On January 19, 2019 the annual Women’s March was held across the country in an attempt to unite women and allies of women for social justice. One difference, however, was that the size of the crowd was greatly diminished from the previous two years.
There have been multiple accusations of anti-Semitism, and one of the less credible of these accusations was by a former leader of the national chapter and Jewish activist Vanessa Wrubel. Wrubel claimed that Tamika Mallory, a current co-president, and Carmen Perez, a current board member of the Women’s March, told her that Jews played a big role in the slave trade and industrialization of the prison complex. This is a false statement that was echoed in “The Secret Relationship of the Blacks and Jews,” by Louis Farrakhan. This book has been repeatedly denounced as anti-Semitic.
It’s important to not view [Women’s March Co-President] Mallory as the whole movement’s voice.
Both Mallory and Perez deny that this comment was made. However, it is undeniable that Mallory is a supporter of Farrakhan, a blatant anti-Semite. In 2018, Mallory attended an event led by Farrakhan called Saviour’s Day, in which he said, “The powerful Jews are my enemy” and “Jews were responsible for all of this filth and degenerate behavior that Hollywood is putting out turning men into women and women into men.” The latter is not only blatantly untrue and anti-Semitic, but also transphobic. This type of sentiment and speech is typical of Farrakhan, who has a habit of referring to Jewish people as the “satanic Jews” and has also made other homophobic, and misogynistic statements. Why Mallory was able to sit through him making these anti-Semitic comments without addressing it, and why Mallory was even at this event raises serious concerns.
Due to her attendance at an event featuring an anti-Semite, it is almost undeniable that one of the co-presidents of the Women’s March, Mallory, is also an anti-Semite. The question now is how does this affect the march, and what we all should do. The most important thing is to demand that the Women’s March makes reparations for their co-president’s behavior and to hold everyone within the organization to high standards. That means staying informed about the actions of Mallory regarding Farrakhan.
However, it’s important to not view Mallory the whole movement’s voice. By supporting the Women’s March one is supporting the view that women’s rights are human rights and that they are, and should be, intersectional. If you are a progressive, hold Mallory accountable but still march.