Teresa Shook is urging the co-chairs of the Women’s March, a group which she helped create, to resign.
Headed by Bob Bland, Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, and Carmen Perez, the Women’s March has come under fire for its relationship with Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has made anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ comments.
According to Shook, the co-chairs have “have steered the Movement away from its true course. I have waited, hoping they would right the ship,” Shook wrote on Facebook. “But they have not. In opposition to our Unity Principles, they have allowed anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform by their refusal to separate themselves from groups that espouse these racist, hateful beliefs.”
Mallory — who has refused to denounce Farrakhan — and Perez have posted photos of themselves on social media with Farrakhan. Sarsour also spoke at an event headlined by Farrakhan. Despite these appearances, the Women’s March issued a statement earlier this year claiming that Farrakhan’s views were “not aligned with the Women’s March Unity Principles.”
“I call for the current Co-Chairs to step down and to let others lead who can restore faith in the Movement and its original intent,” Shook said. “I stand in Solidarity with all the Sister March Organizations, to bring the Movement back to its authentic purpose.”
The Women’s March, which organized a massive rally in Washington, D.C., after President Trump’s inauguration, characterized Shook’s statement as reckless and said the group will keep working to create an “intersectional movement” that future women will be proud of.
“Today, Teresa Shook weighed in, irresponsibly, as have other organizations attempting in this moment to take advantage of our growing pains to try and fracture our network,” the Women’s March said in a Facebook post Monday.
“We are imperfect. We don’t know everything and we have caused harm. At times we have responded with hurt,” the Women’s March wrote. “But we are committed to learning. We will continue to work through the good and the bad, the impact and the harm — of building an intersectional movement that our daughters, and our daughters’ daughters can be proud of.”
