About a week after white people overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump, the Women’s March on Washington was born.
The march, also known as the “White” Women’s March in some black women circles, burst onto the scene claiming to come to the defense of marginalized women who were targeted by the “rhetoric of the past election cycle.”
Like me, you might be asking yourself how the Women’s March organizers intend to come to the defense of the African and Arab women, as well as women of other oppressed nations.
According to their mission statement, they are coming together to show the new administration their “presence.” THAT’S IT. They want the Trump administration to see them.
The “White” Women’s March does not even have demands, which speaks volumes about its class interests. Any action rooted in the struggle of oppressed communities would have demands if they intended to hold anyone accountable.
Clearly, there isn’t a working-class character to this event because if there were, oppressed women confronted with the violence of gentrification, drone bombings, child theft, mass incarceration, deportation, kidnapping and police violence would not be in solidarity with the gentrifiers, bombers, kidnappers and State agents, and they most certainly would make demands of the State.
The fact that there aren’t any demands isn’t surprising since the organizing team has known ties to the Democratic party, which is just one side of the imperialist coin.
Imperialism never demands anything of itself. It just jostles power, but always in favor of the ruling class.
Women of oppressed nations cape for white power
At first glance, the co-chairs of the “White” Women’s March appear to be a diverse group of women: one African, one Indigenous, one Arab and one transgender white woman, but when you scratch the surface, their diversity becomes more homogenous through their links to the Democratic party.
Two of the four co-chairs came from one of Harry Belafonte’s organizations. Belafonte is a known Obama supporter, who initially supported anti-reparations candidate Bernie Sanders but ultimately switched his support to Hillary Clinton, who is an enemy of black people.
The black co-chair worked directly with the Obama Administration and led communications for Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN), an organization that functions primarily to squash black resistance.
The rest of the “organizers” are a hodgepodge of women who have ties to NAN and the White House.
So, without publicly saying so, the “White” Women’s March is a strategy of the Democratic party to win the demoralized oppressed masses back into the clutches of the U.S. democratic process.
What’s wrong with the Democratic party organizing protests against Trump, you ask?
The African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) has always been clear on our position that no matter who you vote for, Democrat or Republican, you are voting for imperialism. Both parties maintain the status quo which exploits and oppresses African and other nations of people.
Additionally, the insidiousness of this march is that white power is using it to lump in the struggles of oppressed women with the issues of the oppressor (white women and transgender white women).
When women of the oppressor nation benefit from our oppression, there can’t be a reconciliation. Just ask the 53 percent of white women who voted for Trump.
Oppressed women must “accept suffering without retaliation”
Oppressed women must “accept suffering without retaliation” according to principle four of the group’s guiding principles. In fact, all of the points highlight nonviolence as the path forward.
Listen, I understand that violence—anti-oppressive violence, violence to liberate—is not the choice of many, but how can a march for oppressed women dare ask the women who suffer through violent attacks not to destroy the cause of our suffering? It doesn’t make sense. No demands, plus a nonviolent call to action against an administration that is stacking the deck with known white nationalists and other oppressive characters, equals a recipe for more oppression.
The African National Women’s Organization (ANWO), the women’s wing of the Party, has never called on African women to be defenseless.
We are clear that colonialism is the violent oppression of our people. Therefore, we have mobilized women to challenge and expose the State, conducted community forums on State violence and how to fight back, and organized self-defense classes.
This is because we understand that African women have to be built up to push back the colonial violence we are confronted with on a daily basis.
Without an organization like ANWO, African women are susceptible to these anti self-determination movements that continue to lead our people into a burning house.
Don’t fall for the okey doke
The march is a big piece of propaganda that confirms for Trump and others in the ruling class that we are not going to do anything.
It’s soft and doesn’t speak to the issues that oppressed women are confronted with.
Women who attend should expect a lot of peace signs, healing circles and calls to redeem your faith in U.S. imperialism through a false sisterhood.
That’s ok, though, because once you’ve OD’d on “make America great again”, ANWO will be there to recruit you.
