Women’s March Chicago organizers are planning two local marches in 2020, amid recent news that several leaders of a separate national Women’s March organization are stepping down following controversies.
Local organizers say supporters will get two chances to march in Chicago next year. One march is planned for January in Grant Park to “kick off a crucial election year” and encourage 2020 census participation. A march and rally are scheduled for mid-October “to fire up voters as they head to the polls,” according to a news release Thursday.
“In 2020, marchers will have a chance to change the course of history as they head to the ballot box in what surely will be one of the most exciting elections in modern times,” the news release said.
In January 2017, the first local Women’s March unexpectedly drew an estimated quarter-million participants to Grant Park, shutting down parts of the Loop. The event was held in solidarity with similar marches around the country and globe following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Then in January 2018, an anniversary march topped attendance with an estimated 300,000 in the crowd, according to organizers; similar events were held nationally and internationally. But the crowds were much smaller ? about 100,000 participants ? at a solely local event in October dubbed “March to the Polls,” held to encourage midterm election voting.
Women’s March Chicago decided to forgo another anniversary march at Grant Park in January 2019 ? a day when many other similar marches were held across the country — citing the high cost of hosting multiple events so close together. Local organizers instead asked supporters to mark the January anniversary by coordinating their own political or service activities, which were scattered across the Chicago area.
At the same time, several leaders of Women’s March on Washington were coming under fire amid allegations of anti-Semitism and other complaints.
Women’s March Chicago organizers have said they represent a grassroots group not directly affiliated with these national leaders. While the local group said acrimony on the national level wasn’t the basis for forgoing a January march, one organizer described the opportunity to further distance Women’s March Chicago from these national leaders as a “side benefit.”
Founders of the national group have faced heightened criticism over the past few years, in part for connections to Louis Farrakhan, whose Chicago-based Nation of Islam is considered to be an anti-Semitic hate group according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
At a February 2018 address, Farrakhan had praised national Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory and in the same speech declared “the powerful Jews are my enemy.” The national organization did denounce Farrakhan’s comments in March, but was criticized for not speaking up sooner. Mallory has also praised Farrakhan on social media.
In response, the national group has said that its leaders reject all forms of bigotry and dedicate themselves “to liberating women from all forms of oppression, including anti-Semitism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, racism, white supremacy, xenophobia and Islamophobia.”
The national organization said in a news release Monday that Mallory — along with controversial founding Women’s March board members Bob Bland and Linda Sarsour — will be “transitioning off the Women’s March board.”
The new board “consists of leaders from a wide variety of communities, disciplines, ethnicities, religious beliefs, gender identities and experiences,” the national organization said in the statement.
As for the local marches scheduled for next year, organizers say they’ve been able to plan for the costs and logistics involved in hosting two events in one year.
“This go-round, we are starting from a point where we know we will be holding two marches, so we can plan out our fundraising and volunteer staffing accordingly,” said spokeswoman Harlene Ellin. “The energy is palpable and I think it is only going to grow as we get past the primaries and head down the homestretch to Election Day.”
eleventis@chicagotribune.com
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