Members of the nation’s oldest and largest feminist organization say it has a history of racism.
Monica Weeks ran for vice president of the National Organization for Women in 2017 on the first all-women-of-color ticket and revealed in an interview with the Daily Beast that other members heckled her during a speech about including the “most oppressed” women.
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“It’s important because we need to give a voice to those most oppressed in order to make everybody better,” Weeks, who is of Cuban descent, said in a video of her address. “That’s women of color, that’s disabled people, that’s LGBTQ people.”
Others responded, “Just the women with the pussies!” and, “White women, too!”
Weeks went on to lose the election and told the Daily Beast, “This organization has a problem of racism and ageism and [they] don’t know how to deal with it.”
“I thought when I was coming into the feminist movement I was joining this big sisterhood,” she added, “and that was the biggest disappointment in my life.”
Others told the Daily Beast that they have experienced or witnessed racism within the organization. The news outlet reviewed emails and documents showing allegations of racism, and more than a dozen employees at its national headquarters signed a letter claiming President Toni Van Pelt sidelined nonwhite women.
“I am a black woman, I have experienced racism,” one former employee said. “But what happened there … I have never experienced that before.”
Van Pelt recently sent an email to employees and others associated with the organization apologizing for any actions seen as racist and pledged to better the organization’s practices.
“All Black Lives matter,” she wrote after the Daily Beast sent a message to the organization. “As a White woman, I’ll never understand the experiences of women of color. I challenge myself to address structural racism and recognize that this is a lifelong, ongoing process. I do understand it is critical to acknowledge my own privilege and strive to be a better ally. As the leader of NOW, and a leader within the intersectional feminist movement, I must hold myself and our organization accountable to do more.”
The previous vice president of the organization has also filed a federal racial discrimination suit, according to the Daily Beast.
The NOW was founded by Betty Friedan and Shirley Chisholm, in addition to other well-known feminists, in 1966, and has chapters across all 50 states.
The racism claims come amid mass demonstrations and riots against racism following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. Video footage of the arrest shows former officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while he pleads to breathe.
Chauvin has been fired from the force and charged with second-degree murder. Three other officers involved with the case, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, have also been fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
