They were once the face of the anti-Trump resistance, but now 3 original Women's March co-chairs are out after accusations of anti-Semitism
- The Women's March cut ties with three of its inaugural board members who had drawn accusations of anti-Semitism and mismanaging finances.
- The Washington Post first reported that co-chairs Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and Bob Bland stepped down from the organization's board last month and that it had recently reorganized its leadership.
- The Women's March has been roiled by internal discord, which experts say splintered the movement and undermined its effectiveness.
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The Women's March recently cut ties with three of its inaugural board members who had drawn accusations of anti-Semitism and mismanaging finances.
The Washington Post first reported that co-chairs Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and Bob Bland stepped down from the organization's board last month and that it had recently reorganized its leadership. The new board includes three Jewish women, a transgender woman, and a member of the Oglala Tribe of the Lakota nation.
Sarsour, an activist and currently a campaign surrogate for Bernie Sanders, said the board was "AMAZING" in a text message to the Post. She expressed gratitude to the women now. serving on the board, saying, "This is what women supporting women looks like."
The Women's March has been roiled by internal discord over the past year, which experts say splintered the movement and undermined its effectiveness. Earlier this year, it stopped a years long effort to to trademark the words "women's march."
"There's an opportunity here for a group to rise out of the ashes of divisiveness and continue on with the mission that was the Women's March, and, honestly, that would be wonderful," said Dana R. Fisher, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland told the Post.
Among the controversies surrounding the Women's March co-chairs, Mallory had boasted on social media of her attendance at an event hosted by the Nation of Islam where Louis Farrakhan made overtly bigoted and conspiratorial remarks about Jews.
The Women's March tried to address the outrage, but its leaders didn't denounce Farrakhan, who regularly makes anti-Semitic, homophobic, and misogynistic statements.