Sunsara Taylor

Last updated
Sunsara Taylor
Sunsara Taylor at Texas Freethought Convention panel.jpg
Taylor pictured in 2011
Years active2006–present
Political party Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
Website twitter.com/sunsarataylor

Sunsara Taylor is an American far-left political activist, and member of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. [1] She has been a vocal opponent of the anti-abortion movement, the sex industry, and U.S. imperialism, having previously debated these topics on Fox News.

Contents

Activism

Taylor has been a co-host of TheRNL – Revolution, Nothing Less – Show, a weekly YouTube show that advocates for global communist revolution grounded in Bob Avakian's work, since its founding in 2020. [2] Many of the groups she leads have been described as front groups for RevCom and Avakian. [3]

In 2005, Taylor co-founded World Can't Wait. [4] In a 2006 article for the group, "Comparing Bush to Hitler: Lessons for Today", she wrote that the presidency of George W. Bush was "fascistic", and called for Bush to be "driven from office". [5]

Taylor is also a frontwoman for Stop Patriarchy and led the group's 2013 promotional tour, the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride. [6] [7] Stop Patriarchy has been described as the "pro-choice group Texas feminists hate" and has been criticized by Texans for Reproductive Justice for its "messaging, tactics, dishonesty, and racism". [6] The group has elicited controversy for wearing chains and chanting, "Forced motherhood is female enslavement!" [8] In response, Taylor accused Texans for Reproductive Justice of hypocrisy, citing their use of a flag that flew over half of Mexico and calling their hypocrisy "stunning". [6] Taylor also led protests against the release of the film Fifty Shades of Grey with Stop Patriarchy. [9]

In December 2015, Taylor and longtime activist Carl Dix announced the formation of Refuse Fascism, with the aim of stopping Donald Trump from being elected president in 2016. [10] As a representative of the group, she spoke at the 2017 Women's March on Washington, [11] protested outside Trump Tower, tweeted video of protesters burning the U.S. flag, [12] and drew media attention for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler during an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight . [13]

In an interview with KPFK, Taylor called for Trump to be "driven from office". [14]

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. [15]

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. [16] 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). [17]

Throughout 2022, Taylor and other members of RU4AR led pro-abortion rights protests at places including St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Union Square in New York City. [18] [19] 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, [20] a charge that Taylor and her colleagues strenuously deny. [21]

2016 RCP protests at the Republican National Convention

During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Taylor served as a spokesperson [22] for the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, addressing reporters outside the Cleveland Justice Center in what the Los Angeles Times called a rare moment of attention for the party, and declaring that "America was never great". [23] 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. [22]

Taylor holds a sign reading "No! Fascist 'Speech' Week" on the sidewalk outside Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley, September 2017. Berkeley Free Speech Week protest 20170924-8630.jpg
Taylor holds a sign reading "No! Fascist 'Speech' Week" on the sidewalk outside Sproul Plaza, UC Berkeley, September 2017.

Writing and commentary

Taylor hosts the weekly WBAI-FM radio show We Only Want The World, and formerly co-hosted 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 Fox shows.

References

  1. ↑ Asma, Stephen (2013). Against Fairness. University of Chicago Press. p. 112. ISBN   978-0226029863.
  2. ↑ "The Revcoms". YouTube. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ Merlan, Anna (2022-08-04). "The Abortion Rights Group Other Activists Want Nothing to Do With". Vice. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
  4. ↑ Merlan, Anna (August 4, 2022). "The Abortion Rights Group Other Activists Want Nothing to Do With". Motherboard. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  5. ↑ "Comparing Bush to Hitler: Lessons for Today". worldcantwait.net. World Can't Wait. Archived from the original on February 23, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 Stoeffel, Kat (July 29, 2014). "Q&A: The Pro-Choice Group Texas Feminists Hate". New York . Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Klabusich, Katie (August 14, 2014). ""Are the white women wearing actual chains?": Meet the abortion rights group Texas feminists oppose". Salon.
  9. ↑ Rampell, Ed (February 18, 2015). "Fifty Shades of Protest". The Progressive . Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ O'Connor, Brendan (January 21, 2017). "Women's Marchers Drove the 'Trump Unity Bridge' Out of Town". Jezebel . Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Protesters burn flag outside Trump's New York hotel". The Hill . Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ "Michael Slate Show". KPFK . January 6, 2017.
  15. ↑ Books, Revolution (2018-08-15), Report Back from Washington , retrieved 2018-08-22
  16. ↑ Rahman, Khaleda (January 21, 2022). "Abortion Rights Activists Rally Outside Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade Anniversary". Newsweek. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  17. ↑ Singer, Jenny (May 11, 2022). "What to Know About the National May 14 Protest for Abortion Rights". Glamour. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  18. ↑ "Women protest attack on abortion rights in US". La Prensa Latina. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Protesters rally in Union Square to call out the assault on reproductive rights". The Villager. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  20. ↑ Merlan, Anna (August 4, 2022). "The Abortion Rights Group Other Activists Want Nothing to Do With". Vice. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. 1 2 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.
  23. ↑ 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.