The Women’s March faced controversy and division. Will a rebrand be enough? , donald trump news

But the organization continued. In 2018, Women’s March leaders helped rally against Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as he faced questions about sexual assault allegations.

Then, in 2020, she held a prayer vigil for the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was known for her work on gender equality.

And in 2022, when the Supreme Court finally overturned the federal right to abortion, Women’s March organizers launched a “summer of anger” with protests from coast to coast.

But the group has also continued to face controversies over its membership.

For example, in 2018, a founding member alleged that she was forced out of a leadership role because of her Jewish faith. Outcry over anti-Semitism led other leaders to step down. Critics also accused the group of marginalizing people of color and whitewashing feminism.

By 2019, the movement had seen much lower numbers than previous annual marches, leaving some attendees disappointed.

The organization has brought in new leadership such as Tamika Middleton, its managing director from 2021. She acknowledges that the organization has to evolve to keep up with the times.

“I think we’re always learning, and I think we’re always practicing, right?” He said. “Our values ​​don’t always translate into our behavior the way we want.”

Middleton, who describes herself as part of “a southern black radical tradition”, told Al Jazeera that this year’s annual protest – called the People’s March – will not seek to recreate the mass momentum of 2017.

Instead, he hopes Tuesday’s People’s March will bring together a broad coalition of immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and the poor, as well as activists interested in advancing women’s rights.

“We’re recognizing the connection between all of these battles and this is the threat, this is the opposition that goes beyond Trump,” Middleton said.

Changing trends within the movement were on display last November when the Women’s March helped organize an impromptu protest outside the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

It was the weekend after the 2024 election, and Middleton noticed a difference in how protesters were reacting to Trump’s most recent victory.

“When Trump was first elected, there was this kind of outrage that escalated really quickly,” he explained. “And what we saw this time, yes, we saw some outrage. We saw frustration, we saw disappointment, we also saw sadness. “We saw a lot of suffering.”

For Mary, an activist who participated in the 2017 march in San Francisco, the past four years under Democratic President Joe Biden have also contributed to a change in the public mood.

Under Biden, the US continued to provide unconditional military aid to its ally Israel – even as the Middle Eastern country waged a devastating 15-month war on Gaza that killed more than 46,800 Palestinians. UN experts have found Israel’s tactics in the enclave to be “consistent with genocide”.

Mary explained that she sees recent events as part of a “legacy of violence” that extends beyond party lines.

“Trump is no fraud,” Mary said. “This is a nation that prefers bombs, and especially bombing children, over educating them.”

He said political change requires sustained activism more than an annual protest.

“The action that needs to be taken to change that government is not a few hours on Saturday with some signs,” Mary said. “We have left the field of poor protest.”