UT
NIVERSITY IMES www.csulauniversitytimes.com
DACA January 22, 2018
C A L I F O R N I A S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y, L O S A N G E L E S
Issue 216.01
BACK
IS
District Judge Brings Back DACA Temporarily Until Permanent Solution is Reached.
. 8 e ag on
ee J
Ren
r
eide
hn es Sc
P n o ad
Re
Liberty and Justice for whom? failing to live up to the values it purports to advocate. An online petition created days before the march through the collaborative effort of community organizations Trans Contingent @ Women’s March Los Angeles, Southwest Asian & North Afrikan - Los Angeles, VigilantLOVE, BDSLA 4 Justice in Palestine and Afghan Women Diaspora has been making rounds on social media via Google Docs with a list of demands to change the foundation. The introduction reads:
Successful Woman's March of Los Angeles tarnished by lack of transparency and bias. Richard Molina News Editor The streets of downtown Los Angeles were filled Saturday morning with a sea of handmade signs and posters ranging from advocating the rights of women, LGBT, and immigrants to critiquing and ridiculing President Donald Trump. The second annual Women’s March of Los Angeles gathered hundreds of thousands of people to stand up for human rights around the globe. Estimates on the number of attendants reached up to 700,000. The march was organized by the Women’s March LA Foundation, a women-led nonprofit 501c3 organization. The project began in 2016 with the mission to bring attention to the struggles of marginalized communities and all attacks on human rights. Their message this year was “Hear our Vote!”, a call-to-action for this year’s midterm elections. Attendants gathered around Pershing Square in downtown and marched toward City Hall, where a stage had been prepared for the numerous guest speakers, artists and musicians the foundation invited.
“We are increasingly frustrated by the lack of transparency and accountability with which the march is organized, how it continues to sideline women from marginalized communities in favor of celebrities and Democratic Party officials.” The introduction continues, “We feel the Women’s March in Los Angeles marginalizes several communities, among them Black women, indigenous women, women of color, poor women, queer women, transgender women, nonbinary people, undocumented women, and disabled women.” Richard Molina
Attendees at the Women's March gathered in front of Los Angeles City Hall Saturday morning.
The speakers at this year’s march included celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Laverne Cox, Marisa Tomei, Olivia Munn, Nicole Richie, Viola Davis and
Rob Reiner, as well as Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. The foundation, however, has received criticism for
Following the introduction is a list of what the authors believe to be contradictions to the foundation’s Unity Principles Statement. One such principle states that Women’s March advocates a “representative vision for a government that is based on the principles of liberty and justice for all.”
The issue taken with this purported principle reads: “The Women’s March does not appear to operate democratically or transparently so how can you advocate for vision of democratic government of any kind? We know nothing about the organization beyond that it has two co-executive directors and is a non-profit. There are no meaningful or clearly defined ways to give input on the march or the organization. Funding sources are hidden, so there is no check on donor power.” In response to the issue, the petition demands that the foundation should: “Conduct all operations of the Women’s March Los Angeles openly and transparently, including publishing openly important documents such as budgets, a list of board directors, and a list of funding sources and major donors. Seek regular input from the Los Angeles community through open community forums.” The Women’s March has created an opportunity to give marginalized communities a huge public platform, but how accurately has it represented the diversity of Los Angeles, and how effective has it been at creating a truly revolutionary movement? Does the foundation do enough to educate its marchgoers? And is there room for improvement?