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Sunsara Taylor

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Sunsara Taylor
Taylor pictured in 2011
Years active2006–present
Political partyRevolutionary Communist Party, USA
Websitetwitter.com/sunsarataylor

Sunsara Taylor is a political activist affiliated with the Harlem-based Revolutionary Communist Party, USA also known as RCP or RevCom.[1] She has been a vocal opponent of the anti-abortion movement, the sex industry, and U.S. imperialism, having debated these topics on Fox News.

Activism

Since its founding in 2020, Taylor has been a co-host of The RNL – Revolution, Nothing Less – Show, a weekly YouTube show that advocates for global communist revolution grounded in Avakian's work.[2] Many of the groups she leads are described as front groups for RevCom and Avakian.

World Can't Wait

In 2005, Taylor co-founded World Can't Wait.[3] In a 2006 article for the group, titled "Comparing Bush to Hitler: Lessons for Today", she declared that the presidency of George W. Bush was "fascistic", and called for Bush to be "driven from office".[4]

Stop Patriarchy

Taylor is also a frontwoman for Stop Patriarchy, leading the group's 2013 promotional tour called the "Abortion Rights Freedom Ride".[5][6]

Stop Patriarchy has been described as the "pro-choice group Texas feminists hate"; Texans for Reproductive Justice have said they "oppose Stop Patriarchy’s messaging, tactics, dishonesty, and racism".[5] The group has elicited controversy for wearing chains and chanting, "Forced motherhood is female enslavement!"[7] Taylor has responded by accusing Texans for Reproductive Justice of hypocrisy, declaring that at "the top of the Texans for Reproductive Justice site is a flag that flew over half of Mexico. They're flying a southern slave-state flag - Texas was created in order to expand the power of slave states in Congress. The hypocrisy is stunning."[5]

Taylor also led protests against the film release of Fifty Shades of Grey.[8]

2016 RCP protests at the Republican National Convention

During the 2016 Republican National Convention, she served as a spokesperson[9] for the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, addressing reporters outside the Cleveland Justice Center in what the Los Angeles Times described as a rare moment of attention for the party, and declaring that "America was never great".[10] She later alleged Cleveland police had lied when they said they had intervened to stop a flag burning due to a protester accidentally setting himself on fire.[9]

Refuse Fascism

Taylor holds a sign reading "No! Fascist 'Speech' Week" on the sidewalk outside Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley, September 2017.

In December of 2016 Taylor and longtime activist Carl Dix announced the formation of Refuse Fascism, with the aim of stopping Donald Trump from getting elected the following November.[11] As a representative of the group, she spoke at the 2017 Women's March on Washington,[12] protested outside Trump Tower, tweeted video of protesters burning the United States flag,[13] and drew media attention after comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler during an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight.[14]

In an interview with KPFK, Taylor called for Trump to be "driven from office".[15]

On August 12, 2018, Taylor and other supporters of Refuse Fascism and the RCP took part in protests organized against the far-right Unite the Right 2 rally in Washington D.C.[16]

Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights

In January 2022, Taylor, Merle Hoffman, and other pro-abortion rights activists initiated Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights (RU4AR), an ad-hoc coalition formed to launch mass protests aimed at preventing the U.S. Supreme Court from overturning Roe V Wade, affecting abortion rights in the United States.[17] RU4AR's launching statement was signed by prominent figures in the arts, law, and the feminist movement, including Rosanna Arquette, Cornel West, Gloria Steinem, and V (formerly Eve Ensler).[18]

Throughout 2022, Taylor and other members of RU4AR have led pro-abortion protests at places including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Union Square in New York City.[19][20] The group has been accused of being a front for the Revolutionary Communist Party and diverting money away from abortion providers to RevCom's own operating structure,[21] a charge that Taylor and her colleagues strenuously deny.[22]

Writing and commentary

Taylor is the host of the weekly WBAI-FM radio show We Only Want The World, and the former co-host of Equal Time for Free Thought on the same station. She has written for Revolution and Truthdig, and been featured as a guest on The O'Reilly Factor, Tucker Carlson, the Sean Hannity Show, and other shows on Fox.

  • "Government Policies Should Not Treat Women as Childbearing Vessels." In Women's Issues in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, ed. David Erik Nelson (Greenhaven Publishing, 2011), 133-37. ISBN 9780737758009.
  • "A Response to Jezebel by Leaders of Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights." With Lori Sokol and Merle Hoffman. Counterpunch June 17, 2022.

References

  1. ^ Asma, Stephen (2013). Against Fairness. University of Chicago Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0226029863.
  2. ^ "The Revcoms". YouTube. Retrieved March 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ Merlan, Anna (August 4, 2022). "The Abortion Rights Group Other Activists Want Nothing to Do With". Motherboard. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Comparing Bush to Hitler: Lessons for Today". worldcantwait.net. World Can't Wait. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Stoeffel, Kat (July 29, 2014). "Q&A: The Pro-Choice Group Texas Feminists Hate". New York. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  6. ^ Flock, Elizabeth (July 22, 2013). "Pro-Abortion Activists Going on Freedom Ride to Call For 'Abortion on Demand'". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  7. ^ Klabusich, Katie (August 14, 2014). ""Are the white women wearing actual chains?": Meet the abortion rights group Texas feminists oppose". Salon.
  8. ^ Rampell, Ed (February 18, 2015). "Fifty Shades of Protest". The Progressive. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Nelson, Steven (July 21, 2016). "Cleveland Cops Accused of Lying About Flag-Burning Protesters Catching Fire". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  10. ^ Pearce, Matt (June 21, 2016). "'Please ignore the man with the bullhorn': A reporter's diary from outside the GOP convention". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  11. ^ Smith, Jack (November 2, 2017). "The far-right thinks a violent antifa overthrow is coming Nov. 4, but the truth is far stranger". Mic. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  12. ^ O'Connor, Brendan (January 21, 2017). "Women's Marchers Drove the 'Trump Unity Bridge' Out of Town". Jezebel. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  13. ^ "Protesters burn flag outside Trump's New York hotel". The Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  14. ^ Hains, Tim (22 February 2017). "Back to Videos 'Refuse Fascism' Activist vs. Tucker Carlson: Trump Is More Dangerous Than Hitler". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  15. ^ "Michael Slate Show". KPFK. January 6, 2017.
  16. ^ Books, Revolution (2018-08-15), Report Back from Washington, retrieved 2018-08-22
  17. ^ Rahman, Khaleda (January 21, 2022). "Abortion Rights Activists Rally Outside Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade Anniversary". Newsweek. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  18. ^ Singer, Jenny (May 11, 2022). "What to Know About the National May 14 Protest for Abortion Rights". Glamour. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  19. ^ "Women protest attack on abortion rights in US". La Prensa Latina. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Protesters rally in Union Square to call out the assault on reproductive rights". The Villager. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Merlan, Anna (August 4, 2022). "The Abortion Rights Group Other Activists Want Nothing to Do With". Vice. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  22. ^ Hoffman, Merle; Sokol, Lori; Taylor, Sunsara (July 19, 2022). "We Need Honest Debate, Not Unprincipled Attacks: A Further Response to the Attacks On Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights". Counterpunch. Retrieved 9 August 2022.