Linda Sarsour, co-chair of the Women’s March in Washington, will present “The Resistance: Organizing in the Age of Trump” in Mahar Auditorium at the University of Massachusetts on Friday, April 28 at 3:30 p.m. Doors open at 3 p.m. The event is free to the public.
Sarsour, a Palestinian-American-Muslim racial justice and civil rights activist, is the executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. According to a press release by the University, the White House named Sarsour a “Champion of Change.”
“As a social justice and human rights foundation we are deeply involved in all of these movements and in particular, in this time, it’s important for speakers like Linda to come and speak with students in the university community and the community as a whole to know what’s happening in different communities and also to galvanize the voices on a national level,” said Evelin Aquino, senior foundation officer for Peace Development Fund.
Sarsour uses Twitter as a platform to channel her civil rights activism. She also hosts her own show, “The Linda Sarsour Show,” which addresses topics such as voting, Trump’s attempted Muslim ban and Islamophobia.
This year, she was named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand called Sarsour one of the “suffragists of our time” within the current women’s movement in the United States.
The Women’s March on Washington was the flagship Women’s March on Jan. 21, with an estimated four million people participating in marches in the U.S. alone. According to their website, the mission of the Women’s March on Washington is to “stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families-recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.”
The event is being sponsored by the Center for Women and Community, Five College Women’s Studies Research Center, Graduate Employee Organization, Muslim Students’ Association and Peace Development Fund, in addition to the English, communication and women, gender and sexuality studies departments.
Serena McMahon can be reached at serenamcmaho @umass.edu and followed on Twitter @serenaamcmahon. Hayley Johnson contributed to this article and can be reached [email protected] and followed on Twitter @hayleyk_johnson.
