Catfight!

I read a fascinating article a few nights ago in The Daily News. It detailed the strife between two women-centered groups in New York City. I’m not linking the article on purpose because it was confusing and difficult to get through as far as comprehension is concerned and I won’t do that to you. What it taught me, in short, was that Women’s March NYC is in a fight with Women’s March Inc. Women’s March NYC (hereafter referred to as WMNYC) is chaired by a majority of women of color. Women’s March Inc. (hereafter referred to as WMInc) is headed largely by Caucasian women. The bone to be picked between the two is that WMInc did not and does not include enough women of color and as such cannot claim to be representative of the women of New York. WMNYC in the meantime has faced some intense criticism over their support of some anti-Israel leaders and their rhetoric. The issue at hand comes to a boiling point when we realize that both, yes both, organizations planned and have publicly announced events taking place on the Saturday in January typically reserved for the annual Women’s March. WMInc is having the usual March up at Columbus Circle while WMNYC is holding a rally that centers more closely on women of color as well as commemorating Dr. King since Monday is his birthday celebration nationwide.

Advertising by Women's March NYC

Advertising by Women's March Inc.

Now that I’ve taken all that time to give you the back story, let’s get to why we’re really here. Frankly, this is ridiculous. All of this infighting is nonsense and it’s detracting from some many larger, more real issues at hand, such as the orange devil and this lasting government shutdown, women of color being constantly attacked by white men in public spaces, children of immigrants being separated from their families after all these months, the sexual predator R. Kelly coming for the freedom and liberty of young teenage girls, and even who will show during NYFW for SS20. Suffice it to say, there are a LOT of other important things. So why aren’t we talking about them? Together? As sisters in this great melting pot, this mixing bowl, the multi-colored, gum ball machine of a city?

Did I, as a woman of color, notice that there was a striking lack of women of color at the march last year? Yes. 

Is that something that needs to be addressed? 
Yes.

Did it make me celebrate more raucously and more joyously with the women of color I attended with as a result? 
Yes. 

Should that initiate so much infighting to the point where women of New York must literally choose which event to go to? 
Absolutely not. And yet that’s where we find ourselves, being forced to choose.

If organizations and their organizers cannot come together for a common cause, women are going to spend their time wearing their cute outfits out elsewhere. This is just another reason why straight, white men in power do not think women are adequate to the task of leading, because we're supposedly too busy nitpicking over smaller issues amongst ourselves. And while I heartily disagree with this perception, infighting such as this shows me we too still have work to do, both on ourselves and with each other. There are so many other things we could be doing with our Saturday morning and yet we wanted to be, we CHOSE to be out in the cold, marching, yelling, protesting at the top of our lungs that we, the women of New York City, have something to say and moreover, that we demand to be heard.

All of this division and strife, raises the question: is it even worth going to either event at all?

xx