Co-President of the 2019 Women’s March, Tamika Mallory, has been in the spotlight recently for associating with and refusing to denounce overt anti-Semite and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. In an interview published Wednesday with Elle Magazine, Mallory expressed that she is unwilling to “throw away an organization — like the Nation of Islam.”
“You have faced direct criticism, specifically allegations of antisemitism. How do you respond?” the interviewer asked Mallory.
“I have been caricatured as someone who is an uncritical supporter of Louis Farrakhan and his every word and deed. That is not true,” Mallory stated. “Trust and believe, Minister Farrakhan is clear that I do not agree with everything that he says.”
Mallory explained that in her view the Nation of Islam has otherwise been a force for good in the black community, and that it “wouldn’t make sense” for her to disassociate with the organization just because she does not agree with all of its leader’s rhetoric. (RELATED: Democratic National Committee Ends Partnership With Women’s March)
In the Elle interview, she continued:
To be effective when organizing people who have been discarded by society it does not make sense for me to throw away an organization—like the Nation of Islam—that has been very effective at reaching the hearts and minds of young black men to turning them away from violence.
Throughout the interview, Mallory does not specify which statements of Farrakhan’s she disagrees with, nor does she directly mention anti-Semitism or any of Farrakhan’s numerous anti-Semitic proclamations.
When explaining her work with black inmates, Mallory said that she feels she has to stay open to all points of view.
“I find myself working closely with people who have many attitudes, beliefs, and ideas that I disagree with, but the black experience is varied and I have to be open to all of it,” Mallory told Elle.
On a number of occasions, Women’s March organizers have claimed that all women regardless of race, religion, or background are welcomed to attend Women’s March’s events.
This Saturday the Women’s March is headed to Washington, DC and we invite you to be with us. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. Struggle is exactly that…it’s a struggle! #womenswave #womensmarch #jan19 pic.twitter.com/IMYwQgGksI
— Tamika D. Mallory (@TamikaDMallory) January 15, 2019
But despite this inclusive message, the Women’s March issued a statement on Wednesday that said that its platform is a pro-choice only platform, and that they look forward to marching with women who share a pro-choice sentiment. Additionally, several pro-choice partners of the Women’s March, including New Wave Feminists, Stanton Healthcare, And Then There Were None, and Students for Life for America, have been removed due to their apparent ideological conflict with the official Women’s March platform.
Our statement regarding press today: pic.twitter.com/z1y9cfFFvY
— Women’s March (@womensmarch) January 16, 2017
In December, the Women’s March organization canceled an event in California because the participants were supposedly “overwhelmingly white” and “lacking representation from several perspectives,” according to a press release. (RELATED: Women’s March Full Of Anti-Semites, Has Ties To Nation Of Islam)
On a Monday episode of “The View,” co-host Meghan McCain confronted Mallory on her attendance at the Nation of Islam’s “Savior’s Day” event where she called Farrakhan “the greatest of all time.” McCain asserted that she as a conservative and pro-life woman was not invited to the Women’s March, and that conservative women are not welcome to attend and stand along side the Women’s March as allies.
McCain also pressed Mallory to explicitly condemn Farrakhan, but she refused, saying instead that she only “disagrees” with certain parts of Farrakhan’s rhetoric. (RELATED: Progressive Jewish Organizations Aren’t Supporting The Women’s March)
Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian activist and fellow leader of the Women’s March, has also been accused of anti-Semitism.
