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Tamika Mallory

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Tamika Mallory
Mallory in 2020
Born
Tamika Danielle Mallory

(1980-09-04)September 4, 1980(age 43)[1]
Manhattan,New York, U.S.[1]
Alma materThe College of New Rochelle[2]
OccupationActivist
Years active2002–present
Known forNational chair for theWomen's March
Children1

Tamika Danielle Mallory(born September 4, 1980[1]) is an American activist. She was one of the leading organizers of the2017 Women's March,for which she and her three other co-chairs were recognized in theTIME100that year.[3][4]She received the Coretta Scott King Legacy Award from theCoretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedomin 2018.[5]Mallory is a proponent ofgun control,feminism,and theBlack Lives Mattermovement.

Personal life

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Mallory was born inHarlem,a neighborhood of New York City'sManhattanborough,to Stanley and Voncile Mallory.[2]She grew up in theManhattanville Housesin Manhattan and moved toCo-op Cityinthe Bronxwhen she was 14.[6]Her parents were activists and founding members of ReverendAl Sharpton'sNational Action Network(NAN), a leading civil rights organization throughout theUnited States.[7]Their work in NAN influenced Mallory and her interests insocial justiceandcivil rights.Mallory became a staff member of NAN when she was 15 years old[7]and later was named its executive director in 2009.[8]

Mallory is asingle motherto her son Tarique.[6]Her son's father, Jason Ryans, was murdered in 2001.[9]Mallory explains that her experience with NAN taught her to react to this tragedy with activism. Her son is a member of NAN.[10]

In 2018, Mallory drew criticism for her attendance at an event with, and past praise for, controversialNation of IslamleaderLouis Farrakhan,which prompted calls for her resignation from the2019 Women's March.[11][12][13][14][15]Following later allegations ofantisemitism,Mallory left the organization in September 2019.[16]

Political activism

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Mallory speaking at the 2017Tax March

At age 11, Mallory became a member of NAN to learn more about theCivil Rights Movement.By the time Mallory turned 15, she was a volunteer staff member at NAN. Mallory went on to become the youngest Executive Director at NAN in 2011. After working at NAN for 14 years,[7]Mallory stepped down from her position as executive director in 2013 to follow her own activism goals, but still takes part in NAN's work, attending rallies and recruiting members.

In 2014, Mallory was selected to serve on the transition committee ofNew York City MayorBill de Blasio.During that time, she helped create theNYC Crisis Management System,an officialgun violence preventionprogram that awards $20 million annually to gun violence prevention organizations.[17]She also served as the co-chair for a new initiative through the Crisis Management System,Gun Violence Awareness Month.[18]

Mallory is the president of Mallory Consulting, astrategic planningandevent managementfirm in New York City. She is on the board of directors forGathering for Justice,an organization aimed at endingchild incarcerationand working toeliminate policies that produce mass incarceration.[19]

In 2018, Mallory criticizedStarbucksfor including theAnti-Defamation League(ADL), an organization whose stated mission is to "fight anti-Semitism and all forms of hate",[20]in a company-wideracial bias trainingafter thearrest of two black men at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.In atweet,she accused the ADL of "attack[ing] black and brown people" and wrote, "ADL sendsUS police to Israelto learn their military practices. This is deeply troubling. Let’s not even talk abt their attacks against.@blacklivesmatter. "[21]Starbuckssubsequently dropped the ADL from its anti-bias training, a decisionLiel LeibovitzofTabletsaid was "giving in tobigotry."[22][23]

2017 Women's March

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Mallory,Bob Bland,Carmen Perez,andLinda Sarsourorganized the2017 Women's March,a worldwide protest on January 21, 2017. The march was a protest against the inauguration of U.S. PresidentDonald Trump,and also advocatedwomen's rights,immigration reform,LGBTQIArights,health-care reform,environmental reform,racial justice,andracial equality.

The leaders of the Women's March mobilized inWashington, D.C.,and sister marches occurred worldwide. An estimated 500,000 people attended the Washington, D.C., march.[24]The Women's March website said that total worldwide participation was nearly five million.[25]According toThe Independent,the march may have been the largest single-day protest in U.S. history.[26]Sarsour, Mallory, Bland, and Perez were recognized in theTIME100of 2017.[4][3]

Organization and planning

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Mallory in 2020

The Women's March idea formed after Trump's election. A grandmother in Hawaii,Teresa Shook,created aFacebookevent for a march in Washington, D.C., following the inauguration. Meanwhile, Bob Bland, a mother living in New York City, also created an event. Within a single day hundreds of thousands of individuals were "attending" the march's Facebook event. The surge of interest catalyzed the organizing that led to the 2017 Women's March.

Bland's and Shook's events were merged. Bland reached out to Mallory, Perez, and Sarsour, to include voices of color. The march organizers sought to integrate many different leaders and voices to create a decentralized structure. The intention was to incorporate people from every walk of life.

Mallory has said that while the march was in direct response to Trump's election, its larger concern wassocial problems in the United States.[27]The march gave women,minorities,people of color,LGBTQIA,and others a space to voice their concerns, fears, and feelings. Mallory explains that she took on this responsibility because she "wanted to ensure that Black women's voices are upheld, uplifted, and that our issues are addressed, but this cannot happen unless we take a seat at the table".[27]

Mallory's work within the Women's March was geared toward creating space for unrepresented voices insocial activism.She felt that previous marches had failed to recognize theintersectionalaspects within social justice, such asrace,class,gender,nationality,andsexuality.According to Mallory, the organizers worked to make the march as inclusive as possible in order to promote the most change.[28]

One of the largest supporters of the march wasPlanned Parenthood.Mallory explains that they partnered with Planned Parenthood because they "provide women with life-saving health services".[27]

Later activities

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After the march, the organizers published a "10 Actions for the First 100 Days" campaign, in order to continue the momentum of social activism gained from the march.[29]The first action was to write apostcardtoSenatorsabout issues of concern. Organizers provided a template on their website along with ways to send the postcards.[30]The second action was to either host or attend a "huddle," an informal meeting to discuss ways to transform feelings into local and national action.[31]The third action was to attend or host a "Hear Our Voice" event, a more formal version of action 2, in order to stimulate continuous change.[32]

In 2021, Mallory released her first book,State of Emergency,with Black Privilege Publishing throughAtria BooksatSimon & Schuster.Mallory travels the world speaking on social injustices that plague Black communities. Drawn "from a lifetime of frontline culture-shifting advocacy, organizing, and fighting for equal justice, State of Emergencymakes Mallory's demand for change and shares the keys to effective activism both for those new to and long-committed to the defense of Black lives”.[33]

2019 Women's March

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Mallory was one of the co-presidents of the2019 Women's March.She assumed leadership of the march along with her co-chairs from the 2017 March:Linda Sarsour,Carmen Perez,andBob Bland.[34]

Mallory has been criticized for her relationship withNation of IslamleaderLouis Farrakhanand support forAssata Shakur,a formerBlack Liberation Armymember convicted of murder.[35][36][37]On February 25, 2018, Mallory attended aSaviours' Dayspeech led by Farrakhan where he made variousantisemiticremarks, and later posted positive comments about the event on social media accounts.[38][39]This led some supporters of the march to call for her and other Women's March leaders to resign.[34]In December 2018,The New York Timesreported that "charges of anti-Semitism" stemming partly from the Farrakhan issue as well as Mallory's allegedly berating a Jewish organizer of the Women's March "are now roiling the movement and overshadowing plans for more marches next month". She disputed that they made such remarks.[34]

Mallory also responded by releasing a statement that condemned racism, anti-Semitism and homophobia, also writing, "I do not wish to be held responsible for the words of others when my own history shows that I stand in opposition to them." She added that she believed building coalitions required working with people with whom she disagreed.[40][41][42]An early Women's March co-founder,Vanessa Wruble,said that she had been "pushed out" of the Women's March by Mallory and others because of her Jewish identity.[34]Another organizer, Evvie Harmon, said that she witnessed Mallory and co-chair Perez berating Wruble, saying "your people hold all the wealth", remarks that Harmon described in an account toThe New York TimesandTablet.[43][34]Mallory and Perez disputed that they made those remarks or that Wruble was mistreated for being Jewish.[34]OnThe View,Mallory stated that she didn't agree with all of Farrakhan's statements and wouldn't use his language, but declined to condemn his previous antisemitic statements.[44]In an interview withMargaret Hoover,Mallory also refused to say thatIsraelhas aright to exist.[45]

George Floyd protests

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Mallory participated in theGeorge Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paulin May 2020. In a speech at a news conference there, she accused some people of being more concerned with property destruction, particularly that ofTargetstores, than with justice for the murder ofGeorge Floyd.She also alleged that in Minneapolis paid instigators were responsible for property damage and arson.[46]

References

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  1. ^abc"Tamika Mallory".Archives of Women's Political Communication.Iowa State University; Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  2. ^abAbdul-Aleem, Maryam (April 12, 2011)."Tamika Mallory: Young and powerful new executive director of NAN".New York Amsterdam News.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  3. ^abGillibrand, Kirsten(April 20, 2017)."Women's March Leaders".Time.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  4. ^abAl-Sibai, Noor (April 20, 2017)."The Women's March Organizers Made The 'Time' 100 Most Influential People List".Bustle.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  5. ^Bogart, Devero (April 26, 2018)."Social justice activists honored with Coretta Scott King legacy awards".WDTN.RetrievedApril 26,2021.
  6. ^abBarker, Cryil Josh (October 24, 2013)."Tamika Mallory: The Beauty of Activism".New York Amsterdam News.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  7. ^abcKeck, Catie (January 20, 2017)."Meet Tamika Mallory, the Lifelong Activist Who Organized the Women's March on Washington".Complex.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  8. ^Press Release (July 23, 2009)."National Action Network Makes New Appointments".National Action Network.RetrievedMarch 12,2021.
  9. ^Nicole, Einbinder (July 13, 2017)."This Is Why Hundreds Of Women Are Going After The NRA".Bustle.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  10. ^Serwer, Adam(March 11, 2018)."Why Tamika Mallory Won't Condemn Farrakhan".The Atlantic.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  11. ^"America's Midterms — The Blue Wave".Manhattan Neighborhood Network.November 10, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  12. ^Stockman, Farah(December 23, 2018)."Women's March Roiled by Accusations of Anti-Semitism".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  13. ^Yang, Allie (January 14, 2019)."Women's March co-president Tamika Mallory discusses controversial relationship with Louis Farrakhan".ABC News.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  14. ^Flood, Brian (January 14, 2019)."'The View' grills Women's March co-founder Tamika Mallory over ties to Louis Farrakhan ".Fox News.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  15. ^Wines, Michael;Stockman, Farah(January 19, 2019)."Smaller Crowds Turn Out for Third Annual Women's March Events".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  16. ^Stockman, Farah(September 16, 2019)."Three Leaders of Women's March Group Step Down After Controversies".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  17. ^"De Blasio Administration, City Council Expand Citywide Initiative to Reduce Gun Violence".Government of New York City.Press office of City Hall. August 13, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  18. ^Odesanya, Olayemi (April 20, 2017)."Tamika Mallory and Nicole Paultre-Bell host third Black Lives Matter Summit at LaGuardia Community College".New York Amsterdam News.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  19. ^"The Story of the Gathering".The Gathering For Justice. Archived fromthe originalon April 21, 2021.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  20. ^"Who We Are".Anti-Defamation League.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  21. ^Pink, Aiden (April 18, 2018)."Women's March Leaders Slam Starbucks For Tapping ADL".The Forward.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  22. ^Hanna, Andrew (April 30, 2018)."Starbucks drops Jewish group from bias training".Politico.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  23. ^Leibovitz, Liel(April 30, 2018)."The ADL Kicked Out of Leading Starbucks' Diversity Training".Tablet.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  24. ^Wallace, Tim; Parlapiano, Alicia (January 22, 2017)."Crowd Scientists Say Women's March in Washington Had 3 Times as Many People as Trump's Inauguration".The New York Times.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  25. ^"Sister Marches".womensmarch.com.Archived fromthe originalon February 24, 2018.
  26. ^Broomfield, Matt (January 23, 2017)."Women's March against Donald Trump is the largest day of protests in US history, say political scientists".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on May 26, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  27. ^abcWilson, Wendy L. (January 21, 2017)."Women Marching for Justice in a New Era: A Chat With Activist Tamika Mallory".Ebony.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  28. ^Cusumano, Katherine (January 19, 2017)."The Women of the Women's March: Meet the Activists Who Are Planning One of the Largest Demonstrations in American History".W.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  29. ^Shamus, Kristen Jordan (January 22, 2017)."Women's March launches 10 actions for first 100 days".Detroit Free Press.RetrievedFebruary 12,2021.
  30. ^"Action One – Postcards".Women's March on Washington.Archived fromthe originalon December 28, 2018.RetrievedApril 24,2017.
  31. ^"Action 2 – Huddle".Women's March on Washington.Archived fromthe originalon January 29, 2019.RetrievedApril 24,2017.
  32. ^"Action 3 – Hear Our Voice".Women's March on Washington.Archived fromthe originalon December 28, 2018.RetrievedApril 24,2017.
  33. ^Mallory, Tamika (2020).Simon and Schuster.Simon and Schuster.ISBN9781982173470.
  34. ^abcdefStockman, Farah (December 23, 2018)."Women's March Roiled by Accusations of Anti-Semitism".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedDecember 31,2018.
  35. ^Weiss, Bari (August 1, 2017)."When Progressives Embrace Hate".The New York Times.
  36. ^"The feminist Farrakhan fans who organized the Women's March".The Times of Israel.
  37. ^"Supporter of homophobic, anti-Semitic U.S. religious leader to speak at NDP convention".
  38. ^"Farrakhan Rails Against Jews, Israel, and the U.S. Government in Wide-Ranging Saviours' Day Speech".Anti-Defamation League.
  39. ^"Women's March Co-President Attends Louis Farrakhan Rally – Again".The Forward.RetrievedApril 18,2018.
  40. ^Lemieux, Jamilah (March 7, 2018)."[EXCLUSIVE] Tamika Mallory Speaks: 'Wherever My People Are Is Where I Must Be'".News One.
  41. ^Pagano, John-Paul (March 8, 2018)."The Women's March Has a Farrakhan Problem".The Atlantic.RetrievedDecember 27,2018.
  42. ^Lang, Marissa J. (November 21, 2019)."Anger over Farrakhan ties prompts calls for Women's March leaders to resign".Washington Post.RetrievedNovember 27,2018.
  43. ^McSweeney, Leah; Siegel, Jacob (December 10, 2018)."Is the Women's March Melting Down?".Tablet Magazine.RetrievedJanuary 3,2019.
  44. ^"Tamika Mallory fails to condemn Farrakhan's antisemitism on 'The View' - Diaspora - Jerusalem Post".www.jpost.com.RetrievedJanuary 15,2019.
  45. ^Kampeas, Ron (January 19, 2019)."Women's March Leader Wouldn't Say in Interview Whether Israel Has Right to Exist".Haaretz.RetrievedJanuary 24,2019.
  46. ^Regan, Sheila; Klemko, Robert; Johnson, Jenna (May 30, 2020)."As fear settles over Minneapolis, protests and violent clashes spread across the U.S."Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedJuly 8,2021.
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