On January 21st, 2017, a crowd of nearly half a million gathered for the Women's March on Washington D.C. The mission of the march was to gather diverse groups together in solidarity for the cause of women's rights. This was in response to the rhetoric of the 2016 election, which was inflammatory toward women, immigrants, Muslims and people who identify as LGBTQIA.
This was a grass roots effort that comprised of dozens of independent coordinators. This effort was helmed by four co-chairs: Linda Sarsour, Tamika D. Mallory, Carmen Perez and Bob Bland. And primary partners of the Women's March were Planned Parenthood and NRDC.
Women's March Links: Women's March Official Website (Facebook / Twitter)
Primier Partners of the Women's March: Planned Parenthood NRDC
List of all partner organizations of the Women's March
Linda Sarsour is the Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York, co-founder of Muslims for Ferguson, and a member of Justice League NYC (a task force of the organization 'Gathering for Justice').
She is an award-winning, Brooklyn-born Palestinian-American-Muslim racial justice and civil rights activist.
Linda led the successful, progressive coalition to close New York public schools for the observance of two of Islam's most important holy days, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. In 2015, Linda was one of three women co-chairs of the March2Justice, an effort advised and chaired by legendary artist and activist Belafonte, leading almost 100 marchers through 5 states and 250 miles from Staten Island, NY to Washington, DC. Linda was invited to deliver an address before 700,000 people at the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March, and gained international media coverage. And in 2016 she played a role in whipping up support in New York for the campaign of Bernie Sanders.
Sarsour's Speech at the Women's March on Washington, 2017
Linda Sarsour Explains Why Hillary Got Trump Elected
Links:
Facebook Twitter March2Justice Arab American Association of New York Muslims for Ferguson Justice League NYC
Tamika is a prominent Black civil rights activist, a board member for the Gathering of Justice, and she also spoke at JusticeOrElse in 2015, the 20th anniversary of Farrakhan's Million Man March .
She has spoken out on critical issues such as gun violence and police misconduct and is a leading figure in the grass roots, community-based effort to stop gun violence in New York City.
She is a leading figure in the grass roots, community-based effort to stop gun violence in New York City. Tamika was also instrumental in creating the NYC Crisis Management System, which is an official gun violence prevention program that awards nearly $20 million annually to innovative violence intervention organizations. She also served as National Action Network’s youngest Executive Director.
Tamika's Speech at the Women's March on Washington, 2017
Tamika's Speech at Justice or Else, 2015 (The 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March)
Links:
Official Website Facebook Twitter Gathering For Justice (Facebook / Twitter) Justice Or Else (2015)
Carmen Perez is the Executive Director of the Gathering for Justice.
Carmen has dedicated 20 years to advocating for civil rights issues, including mass incarceration, gender equality, violence prevention, racial healing and community policing. As the Executive Director of The Gathering for Justice, Carmen has crossed the globe promoting peace through civil and human rights, building alternatives to incarceration and violence, and providing commentary and guidance for state and federal policy creation. Her work inside of juvenile detention centers and prisons in California and New York has provided cultural, spiritual and educational events as well as individual support to incarcerated youth. Carmen is the co-founder of Justice League NYC and founder of Justice League CA, two state-based task forces for advancing juvenile and criminal justice reform agenda. She has organized numerous national convenings, including Growing Up Locked Down conferences on juvenile justice, and the March2Justice. As a respected expert in the field of juvenile and criminal justice and system accountability, Carmen was invited to testify before the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and have been featured in numerous media outlets.
Carmen Perez's Speech at the Women's March on Washington, 2017
Links:
Official Website Facebook Twitter Gathering For Justice (Facebook / Twitter) Justice League NYC March2Justice (2015)
Bob Bland is the CEO and Founder of Manufacture New York (MNY), a fashion industry that is aiming to provide a sustainable global supply chain. She is an international speaker and advocate for domestic manufacturing, ethical supply chains and design entrepreneurship education, Ms. Bland has presented Manufacture New York as a case study in Copenhagen, Seoul, Los Angeles, Raleigh, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. and NYC. She has also been featured in two books, Sustainable Fashion: Past, Present & Future (2015), We Own the City (2014); the film “Making It In America: Empowering Global Fashion;” and multiple TV interviews including CNBC & CBS Evening News.
Bob Bland's Speech at the Women's March on Washington, 2017
Facebook Twitter Team Manufacture New York
Cecile Richards was one of the speakers at the Women's March. She is the president of Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization dedicated to reproductive health.
Her political activism started at a young age. Both parents (Ann and David Richards) were political activists. They introduced her to women's rights, civil justice, voting law and anti-war activism. At 16, she assisted in the campaign for Roe v. Wade.
Cecile later founded America Votes: a progressive platform for Democratic-affiliated organizations. Their partners include Sierra Club, People for the American Way, and USAction.
Cecile Richard's Speech at the Women's March on Washington, 2017
Links:
Facebook Twitter Planned Parenthood (Facebook / Twitter) Planned Parenthood Action Fund