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Women’s March in Washington State Disbands Citing Farrakhan Ties to National Leadership

The Women’s March movement of Washington State has announced its dissolution over the ties leaders of the national organization have with anti-Semitic preacher Rev. Louis Farrakhan, The Spokesman-Review reported Friday.

Angie Beem, who served as president of Women’s March Washington, announced the disbanding of the group in a statement on Facebook last Thursday.

In her statement, Beem wrote, “Because of the events happening at the national level and their refusal to acknowledge and apologize for their anti-Semitic stance, we have decided to dissolve our Women’s March on Washington State organization in order to separate from the National message that is being sent, both from a social justice standpoint and a financial standpoint. We have conveyed the message, multiple times, that WMWS does not agree nor support their praise of Farrakhan and all he stands for.”

She said that Women’s March Washington State would now affiliate with another organization, Smart Politics, a move “that will allow us to help everyone without biases or discrimination.”

Beem cited a recent article in Tablet Magazine about the Women’s March that documented the anti-Semitic sentiments of a number of the national organization’s leaders and how those leaders effectively took over the national organization.

She said that the decision to disband the state group was difficult, noting, “It’s heartbreaking. Whenever you create something that literally changed your life, it’s really hard to walk away from it.”

But Beem faulted the national leadership of the Women’s March, including Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, and Carmen Perez, for their ties to Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam and for their “fame-hungry” attitude.

Despite the break from the national Women’s March, local organizers in Washington still are calling on people to support local marches next month.

Last month, Teresa Shook, the founder of the Women’s March called on the group’s national leadership to resign because they “have steered the Movement away from its true course,” as a result of “their refusal to separate themselves” from groups and individuals with “anti-Semitic and homophobic sentiments.”

A few weeks earlier, actress and activist Alyssa Milano said that she would not speak at the next Women’s March as long as its leaders defend “bigotry or anti-Semitism.” Milano was supported by fellow actress, Debra Messing, who tweeted a link to the interview in which Milano took her stand and added, “I stand with you @Alyssa_Milano.”

[Photo: Lorilee Bailey / YouTube ]