Dozens of College Democrat State Federations made demands against the College Democrats of America (CDA), citing ‘racism and classism’ amid the organization. Within 48 hours, three board members resigned and CDA committed to their demands.
In an open letter published June 30, a coalition of state Democrat federations alleged “racism and classism” within the CDA and gave an ultimatum for several demands. These include the resignation of the CDA president, promise of CDA executive board members to not seek reelection, and commitment by any new board members to seek reforms.
If the 48-hour deadline passed unanswered, the Democrat coalition of 41 state federations, would have “cut all ties with the organization, and denounce it in its current form.” (RELATED: Biden Supports Removing Confederate Statue, Wants To Keep Washington And Jefferson)
Agreeing to demands for ‘structural change’ on July 1, CDA announced support for CDA President Mikaela Guido’s resignation, and said “we fully commit to using the next five weeks of our remaining term to start the implementation of all demands made by our state federations.”
The @CollegeDems Executive Board Agrees to the Coalition of State Federations’ Demands and Commits to Structural Change. pic.twitter.com/Okj4b6dehk
— Erica Kelly (@ericankelly) July 1, 2020
The Coalition of State Federations celebrated, saying “collective action proves that real change starts from the bottom up, never the top down.” The coalition says they will hold the executive board accountable.
The CDA statement apologized to Matthew Nowling, the executive board member who made calls for change against the “fundamentally racist” organization and resigned from being CDA’s communications director June 2. Nowling wrote, “my efforts to promote diversity within the organization have been twisted by multiple members of the board…I’ve constantly been ostracized, undermined, and mocked.”
Nowling finished by saying, “the current way our organization operates is not welcoming to BIPOC,” but promises to stay on until a successor is found.
This evening I sent a notice to the @CollegeDems Exec Board announcing my resignation.
I hope that the board listens to my comments and takes action to improve our organization. We have the potential to make a difference in this country, but we have to start with ourselves. pic.twitter.com/nWArzcQ4Ri
— Matt Nowling (@MatthewNowling) June 27, 2020
CDA President Guido, who has not yet resigned according to The New York Times, released a statement June 30 saying she was unaware of the events against Nowling, but apologized and confronted board members who “contributed to this inappropriate behaviour” and “ensured their resignation.”
Three executive board members have resigned the president stated June 29.