Sunsara Taylor

Sunsara Taylor is an American 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 previously debated these topics on Fox News.

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

Activism

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 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.

In 2005, Taylor co-founded World Can't Wait.[3] 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".[4]

Taylor is also a frontwoman for Stop Patriarchy and led the group's 2013 promotional tour, the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride.[5][6] 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".[5] The group has elicited controversy for wearing chains and chanting, "Forced motherhood is female enslavement!"[7] 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".[5] Taylor also led protests against the release of the film Fifty Shades of Grey with Stop Patriarchy.[8]

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.[9] As a representative of the group, she spoke at the 2017 Women's March on Washington,[10] protested outside Trump Tower, tweeted video of protesters burning the U.S. flag,[11] and drew media attention for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler during an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight.[12]

In an interview with KPFK, Taylor called for Trump to be "driven from office".[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] 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).[16]

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.[17][18] 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,[19] a charge that Taylor and her colleagues strenuously deny.[20]

2016 RCP protests at the Republican National Convention

During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Taylor served as a spokesperson[21] 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".[22] 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.[21]

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.

  • "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.
  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. 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. 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.
  10. O'Connor, Brendan (January 21, 2017). "Women's Marchers Drove the 'Trump Unity Bridge' Out of Town". Jezebel. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  11. "Protesters burn flag outside Trump's New York hotel". The Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
  12. 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.
  13. "Michael Slate Show". KPFK. January 6, 2017.
  14. Books, Revolution (2018-08-15), Report Back from Washington, retrieved 2018-08-22
  15. Rahman, Khaleda (January 21, 2022). "Abortion Rights Activists Rally Outside Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade Anniversary". Newsweek. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  16. Singer, Jenny (May 11, 2022). "What to Know About the National May 14 Protest for Abortion Rights". Glamour. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  17. "Women protest attack on abortion rights in US". La Prensa Latina. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  18. "Protesters rally in Union Square to call out the assault on reproductive rights". The Villager. March 9, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  19. Merlan, Anna (August 4, 2022). "The Abortion Rights Group Other Activists Want Nothing to Do With". Vice. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  20. 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.
  21. 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.
  22. 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.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sunsara Taylor.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.