Southern Poverty Law Center Quietly Joins Roster of Big Groups Walking Away from the Women's March

[DonViejo]

The SPLC calls the Nation of Islam a hate group. The leaders of the Women’s March kept praising its leader.

Jackie Kucinich

01.11.19 9:19 PM ET

The Southern Poverty Law Center will not partner with the Women’s March this year, The Daily Beast has confirmed.

Jen Fuson, a spokeswoman for the SPLC, said “other projects were a priority,” but added they would continue to be involved in marches at the local level in areas where they have offices.

The third annual march, to be held on January 19, comes amid criticism of the March leadership’s past affiliation with and failure to fully denounce Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, as well as other allegations of anti-semitism from its former organizers. The SPLC has designated the Nation of Islam as a hate group. Asked whether the Farrakhan connection played a part in the decision not to partner with them, Fuson reiterated that the group had other priorities.

EMILY’s List, a political action committee that aims to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, is also absent from the Women’s March list of 2019 partners. A spokeswoman for EMILY’s List did not immediately return a request for comment. The National Council of Jewish Women told The New York Jewish Week Wednesday they would not be a partner in this year’s march.

A spokeswoman for the Women’s March did not immediately return a call for comment.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/southern-poverty-law-center-quietly-joins-the-roster-of-big-groups-walking-away-from-the-womens-march

[dlk]

1. How Has Linda Sarsour's Input Changed the Equation?

It would be helpful to take an historical look at her participation in the march.

[LisaM]

2. The first one took place despite the organizers.

I thought it was just a grass.roots thing, women banding together to protest the election. Then they purposely left Hillary off their list of people they were honoring (and refused to respond to my comments on that - they kept telling me where I could park, but ignored my question about Hillary). I think most of.the marchers were unaware, actually.

[Igel]

5. There are no grass roots things.

There are organizers, always. Sometimes they're volunteer, sometimes they're paid.

That there was a "list" meant somebody drew it up. That would be the organizers.

That they marched on the Mall meant somebody had to put in an application for a permit, with contact names. That, too, was the organizers.

A lot of local groups decided to participate--but they had local organizers.

The SPLC just doesn't want to say bad things about somebody that's still mostly an ally, but doesn't want to be seen supporting them. Non-support is more palatable to donors than active condemnation. If the anti-Semitic organizers were (R) there'd be no end to what they'd say. Heck, we'd be calling for making their lives a living hell so that they and their families died in ignominy. As it is, we debate whether what they did is really that bad, some find excuses, but most just want to sort of hope nobody notices.


In every large activity like the march, however, most people will be unaware of many things. Whether it's a progressive or conservative "action" most will know the sound-bite official reasons for doing things, the stuff put on a flyer or that's spread by word of mouth; most won't know everything bad behind the scenes, and if you actually asked you'd find that a decent number are there because they believe it's really primarily something else. Even during the speeches, most people will be tuned out. It's a rather severe error to assume that they're all in lockstep on every point. It's an error we're more likely to make when we judge others than judge ourselves, where if an organizer or speaker has some grievous statement or act in his past it means everybody's there to support precisely that. But it's an error we still make, when we say, "X number of women marched, and they all were there to support _________," where _____ is just one of the issues or points made.

[obamanut2012]

3. as am i this year

[Hortensis]

4. Boycott the NYC and/or DC marches, choose one of hundreds of others

that are organized by people of good character.

Right from the beginning the Women's Marches became national and international -- and far bigger than just the one organized by these women. I plan to march again here in Florida.