BLACK WOMEN LEADERS AND ALLIES SUPPORT FOR TAMIKA MALLORY, CO-CHAIR, WOMEN’S MARCH, INC.

January 16, 2019

Dear Women’s March, Inc. Board and Members,

We, the undersigned, are writing to express our universal, unified and unwavering support and love for our sister leader Tamika Mallory. Many of us have mentored, worked with and/or been on the battlefield with her in the fight for civil rights, human rights, women’s rights, racial justice, criminal justice, workers’ rights, gun reform and social justice for oppressed and marginalized people of all races, genders, incomes and ages for decades.

Tamika personifies the strength of Sojourner Truth, the tenacity of Shirley Chisholm, the warrior spirit of Fannie Lou Hamer, the grace and power of Dr. Dorothy Irene Height and all those ancestors whose shoulders she and Black women across the generations stand on.

Women’s March, Inc. embraces Kingian Nonviolence as core to their role as servant leaders. We share these principles and join them in denouncing racism, antisemitism, sexism, violence, and bigotry in any form in our nation.

Further, we have supported the Women’s March throughout the past three years because we trust Tamika’s leadership and we trust her judgment to ensure the Women’s March remains an inclusive movement that African American women throughout the Diaspora can see themselves reflected in.

Further, we believe Tamika’s life’s work embodies the guiding values and unifying principles of the Women’s March, which includes the following declaration: “We believe that women’s rights are human rights and human rights are women’s rights. This is the basic and original tenet from which all our values stem.”

We also write to share with you our concern about the continued unjust attacks against Tamika in the public sphere. We denounce any effort to smear Ms. Mallory’s reputation as one of our country’s most promising Black leaders and bridge builders of people of all backgrounds. We stand united against those attacks and encourage the Women’s March to stand united as a diverse body of women and to guard against judgments based on association. Rather, judge Tamika based on her own track record, love for her people, her love for women, her love for justice for people of all races, cultures, religions and other backgrounds; and her love for the Women’s March and its mission.

In Solidarity,

Black Women Leaders and Our Allies (partial list as of 1/16/19)

Melanie L. Campbell, President & CEO, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Convener, Black Women’s Roundtable

Cora Masters Barry, Former First Lady Washington D.C. and Board Member, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation

Clayola Brown, President, A. Philip Randolph Institute

Latosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voters Matter

Donna Brazile, Past Interim Chair, DNC

Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., Chairman of the Board, 100 Black Men of America, Inc.

Michaela Angela Davis, Writer/Cultural Critic/ Activist

Kristen Clarke, President & Executive Director, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Roslyn M. Brock, Chair Emeritus, NAACP

Johnnetta Betsch Cole, PhD, National Council of Negro Women

Leah Daughtry, Convener, Power Rising

Derrick Johnson, President & CEO, NAACP

Avis Jones-DeWeever, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, The Exceptional Leadership Institute

Diane Babineaux, Vice Chair of the Board, NCBCP

Felicia Davis, Director, HBCU Green Fund and Convener, Clayton County GA BWR

Hazel Dukes, President, NY NAACP

Rev. Tony Lee, Pastor, Community of Hope AME, Temple Hills, MD

Carol Joyner, Director, Labor Project for Working Families

Holli Holliday, Esq., President, Sisters Lead, Sisters Vote 

Dr. Julianne Malveaux, Economist and Author, President, Economic Education

Marc Morial, President & CEO, National Urban League

Minyon Moore, Co-Convener, Power Rising

Bishop Darin Moore, President, Board of Bishops AME Zion Church

Rev. Terrence Melvin, President, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists

Barbara Perkins, Founder & President, International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute

Rev. Dr. Franklyn W. Richardson, Chairman, Conference of National Black Churches

Deborah Scott, Executive Director, Georgia Stand Up

Dr. Elsie Scott, President & CEO, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation

Susan L. Taylor,  Editor-In-Chief Emerita, Essence

Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Co-Chair, National African American Clergy Network

Helen Butler, Executive Director, Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda

Letetia Daniels Jackson, President & CEO, Tandeka LLC

Pierrette “Pettey” Talley, Convener, Ohio Unity Coalition, Co-Convener, Ohio BWR

Jennifer Tucker, Senior Policy Advisor, Black Women’s Roundtable

The Honorable Sheila Tyson, Convener, Alabama Coalition on Black Civic Participation/AL BWR

Tameka Ramsey, Co-Convener, Metro Detroit Black Women’s Roundtable

Angela Shute-Woodson, Co-Convener, Ohio BWR and Executive Director, Greater Cleveland Voter Alliance

 The Honorable Stephanie Moore, Convener, Kalamazoo, Michigan, BWR