WE STAND WITH LINDA:
A STATEMENT FROM MOVEMENT, FAITH, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS
May 8, 2017
We are a group of leaders of vibrant and diverse racial justice, immigrant rights, and interfaith movements who support and stand in solidarity with Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American and Muslim organizer and an international champion of civil and human rights.
Since the City University of New York School of Public Health extended Linda an invitation to be the 2017 commencement speaker, she has become the target of a vicious smear campaign and character assassination led by two elected officials - New York State Assemblymember Dov Hikind and New York City Council member Rory Lancman. In an op-ed published in The New York Daily News on April 28, 2017, Hikind called Linda a "terrorist sympathizer," an accusation he reiterated in a video he released on May 1, 2017. Lancman has repeatedly endorsed the claim of his colleague on social media and elsewhere. These claims are false and hateful. They are intended to discredit and intimidate Linda and her many allies and supporters.
Linda will not be intimidated. Nor will we. An attack on Linda is an attack on us all.
For nearly two decades, Linda has fought for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalized, and underprivileged. She has stood by those who have faced persecution in the United States and abroad. We have all had the privilege of working closely with Linda, and we know first-hand that she is a dedicated organizer who brings communities together.
Just this year, Linda was one of the National Co-Chairs of the Women's March on Washington, an event that drew over 1.2 million people in Washington and over 6 million across the globe. Her work has been honored and celebrated by countless community organizations, the highest levels of government, and popular culture. Former President Barack Obama named Linda a Champion of Change and Time Magazine recently recognized her as one its most Influential People of 2017. Linda's record and character are impeccable and beyond reproach.
We call upon the City University of New York School of Public Health to stand with Linda. We call upon leaders in the New York State Assembly and the New York state government to condemn the false and hateful claims made by Hikind and Lancman. We also call upon people of conscience to support Linda by contacting the offices of Hikind and Lancman and condemning their attacks, by urging the CUNY School of Public Health to honor their commencement speaker invitation, and by visibly expressing your support (#IStandWithLinda) on social media.
Signatories (Organizations Listed for Identification Purposes Only):
Aarti Kohli, Advancing Justice | Asian Law Caucus
Ahmad Abuznaid, Take On Hate
Ai-jen Poo, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Aisha al-Adawiya, Women In Islam, Inc.
Aja Monet
Alicia Garza, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Black Lives Matter
Alida Garcia, INCLUSV
Allison Brown, Communities for Just Schools Fund
Anna Galand, Move On.Org
Anu Joshi, New York State Immigrant Action Fund
Angelo Pinto, The Advancement Project/Justice League NYC
Arjun S. Sethi, Boards of Grassroots Leadership, Charity & Security Network
Audrey Sasson, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ)
Baher Azmy, Center for Constitutional Rights
Billy Easton, Alliance for Quality Education
Bishop Dr. Raymond H. Rufen-Blanchet, The Clergy Campaign for Social & Economic Justice
Bishop Gene Robinson, The Episcopal Church
Bob Bland, National Co-Chair, Women's March on Washington
Carmen Perez, The Gathering for Justice/National Co-Chair, Women's March on Washington
Charlene A. Carruthers, Black Youth Project 100
Cindy Wiesner, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Cristina Jimenez Moreta, United We Dream
Dante Barry, Million Hoodies
Deepa Iyer, Center for Social Inclusion
Diane Steinman, Micah Faith Table
Donna Lieberman, New York Civil Liberties Union
Donna Nevel, Network Against Islamophobia
Dorian T. Warren, Center for Community Change
Dove Kent
Dr. Ahmad Jaber, Chair, Arab American Association of New York
Elder-Elect Kirsten John Foy
Erica Ford, LIFE Camp, Inc.
Gina Belafonte
Glenn Harris, Center for Social Inclusion
Gregory A. Cendana, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Gustavo Rivera, New York State Senator
Harry and Pamela Belafonte
Hassan Jaber, Take On Hate
Hazel N. Dukes, NAACP (New York State)
Hina Shamsi, American Civil Liberties Union
Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood
Immortal Technique
Jasiri X, 1Hood
Javier H. Valdés, Make the Road New York
Jessica Wisneski, Citizen Action of New York
Johanna Puno Hester, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Jose Antonio Vargas, Define American
Judith Browne Dianis, Advancement Project
Judith LeBlanc, Native Organizers Alliance
Jussie Smollett
Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org
Laura Briggs, Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies, University of Massachusetts
Lena K Gardner, Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism
Leslie Mac, Ferguson Response Network
Macky Alston, Auburn Seminary
Margaret Fung, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Marielena Hincapié, National Immigration Law Center
Marisa Franco, Mijente
Marisa Tomei
Melissa Harris-Perry, Anna Julia Cooper Center
Michael-Ray Mathews, PICO National Network
Michael Blake, New York Assembly
Michael Skolnik, The Soze Agency
Mohammad Khan, Campaign Director, MPower Change
Monifa Bandele, MomsRising.org
Murad Awawdeh, Muslim Democratic Club of New York
Mysonne The General, Hip Hop Artist/Justice League NYC
Natasha Capers, NYC Coalition for Educational Justice
Nihad Awad, Executive Director, Council on American Islamic Relations
Opal Tometi, Black Lives Matter and Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Peter Heltzel, Micah Institute at New York Theological Seminary
Peter Nagy, NY Communities for Change
Rabbi Barat Ellman, Professor, Bard Prison Initiative; JFREJ
Rabbi Ellen Lippmann
Rabbi Justus Baird, Auburn Seminary
Rabbi Simkha Y. Weintraub
Rameen Aminzadeh, Beats Rhymes & Relief, Freddie Gray Project
Ramzi Kassem, CUNY School of Law
Raoul Roach, Sankofa.org
Rashad Robinson, Color Of Change
Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams, newDharma Community
Rev. Adolphus C. Lacey, PhD, Bethany Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY
Rev. Chloe Breyer, The Interfaith Center of New York
Rev. Dr. Clyde Kuemmerle, Ecclesia Ministries of New York
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister, Middle Collegiate Church
Rev. Dr. Brian D. McLaren, ConvergenceUS.org
Rev. Dr. Katharine Rhodes Henderson, Auburn Theological Seminary
Rev. Dr. William Barber II, Greenleaf Christian Church
Rev. Khader El-Yateem, Salam Arabic Lutheran Church
Rinku Sen, Race Forward
Rosa Clemente, 2008 Green Party Vice Presidential Candidate
Russell Simmons
Sarab Al-Jijakli, President, Network of Arab American Professionals
Seema Agnani, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development
Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, NETWORK, Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Soffiyah Elijah
Steve Choi, New York Immigration Coalition
Stosh Cotler, Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Tamika Mallory, National Co-Chair, Women's March on Washington
Umi Selah, The Dream Defenders
Valarie Kaur, The Revolutionary Love Project
Vanita Gupta, Leadership Council for Civil and Human Rights
Vince Warren, Center for Constitutional Rights
Zahra Billoo, CAIR San Francisco Bay Area