to step down. The next Women’s March is scheduled for January 19, 2019.
READ MORE:
- International Men’s Day shouldn’t be brushed off
- Women of color, queer candidates winning the midterms isn’t a ‘silver lining’—it’s the main event
- This one perfect tweet shows you what Congress would look like if it were emoji
H/T CNN