Women’s Activists Are Literally Wearing Their Politics on Their Sleeves with New “Resistance Sweaters”
With a little help from the photographer Pamela Hanson, the cashmere sweater company Lingua Franca tapped a spread of activists to get cozy and talk politics.
A day before the nationwide women’s strike on March 8, a group of activists and politically-minded women who had all become acquainted during the Women’s March on Washington—the largest protest in American history—got together to plan their next moves going forward, including the next day’s events.
Amid the strategy session, they all put aside some time to pose for the acclaimed photographer Pamela Hanson, who is known for her work celebrating women, particularly with her series Girls.
Sprawled out in a photo studio in the West Village, the women, who included everyone from Sarah Sophie Flicker to organizers like Shi Shi Rose and Bob Bland, took turns in front of Hanson’s camera to speak up for all the causes, not just women’s rights, they are passionate about.
“It was just constant stream of all of these different women filing in,” Hanson recalled.
The resulting video, which features a total of 23 women, including a spread of doctors, lawyers, and Planned Parenthood employees, was made for the cashmere sweater brand Lingua Franca, which recently added a line of politically-tinged so-called “resistance sweaters” to its usual threads featuring lyrics from ‘90s hip hop. Like others in fashion, the label has learned that shoppers these days are interested in clothes that allow them to wear their politics on their sleeves.
In other words, the shoot was exactly what Hanson and Lingua Franca’s Rachelle Hruska MacPherson had first dreamed of months ago, when MacPherson asked Hanson if she’d help capture a variety of women—no restrictions, except that they were not to be professional models—for her latest look book. In the face of the Trump administration, though, that plan to showcase support for women’s rights and diversity adopted a whole new level of urgency.
“The idea was germinating before the election, but of course after that, everything just snowballed,” Hanson said.
Publicist at Sunshine Sachs, and for the Women's March, Janna Pea.
Hanson was on assignment in South Africa when the Women’s March on Washington rolled around, but after heading down to the capital, MacPherson was more determined than ever, which is how she ended up joining the spread of activists in New York a few days before the strike at Flicker’s apartment. One by one, she approached them and asked if they’d be willing to talk passion and activism for her and Hanson, and use her sweaters as a billboard for their political messages.
Among them were “Power to the people” for Flicker; “I am an immigrant” for the organizer Paola Mendoza; “Educate girls, change the world” for the Planned Parenthood physician Dr. Stacey De-Lin; “Resist” for the CNN commentator Sally Kohn; “Stand with Gavin” for the model and producer Geena Rocero, referencing her support for trans teens; and “Nevertheless she persisted” for Rachel Sklar, the journalist and entrepreneur, and Bland, the march organizer who brought along her newborn baby, one of three infants on set that day.
“The March happened, but what they spoke about a lot was what they could do now, what we’re going to do next,” Hanson said of what each activist focused on when they stepped in front of the camera. “Most of them said to just speak your mind and take action, really, which was really inspiring—it’s hard to stay quiet during these times, and the kind of silver lining is that everyone is getting up and saying something.”
For her part, MacPherson, who never intended to get political with her brand—the label has been popular with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio for its whimsical embroidered sweaters— suddenly found herself realizing its namesake phrase, which translates to “a common language,” had adopted a new meaning, and her sweaters could become a vehicle for political commentary.
As Vogue noted recently, Lingua Franca is not the only brand to have tapped into the political moment by encouraging shoppers to channel their social interests with the clothes on their back. Dior’s $700 “We Should All Be Feminists” t-shirt has underlined that costly corporate-approved feminism is one consequence of the debate around women’s issues that emerged out of the 2016 election.
In the case of MacPherson’s line, which retails for $360 a piece, buyers get to donate proceeds of their purchase to the charity of their choice, everything from environmental organizations to the American Civil Liberties Union. With 50 percent of all sales going to non-profits, MacPherson said she’s raised at least $30,000.
Meet the Women Who Are Making the Women’s March on Washington Happen
The executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, Linda Sarsour — a Brooklyn native, mother of three, and now one of the national co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington — has been working at the crossroads of civil rights, religious freedom, and racial justice for 15 years. Once an aspiring English teacher, she joined the Arab American Association in its infancy, succeeding founder Basemah Atweh, her mentor, as executive director with Atweh’s death in 2005. “I grew out of the shadow of 9/11,” Sarsour said. “What I’ve seen out of bad always comes good, is that solidarity and unity, particularly amongst communities of color who feel like they’re all impacted by the same system.”
Tamika D. Mallory’s roots in community organizing and activism extend back to her early childhood: her parents were two of the earliest members of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network nearly 30 years ago, an organization for which Mallory went on to act as executive director. But it wasn’t until the death of her son’s father 15 years ago that Mallory found her niche in civil rights and flung herself headlong into activism. Now, she’s one of the four national co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington, balancing organizing the march with her day job as a speaker and civil rights advocate. “We’re centering this march by having women to be at the helm of it, to organize it, and to be most of the speakers,” she said. “At the same time I think it’s very important that we never forget the fact that our men, our brothers, our young brothers particularly need this support.”
Fashion entrepreneur Bob Bland was nearing the due date of her second daughter, now seven weeks old, when she posted a Facebook event calling for a march on Washington during inauguration weekend. Nine weeks later, she’s one of four national co-chairs at the heart of the Women’s March on Washington — where she’ll march with her infant, her six-year-old daughter, and her 74-year-old mother. “We’re activating people who were previously content with sitting behind their computer and posting on Facebook,” she said.
For Carmen Perez, executive director of Harry Belafonte’s Gathering for Justice and one of the four national co-chairs of the Women’s March on Washington, work permeates everything else: “There’s no real life outside of activism,” she said. Just over two decades ago, Perez’s elder sister was killed — the anniversary of her burial coincides with the march, and with Perez’s birthday — and navigating the justice system motivated her to work with incarcerated young men and women, first as a probation officer and then with The Gathering, operating on the intersection of race, criminal justice, and immigration. “Oftentimes, when I’m in spaces, I am the only Latina and I have to speak a little louder for my community to be part of the conversation,” she said. “The work that I do around racial justice, it’s not just about Latino rights. It’s also about human rights.”
Californian ShiShi Rose, 27, moved to New York a year ago to develop her activism and writing. She previously worked at a local rape crisis center and assisted in educating therapists and counselors before turning her focus more squarely towards race, first via her Instagram account and then through public speaking engagements and writing. As part of the national committee for the Women’s March on Washington, Rose runs the group’s social media channels, from Instagram (where she has a substantial following) to Facebook. “Women encompass everything,” Rose said. “If you can fight for women’s rights, you can fight for rights across the board.”
A law student-turned-actress-turned-activist, Sarah Sophie Flicker was born in Copenhagen, the great-granddaughter of a Danish prime minister who has been credited with bringing democratic socialism to Denmark. She grew up in California before moving to New York to found the political cabaret Citizens Band, eventually joining the production company Art Not War. “Once you start breaking it all down, you realize the most vulnerable people in any community tend to be women,” she said. “All our issues intersect, and something that may affect me as a white woman will doubly affect a black woman or a Latina woman or an indigenous woman. So when we talk about a women’s movement, we need to be talking about all women.”
Vanessa Wruble, a member of the national organizing committee, is the uber-connector of the Women’s March on Washington. She’s also the founder and editor of OkayAfrica, a site connecting culture news from continental Africa with an international audience. It was Wruble who first messaged Bland on Facebook to connect her with the women who would eventually become her co-chairs: “She said, Hey, you know, you need to center women of color in the leadership of this so it can be truly inclusive,’” Bland recalled. Within a day, they were meeting for coffee; now, they’re marching together in one of the largest demonstrations in support of a vast array of causes in United States history.
Paola Mendoza, artistic director of the Women’s March on Washington, is a Colombian-American director and writer whose work has focused on immigrant experiences, particularly those of Latina women. “Women have never convened this way in our lifetime,” Mendoza said of the march, “and it’s being led for the first time ever by women of color.”
Janaye Ingram, who Michelle Obama once described as an “impressive leader,” is Head of Logistics for the March, in addition to being a consultant for issues like civil, voting, and women’s rights in Washington D.C.
Cassady Fendlay, communications director for the Women’s March on Washington, is a writer and communications strategist whose clients include The Gathering for Justice — the organization helmed by Women’s March national co-chair Carmen Perez. As the spokeswoman for the march, Fendlay is tasked with acting as its mouthpiece, ensuring its message is accurate, unified, and coherent.
In addition to being a producer of the march, Ginny Suss is the Vice President of Okayplayer.com and the President and co-founder of OkayAfrica — she does video production for both. Her background in the music industry runs deep, and she’s worked closely with The Roots for the past 13 years, serving as their Tour Manager for some time. She’s also produced large outdoor events like The Roots Picnic, Summerstage, Lincoln Center Out Of Doors, and Celebrate Brooklyn — vital experience for organizing a march of this size.
Last year, Nantasha Williams ran for the New York State Assembly as a representative of the 33rd district — which encompasses a region just east of Jamaica, Queens. Though she lost to Democrat Clyde Vanel, she’s putting her organizing skills to good use in the aftermath of the election, working on the logistics team for the march and assisting national co-chair Tamika Mallory.
When Alyssa Klein isn’t managing the various social media accounts for the Women’s March, she’s writer and Senior Editor at OkayAfrica, the largest online destination for New African music, culture, fashion, art, and politics. Based in both New York City and Johannesburg, Klein’s passion is movies and television, and has made it her profession to highlight creatives of color in both industries. Juggling social media is no easy side project, however. The Women’s March has approximately 80,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter, plus a over 200,000 on Facebook.
Shirley Marie Johnson is the March’s head administrator for Tennessee, as well as an author, poet, and singer. Primarily, though, she’s an activist and advocate for those who are victim to domestic violence, a cause that’s not only her focus at the March, but in her day-to-day life through her group Exodus, Inc., which aids those affected by rape, human trafficking, and other abuse.
Born in Shanghai, Ting Ting Cheng studied human rights at the University of Cape Town — and became an award-winning Fulbright scholar to South Africa — before heading to New York, where she’s now a criminal defense attorney at the Brooklyn Defender Services. All that’s no doubt come in handy for her role as Legal Director of the March.
Heidi Solomon is one of the three co-organizers for the Pennsylvania chapter of the Women’s March. Although she doesn’t have a long background in activism, Trump’s election moved her to take action, and she’s helped rally approximately 6,000 people from her home state.
Deborah Harris is a grassroots organizer and feminist self-help author who lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, and served as a community activist for 10 years in the fields of fashion, healthcare, at risk youth, and supportive women’s relations.
As Illinois’ state representative for the Women’s March, Mrinalini Chakraborty has taken the lead in coordinating the Chicago-area charge, organizing bus rides for well over a thousand women and other supporters. She’s also on the National Committee and is a coordinator for all 50 states coming to D.C.. And that’s in addition to her day job: She’s a graduate teaching and research assistant at the University of Illinois at Chicago for anthropology, not to mention a student and a dedicated food blogger.
After earning her Ph.D in psychology, Dr. Deborah Johnson is now studying social work at the University of Oklahoma in Tulsa — and making sure she stands up for both her and her daughter’s rights at the March, which she’s helping lead the way to for other Oklahomans.
Renee Singletary is an organizer, mother of two, wife of one, marketing consultant, and certified herbalist living and working in Charleston, South Carolina.
A yoga instructor, theater graduate, and local organizer, South Carolina native Evvie Harmon has brought her skills and energy to the march as its global co-coordinator alongside Breanne Butler. Together, they facilitate partner marches and local organizers around the world, bringing the whole thing into synergy.
Meet the Women who Made History as the Organizers of the Women’s March on Washington:
