Organizers of the Charlotte’s Women’s March have changed their name and disassociated themselves from the national movement over expressions of anti-Semitism by the March’s leadership, The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.
The Charlotte march will be held on January 26, not the 19th, and will be called the Women United March.
In a statement posted on their website, Charlotte Women’s March stated that while the organization started with the national efforts two years ago, it has “evolved independently.” Specifically, the statement says, “CWM strongly opposes all anti-Semitism, including statements made by any of the national Women’s March leaders.”
The statement continues, “We believe, as the Anti-Defamation League says, ‘No one should be targeted or treated unfairly because of their religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or disability.’”
An expose appearing in Tablet Magazine last month reported that the national co-chairs of the Women’s March — Tamika Mallory and Carmen Perez — had made anti-Semitic statements at an early organizational meeting. Mallory, Perez, and another co-chair, Linda Sarsour, are all supporters of anti-Semitic preacher Rev. Louis Farrakhan.
The Observer reported that in the wake of the controversy a number of local Women’s Marches have been canceled, including in Chicago and New Orleans. Additionally, the National Organization for Women announced that it would not support the national Woman’s March financially “until the current questions regarding leadership are resolved.”
In related news, actress and activist Rosanna Arquette tweeted a rebuke to the Women’s March. In response to a tweet saying, “On Jan 19, we’re marching straight up to the White House gates. They can shut down the government but they can’t shut down the #WomensWave,” Arquette wrote, “As long as anti semitism and division is not a part of your agenda.”
In November, Teresa Shook, the founder of the Women’s March, called on the movement’s current co-chairs to resign over anti-Semitic rhetoric and bigotry, just days after Sarsour suggested American Jews have dual loyalties. She charged that the organization’s leadership had “allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform.”
The next month, actress and activist Alyssa Milano said she would not speak at this year’s Women’s March because its leaders refused to denounce anti-Semitism. Fellow actress Debra Messing later announced her support for Milano.
Also in December, the Women’s March of Washington State disassociated itself from the national movement because of anti-Semitism.
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