Bob Bland, a fashion designer and CEO of Manufacture New York, became one of the public leaders of the Women's March after the 2016 U.S. election. Her prominence later became entangled in a bitter internal and public controversy. A 2018 Tablet report alleged that antisemitic remarks were made during early organizing meetings and that Jewish organizer Vanessa Wruble was marginalized; Bland denied that such comments occurred at the meeting she attended, while another participant described antisemitic statements at a later meeting from which Bland was absent. Bland also faced criticism in 2019 after sharing a post that singled out the 'American Jewish establishment' while discussing anti-Muslim violence, prompting her to apologize and say that the post should not have targeted one community. Additional backlash followed criticism of her defense of fellow Women's March leader Tamika Mallory's refusal to distance herself from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whose record includes repeated antisemitic statements. The allegations and interpretations remained contested, but the controversy damaged the march's leadership credibility and contributed to Bland, Mallory, and Linda Sarsour resigning from the organization's board in July 2019. It was a striking fall from the image of an inclusive activist movement, and it followed Bland from ethical-fashion entrepreneurship into a highly publicized leadership crisis.
Preparing the daily feature…
AI concept artworkArchive Record · 2010s
From Women's March Figurehead to Resignation amid Antisemitism Controversies
Bob Bland and the Women's March / 2010s
Bob Bland, a fashion designer and CEO of Manufacture New York, became one of the public leaders of the Women's March after the 2016 U.S. election. Her prominence later became entangled in a bitter internal and public controversy. A 2018 Tablet report alleged that antisemitic remarks were made during early organizing meetings and that Jewish organizer Vanessa Wruble was marginalized; Bland denied that such comments occurred at the meeting she attended, while another participant described antisemitic statements at a later meeting from which Bland was absent. Bland also faced criticism in 2019 after sharing a post that singled out the 'American Jewish establishment' while discussing anti-Muslim violence, prompting her to apologize and say that the post should not have targeted one community. Additional backlash followed criticism of her defense of fellow Women's March leader Tamika Mallory's refusal to distance herself from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, whose record includes repeated antisemitic statements. The allegations and interpretations remained contested, but the controversy damaged the march's leadership credibility and contributed to Bland, Mallory, and Linda Sarsour resigning from the organization's board in July 2019. It was a striking fall from the image of an inclusive activist movement, and it followed Bland from ethical-fashion entrepreneurship into a highly publicized leadership crisis.
The daily editorial is currently unavailable. There’s still an entire archive to explore.