Divisiveness Is Dangerous — The Women’ March, Teresa Shook & Linda Sarsour
Divisiveness is the kryptonite of intersectional movements. If we want to rise up against oppression, we need to recognize each other. We don't need to agree with each other on everything - we just need to respect one another.
The Women’s March is a colossus. In January 2017, half-a-million women and their allies marched in Washington DC, and marches of hundreds of thousands took place in NYC, L.A., Seattle, and many other cities. The Women’s March is getting ready for a powerful show of force in 2019.
Think about this: Who would benefit from infighting, divisiveness and loss of focus within the Women’s March?
Teresa Shook - the retired lawyer from Hawaii who came up with the idea for the March - just publicly asked Linda Sarsour, Tamika D Mallory, Bob Bland and Carmen Perez to step down as Co-Chairs - because they haven’t distanced themselves from Louis Farrakhan.
Look at this from a White privilege lens. The issue is simple. Farakhan is un-American. He is anti-American. He is anti-semitic. He is to be shunned.
Keep your privilege lens on. Sarsour is a Muslim woman, who actively speaks out against Israel. She must be chastised.
Now, let’s look at it through another lens.
Linda Sarsour is a Palestinian Woman. She is a Muslim Feminist. Hers is a very complicated - or rather, a complicating - voice. She openly denounces the misogyny within Muslim countries (and has endangered her life for doing so). She actively calls out Israel for what she sees as Apartheid (Gaza, West Bank), and calls for BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) against Israel.
Sarsour also raised over $200k for the victims of the Tree Of Life shooting.
The shooter at Tree Of Life was not Palestinian. The shooter was not a Black man, a Farrakhan follower. The shooter was a White man; a White Nationalist, a follower and supporter of Donald Trump.
Why make the Nation of Islam the target of our ire? Why chastise Tamika Mallory, a Black single mother who was greatly helped by the NOI, for not shunning them?
Who benefits from our divisiveness?
Red herrings distract us from our true enemies.
The Women’s March is a vast movement with many voices. It is a true challenge to our empathy for all of us to coexist, and to respect one another. But we must, if we want the movement to thrive.
As a trans woman, I feel the March could do more to protect trans women. And yet, the March has invited Raquel Willis, Bamby Salcedo and other trans voices to speak from its podiums.
Jewish women are likely to feel aggrieved over Mallory’s stance. And yet, many Jewish women work as officers and volunteers within the March.
Here’s what Elad Nehorai wrote in late 2017 in the Jewish publication Forward, after the March for Racial Justice:
I do not want to talk about Linda Sarsour. Not today, at least.
Today, I want to talk about racial justice. I want to talk about the Jewish role in that space, especially the Orthodox and/or Zionist role. I want to talk about our responsibilities, not just our rights.
I want to talk about how 99% of the march yesterday was full of light — both physical and spiritual. (…) I want to talk about that. And how that was a step, one step, towards fighting the hidden white supremacy and racial injustice gripping the United States that has led us to this moment of crisis.
I am tired of speaking about only my concerns. I am tired of writing only about myself. If we are the generation of “I”, we have entered the age of “we”. And it is only when we truly accept this reality that anything will ever be done.
It is not lost on me that Teresa Shook is an upper middle-class White woman. It is not lost on me that Tamika is Black. That Carmen and Linda are Brown. I am painfully aware that White Women voted for Trump. I am painfully aware that, if it were up to White women, alleged pedophile Roy Moore would sit in the Senate. I tend to put more weight, these days, in the voices of Black and Brown women.
It is not lost on me that Teresa Shook is an upper middle-class White woman. It is not lost on me that Tamika is Black. That Carmen and Linda are Brown. I tend to put more weight, these days, in the voices of Black and Brown women.
Would I like Mallory and Sarsour to openly part ways with Farakhan and the NOI? Hell yes, I would. Do i want them to step down from the Board? Hell no.
Patriarchy is the enemy
White Nationalism is the enemy. White Supremacists are the enemy. OPPRESSION is the enemy. Let us not tear each other down for speaking out about our oppression. Let us stand together against the oppressors.
NOTE: This is a complex issue and I don’t claim to have an easy answer. I invite your views and your perspective.
Here’s a great resource that Breanna Demands shared with me: Timeline of the Vilification of the Women’s March
The Women’s Wave is Coming
January 19, 2019 is the Women’s March. We’ll need every woman. Every voice. We need to stand united, in spite of our differences. There is a common enemy, and it is clear who that enemy is. Let’s all stand up against our common enemy, together.
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